Confession: I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life. Not even Ronald Reagan. Never even considered it.

As a lifelong conservative Democrat, I enthusiastically began to research each candidate in an attempt to get a better idea of who I might support in the primary.

I began with Hillary Clinton. She was certainly my first choice going into this and for good reason. She’s a smart, tough, capable woman. Bill Clinton was a great leader and brilliant politician who got things done. In my mind, a vote for Hillary is a way to get eight more years of Bill Clinton’s successes. The deal breaker? Clinton’s support of the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.

Barack Obama is one of the most charismatic men I’ve ever seen. He speaks positively about the future and he invokes my memory of Bill Clinton’s “there’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America.” Truer words have never been spoken (did I mention that I liked Bill Clinton?). Obama’s appeal is almost universal attracting a sizable number of Republican defectors. He’s also not as polarizing, which has been an observation of Clinton’s potential trouble in the general election. Deal breaker? No matter what others say, Obama’s lack of experience is glaring — blindingly so. To make matters worse, history also shows that an extended career in the U.S. Senate has historically not helped would-be presidents.

John Edwards is a smart guy who’s been a very successful trial lawyer – and that’s the problem. I don’t buy the spin that he’s “for the little guy.” This may be petty, but a champion of the poor does not get a $400 haircut. Ever. To his credit, he has been very supportive of union issues, but it appears to be little more than election pandering to me. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also voted for the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.

Who does that leave? No one. Certainly no one on the Republican side. Or does it?

Congressman Ron Paul may be running as a Republican, but one factor makes him stand out to dissatisfied Democrats: he’s consistently been opposed to the war in Iraq. In fact, Dr. Paul believes in the issues that are most important to Democrats: he’s opposed to aggressive foreign intervention, the dismal failure No Child Left Behind, and unconstitutional searches and wiretaps. He supports abolition of the IRS, personal freedoms and liberties, and protection of the poor and middle class. In short, he fully repudiates the neo-conservative agenda. He is everything George W. Bush isn’t. He’s truly the candidate of freedom unencumbered by corporate interests which seem to affect every other candidate — Republican and Democrat.

Hillary Clinton was an ardent supporter of Barry Goldwater in 1964. Ron Paul is the Barry Goldwater of 2008 and I believe that he deserves more than a passing look from conservative Democrats.

About the author
Robert J. Johnson is an American political commentator and contributor to DCguide.com.