I write with a conservative point of view.

I write about issues which concern me and hopefully bring a different perspective to readers other than the daily dose of leftist drivel. However, I receive e-mails from readers of a leftist tilt from time to time accusing “my party” of ruining the country.

I often ask myself what these people mean by “my party.” OK, I am being a little cynical. They obviously mean the Republican Party. Because I write with a conservative perspective, these readers assume I’m a Republican.

I may be conservative, but I am not a Republican – or at least not a loyal one. I like what Sean Hannity once said: “Conservative first; Republican second.”

My conservative nature doesn’t allow me to trust the government and, by extension, parties running the government.

Don’t get me wrong, I vote in all elections, but not out of the misguided notion that just because an “R” follows a candidate’s name they are a better candidate.

I was taught growing up to vote for who I thought was the best, whether Republican, Democrat, or even a throwaway third party. J. Thomas Lowry put it another way in his article, “Conservative and Republican – But not always both.”

He writes, “Republican does not mean conservative any more than Democrat implies intelligence. A conservative is more likely to vote Republican but not out of false loyalty, but because the opposite is frightful. Just the same, thoughtful conservatives might vote the other way if the Republican Party has strayed from conservative principles.”

There are plenty of Republicans I would never dream of voting for. These include Judy Baar Topinka of good ol’ Illinois, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and the “Govenator,” Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, a liberal Democrat may want to vote for some of these candidates. A voter can easily check their track records on www.issues2000.org.

Conversely, there are plenty of Democrats I would love to vote for if given the chance, namely former Georgia senator Zell Miller, former Louisiana senator John Breaux, Missouri representative Ike Skelton and former Ohio representative Jim Traficant.

Daniel Kempton, an associate professor of political science, had this to say about the issue: “Voters should look at the track record of a candidate before voting for the individual. However, sometimes a candidate whom we vote for gives a philosophy we thought he or she wouldn’t exhibit. Simply being Republican does not mean he will act ‘conservative,’ and conversely, being Democrat does not mean the elected representative will act ‘liberal.’”

I blame this on the shortcomings of the two-party system. Voters are often forced to make a choice between two candidates who don’t seem all that different.

Choosing between the “lesser of two evils” reduces our vote to a mere guess instead of a dignified choice.

In the aforementioned article, Lowry went on to say, “it is the duty of every American to look hard at policy and not be slaves to parties and slogans.”

Just because your granddad voted Democrat doesn’t mean you should. The Democratic Party has changed and doesn’t represent the same things it used to in the 1930s and ’40s.

Just because someone is not as financially well off as others doesn’t mean the Republican Party isn’t for him or her.

Last time I checked, there are no poor men on Capital Hill, Democrat or not.

Don’t let either side fool you into thinking they’re better for your particular situation. Politicians will say anything to get a vote.

Believe what they do, not what they say; and vote for yourself, not for a party.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.