I have been reluctant to put pen to paper on the subject of this year’s elections. Actually, I am downright depressed about it. But as a political/legal commentator with a column due a mere 31 hours before polls open, it would seem that I can procrastinate no more.

Readers of this column will not be surprised to hear that I would describe myself as a conservative, but with libertarian leanings. Most of my friends would say that I am a die-hard Republican. They are correct in noting that I almost always vote Republican, and I often write checks to Republican candidates during election years. On the other hand, I am not afraid to support members of other parties where appropriate. I have been known to vote libertarian. I wouldn’t think twice about voting for Joe Lieberman if I lived in Connecticut .

In short, I hope to never be a blindly partisan Republican, supporting people without question just because they have an “R” behind their name. To borrow and expound upon something that Ronald Reagan once said, I won’t leave my party; however, if my party leaves me, then it is my intent to recognize that fact and do something about it.

All of which leaves me in quite a pickle this year.

Republicans have not been acting like Republicans lately. They have stifled free speech, pretending that their new laws are “campaign finance reform.” They have failed to protect our borders. They have burdened businesses with unnecessary new regulations, forcing companies to engage in expensive regulatory compliance when they could instead be growing and creating jobs. In short, Republicans have ditched their ideas of small government, instead becoming proponents for a large, “compassionately conservative” government. I am left to assume that most of these Republicans were never really upset about the size of government before. They didn’t hate the bureaucracy. They hated the fact that they weren’t in charge of the bureaucracy.

Unfortunately for these elected officials, many of their constituents—people like myself—truly hate the bureaucracy. We never wanted to be in charge of it. We want to abolish as many unneeded government agencies, rules, and regulations as humanly possible. And then some.

Worse, some Republicans, at the state level, have become active proponents of tax increases. Do these big government Republicans truly believe that the problem is that government doesn’t already have enough money? Do they really believe there is no further waste to cut out of the government’s budget? Oh, please. If you believe that, then I have a bridge in San Francisco that I want to sell you.

Now, admittedly, Republicans have done a few things right. They did get tax cuts through at the federal level (although they can’t seem to make them permanent). The President’s Supreme Court picks have been phenomenal (although he worked really hard to sabotage himself before finally nominating the eminently qualified Samuel Alito). The President took a stand against federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (although the fact that he has issued only one veto remains a sad and tragic state of affairs).

And then there’s the war. I am not upset about the fact that we invaded Iraq . I am, however, upset about the manner in which that war has been presented to Americans. This war was never going to be quick and easy. It always required perseverance and the ability to stand firm in the face of terrorists who would do everything in their power to undermine our resolve. The President should have made that fact clear early in the struggle. He didn’t do that. Instead, he spoke of “shock and awe” and then gave a “Mission Accomplished” victory speech from an aircraft carrier several years too early. One wonders why he is so surprised to find that Americans have lost the stomach for war halfway through the fight.

I can’t predict whether Republicans will maintain control of Congress this Tuesday. I am, quite frankly, not even sure that I hope for them to retain their majority. I would hate two years with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but if it wakes up Republicans, then perhaps such a situation would be worthwhile. On the other hand, I am rooting for a few individual Republicans whom I know to be good, hard-working public servants—people like Senator Jim Talent of Missouri.

Either way, Republicans will need to take a good, hard look at themselves in the weeks and months following Tuesday’s election. They don’t know their base anymore, and the party is quickly leaving many voters behind. In 2006, the party will almost certainly feel the ramifications of this attitude at the polls, at least to some degree. But if they don’t shape up—and soon—then the ramifications in 2008 will be far, far worse.

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