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Web Letter

What up? "At a Columbia University College Republicans (CUCR) meeting, 21-year-old Learned Foote says proudly, 'I hate Republicans.' "

At age 39, I guess I no longer qualify as a young Republican, but nevertheless, I can really relate to what this guy's saying. I changed my registration from Democrat to Republican (albeit with an eighteen-month interregnum as a Libertarian) right after the 1994 mid-term elections, but I have yet to vote for a single Republican presidential nominee in all that time. I'm a conservative (social too, not just economic), but the neo-"conservative" leadership of the Republican Party actually infuriates me more than any Democrats.

I was all fired-up to write this letter, and now I don't know what to say. I mean, what is there to say? I voted for Ron Paul in last year's presidential primary, and the good doctor will doubtlessly run again in 2012 (with my wholehearted support), but we all know that, barring some miracle, a neocon clown like Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal or Sarah Palin will be the nominee (probably in that order of likelihood). And it will then be my fifth presidential election in a row where as a registered Republican, I feel forced to vote for one of the "third"-party candidates.