Ryan Zinke’s congressional candidacy has once again shone a spotlight on a concept I like to call “Einstein’s definition of political insanity”: the action of voting for the lesser of two evils, repeatedly (simply because “he’s a Republican!”), and thinking that, magically, the candidate will morph into a principled politician. Someone who instead looks out for his constituents and cares about his oath to the Constitution.  What illustrates this concept even more in relation to Zinke is that he has already proven that he does not care about the Constitution or his constituents.  He has an abysmal voting record that is available to the public and past behavior is an excellent predictor of future behavior.

Montanan’s for Limited Government tracked the votes of Ryan Zinke during his time as US House Representative in 2015 and 2016. What they found was that Zinke received less than stellar scores from conservative vote tracking groups. In 2015 and 2016, the following groups gave him these scores, respectively: Heritage Action, 67% both years; FreedomWorks gave him a 62% and 74% score; Club for Growth gave him a 63% and 65% score; and CPAC gave him a 71% and 68% score:

This previously published report contains a video of Zinke resorting to political gaslighting and deflection when a constituent had the audacity to question his indefensible voting record:

John Quincy Adams wisely said, “Duty is ours; results are God’s,” yet some of those who claim to be Christians obviously do not trust God with the results, because they surrender their principles time and again; they hold their noses and vote for “the lesser of two evils.”  The lesser of two evils is still evil, yet somehow God will still honor our evil choice? 

I am beyond tired of being told that it is my “duty” to vote Republican no matter what.  That somehow my vote for a principled conservative who happens to be an Independent or a Libertarian or a Constitution Party member is a “wasted vote.” I am reflexively labeled as a “liberal Democrat” who is going to assure that the Democrat wins if I do not vote for Zinke.  I call BS!

The reason our election system and the Republican Party, in particular, are such a mess is exactly because of this illogical and circular reasoning.  I would rather leave a race on a ballot blank or fill in a candidate of my choice or vote for another party than surrender my conscience and principles. I prefer to trust that the Lord is going to honor me for standing on principle; therefore, I will not cave to evil peer pressure that violates my God-given conscience. 

If we end up with a Democrat, then so be it.  At least we will be dealing with a “devil we know,” because most Democrats are pretty straightforward about who they are and what they support.  Occasionally, they can even be convinced to vote the right way, but at least they are consistent. 

On the other hand, these snake-in-the-grass pseudo-Republicans will pat our shoulders while they are stabbing us in the back.  It is a total crap shoot (pun intended), where one honestly never really knows what they are going to get.  But usually, we get the shaft, to put it mildly.  The bottom line is my vote is my vote and no one is entitled to it.  My vote has to be earned and I do not vote for people who are unworthy of it, regardless of political party.  The sooner the Republican Party understands this and stops running these crap-sandwich candidates, the better.  There is no “political Messiah” and that most especially applies to Ryan Zinke.