On his latest podcast, Ben Howe devoted his first segment to discussing why he believes that now that the primaries are over, it is time for those who do not want President Obama reelected to ‘get in line’ and support Mitt Romney’s candidacy.  He said that this is necessary because unseating Obama is more important than anything else. While I don’t agree with him on all of his points, I must say that he was respectful and his arguments were well thought out.  But he did have a bit of the “Vote for Romney, or the bunny gets it” in his reasoning.

Like I said, I disagree with him.  Yes, if Obama is re-elected, what little restraint he has will be gone, especially if the Democrats continue to control the Senate and a Republican majority in the House is shaved or even destroyed.

But I’m not being asked to vote against Barack Obama, I’m being asked to vote for Mitt Romney, and he hasn’t earned my vote just because he was able to convince a majority of the registered Republicans who got off their asses and voted in the primaries that he was the least ugly elephant in the pen.

If Mr. Romney wants my vote, he’s going to have to address a lot of the concerns I have, including his stance on 2nd Amendment rights, what he will do to dismantle Obamacare, how he will lessen the intrusion of the government in our everyday lives, and how he will dismantle the overly aggressive security bureaucracy that Presidents Bush and Obama have built over the last decade.  I want to see his detailed plan on how and what he is going to cut in order to save money, what he is going to do to encourage business development in this country (The right answer is to cut taxes and get the heck out of the way), and how he is going to reduce American engagement in every nook and cranny of the third world while still defending the country and its interests.

Mitt Romney signed an assault weapons ban and a government health care plan that was the model for Obamacare, and I want to hear how he has changed since then.  I want more than sound bites.  I want a public and explicit mea culpa, and I want to know how and why he came to see the error in his ways.

Yes, I want a lot.  I’m being asked to give a lot.  I’m being asked to give the reins of power of the country that I love and that my children will be living in for decades to come to a man who hasn’t convinced me that he will be a wise steward of our republic.  If Mr. Romney wants my vote, he’s going to have to convince me that he is not only electable, but will be a good president, and he hasn’t done that yet.  I am not an automatic vote, I am not a party drone, and I am not to be told to get in line because the time for discussion is over.  I truly believe in the Eleventh Commandment, but I also believe that my vote is mine and mine alone, and I will not be taken for granted because the primary season is over and the general election is getting cranked up.