I am a lifelong Georgia Democrat. Many of my friends and fellow activists are not voting in the Republican primary tomorrow; others are voting for Santorum, because they believe Obama has a better chance to beat him. Gingrich is a bridge too far for most Democrats in these parts.
But I am voting for Romney, because he is the best candidate, even though I will later campaign against him.
I always take an opportunity to vote. I don't believe there is anything unethical about voting in any election you have a legal right to vote in. When there's a competitive race on the Democratic side, I will vote there, but when there's not, I will take every opportunity to make my voice heard.
I don't, however, believe in mischief voting...voting for the candidate you think will be easy to beat. For one primary reason: it can backfire big-time.
Many people around here are familiar with the possibly apocryphal story that Jimmy Carter's campaign staff were popping champagne on the night that Reagan won the 1980 Republican primary. Whether or not fizzy booze was involved, the Carter folks did think that Reagan, a facile movie star, would be easy for a nuclear engineer to beat.
But they were wrong. It's difficult to know, even as close as we are now, what issues a campaign are going to turn on. If certain indicators go south, an obviously superior candidate can lose an election. Sometimes, the candidates don't even matter; people will vote for or against the incumbent based on how their current outlook, regardless of the qualifications and baggage of the candidates.
For that reason, when I cross over in primaries, I always vote for the least scary candidate. Obama will be a much better president than Mitt Romney. But the idea of a Romney presidency does not keep me awake at night to the same degree as the idea of a Santorum presidency. Romney is wishy-washy, more about improving organization and efficiency than he is about pushing an ideology--he's only mouthing the right-wing words because he wants to win, and I think he would pull back from that and be a relatively moderate president.
Yes, both Santorum and Romney would rubber stamp right-wing legislation. But one of the most important functions of the executive is foreign relations. Meditate for a moment on the where the foreign policies of a know-nothing Crusader like Santorum could bring us.
I know people have different strategies for cross-over voting. But this die-hard democrat will be casting a vote for Romney tomorrow. Whatever your choice, please take the opportunity to let your voice be heard and VOTE in you open primaries!