What's the end goal?

"I'm seriously considering voting for [insert name of Democratic candidate here] because we need to teach [insert name of Republican candidate here] a lesson."

If you're not voting for a Republican because they don't line up with your values, how can you justify voting for a Democrat, who will be more liberal than the Republican 99% of the time?  Even if you do find a Democratic candidate who happens to be slightly less liberal then the Republican in the race, voting for the Democrat is supporting the Democratic platform, which is simply unacceptable. 
 
The statement at in the opening of this post is one I've heard echoed many times among the conservative grassroots.  I understand their frustration.  However, this mindset assumes the end goal is a better Republican party.  They seek to "teach the GOP a lesson" by voting Democrat.  However, a conservative GOP will not fix our problems.  The Republican party cannot save our nation.  A principled, conservative Republican Party is simply a means to the end, a tool.  The end goal is returning our nation to our founding principles and faith in God, which is the only way America can truly be restored.  If voting for the lesser of two evils is unacceptable, certainly voting for the worse of two evils must be far more unacceptable. 
 
Am I saying that we need to abandon the effort of building a conservative Republican party?  No!  I've actively engaged in this fight and will continue to do so.  However, electing Democrats is not the way to save America.  To once again become "one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all", we must turn to Jesus Christ, the only One who can can truly restore America. 
 
Stay focused, remember the end goal, and pray for our nation.

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Note: I put principle before party.  Sometime, somewhere, I suppose it's possible that I may end up in a position where I have a choice between a stellar conservative candidate ‎who is a Democrat, while the Republican candidate is liberal through and through. In that case, I would probably vote for the conservative who happens to be a Democrat. However, such cases are extremely rare.

This post was written by Peter B, and is also posted on his blog at www.peterformichigan.com/2014/08/30/end-goal.