Fred Thompson has bowed out, as we expected. Here is his brief statement, posted yesterday on his website:

Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.

Mitt Romney is now the candidate I will vote for on February 5th. He’s the only conservative left in the primary race. That’s not to say he doesn’t have drawbacks as a candidate (he does). In particular, he has changed his positions on some key social issues over the years. However, he has changed them to be more conservative, not less, which is the opposite of the others who have changed their once conservative positions to be more liberal, or perhaps never held a conservative position on certain key issues (like immigration and global warming) in the first place. Romney is, in my opinion, the only candidate in the field who has consistently shown he lines up with core conservative principles as I previously outlined them.

I am an issues voter. An ideology voter. I am not a “personality” voter. That’s why I selected Fred Thompson first, and why I select Mitt Romney now. I am not denigrating anyone else who votes based on personality or for other reasons–just explaining my own reasoning.

I continue to be very concerned about the Republicans’ ability to unite after this primary season is done. I’m afraid there are many Republicans who will not vote for a McCain or Huckabee or even a Romney. I still believe February 5th, or “Super Tuesday” as it’s called, will tell the tale of who is most likely to be the nominee for both the Dems and the Repubs.

As predicted, the Clintons have been playing dirty and will continue to do so, which will ultimately lead to Hillary’s nomination. It’s less clear to me what will happen on the Repub side. Conservatives (of which I am one) may decide if the party continues on a leftward path, they will (after this election) leave the party permanently. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. If that were to happen, the party would be crippled for the next 20-40 years, or perhaps even finished, and would have to remake itself. That would be devastating for the country and a shame for the once proud party of Lincoln.

Republicans need to figure who we are and why we believe what we believe and why it’s important to stand on our conservative principles–and why we should not compromise them away. We messed it up badly when we ran Congress in the ’90s by not being conservative enough (too much spending, expansion of government). We now reap the results with a Democrat congress and perhaps a Democrat President–a dangerous combination. Dangerous to freedom and liberty as the Democrats will surely strip away more of our freedoms under the guise they know better than we how to run our lives. Look first for more limits on free speech in the form of tight regulation of the media–especially talk radio, one of the last outposts of conservatism in the media. And you can be sure you’ll be keeping less of your paycheck.

Let’s hope that as we get to know the Republican candidates better week after week, that we will find one to support and that our side can come together to support someone who will defeat liberalism/socialism (Hillary and Obama).

Ultimately I do have hope. I believe in a Creator God (Jesus Christ) who is in control. I am not despondent! I am, however, deeply concerned. Now is not the time to relax or let down our guard–and now is not the time to compromise. We must support and elect a conservative to the highest office in our country. It does matter who our next president will be!

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