While he has annoyed me at times, Powell may well be right on this one; exclusion is never a good policy and a lot of Republicans need to set aside a lot of personal gripes and concentrate on what brings us together, rather that what drives us apart.

I’ve been a registered Republican for going on 30 years, though I have disagreed at times with individual candidates on specific issues. I became a Republican because there was simply no agreement between me and Democrats on any issue, whatsoever.

There still isn’t.

I’m about national security, fiscal responsibility/lower takes, economic growth and the belief in capitalism. These are the things that need to be addressed first and that need has existed for some time. At least the Republicans have showed a half-hearted attempt to at least look like they supported these issues while the Democrats have been, and continue to utterly disdainful.

Though the Republican Party has seem to become a fractured assemblage of single issue groups muttering to themselves, I still cannot find Democrats that are speaking to me, on any issue. One need only look at what four months of what the Legislative and Executive branches of government, controlled by Democrats, has wrought. One need only look at the legislative leaders that they have chosen to make one say “what in the HELL are you people thinking?!”

As far as going “independent”, I can’t imagine what good that would have done. Would I ever have considered voting for Clinton, Kerry, Gore or Obama? No, no, no and no. Would I have considered simply not voting? No.

As far as third parties go; they do more harm than good. This thing needs to be changed fom within and, somehow, WE need to do it.