In this upcoming election, I will be voting Republican down the line.  I do this somewhat begrudgingly, as the GOP has had tremendous opportunity with control of both houses and a presidency, and yet has failed to accomplish real change.

The problem with the Democratic party is their inextricable marriage to the pro-Abortion position.  Of all the issues to disagree about, the abortion issue is one of only three I can think of that are based on moral principle.  (The other two are capital punishment and gay marriage.)

These issues of principle are irreconcilable.  For example, I personally believe in stricter environmental policies but in a stronger war against Islamic supremacy.  These are not exactly issues of principle however, because I can trade off one for the other.

But on the abortion issue, I cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate that is in favor of abortion.  (You can't be pro-choice without being pro-abortion, in my opinion, but that is another discussion entirely.  Suffice it to say that if you are pro-choice, I won't be voting for you.) 

Whether you agree with me or not about the core issue on abortion, it is impossible to deny that there is a portion of the voting populace that holds this issue as a matter of principle.  It is lopsided however, because the ones who view it as principle are anti-Abortion only, and that hurts the Democrats.

To be more precise, voting for pro-abortion candidates is not just a discomfort, it is morally unacceptable to this segment of the population.  On abortion, the side in favor of "pro-choice" could be seen in some circumstance at some point willing to compromise and vote for a "pro-life" candidate if they were perfect in every other respect.  Not so the other way around.

So what does it mean?  It means that the Democrats, virtually none of whom are anti-abortion, will always be selecting their voters from a smaller pool. 

They can still win, as it's only a certain percentage that view abortion as a principle-issue, but it's like spotting the other team a touchdown to start the game.  The Dem's have to do just that much better on all the other issues.

Capital punishment is a similar principle problem (one that favors the Dems) but it doesn't have nearly as many people holding the issue near and dear.  Gay marriage is more important an issue than capital punishment, as the 2004 election showed, but even this issue is not to the level of abortion.

I yearn for a Democratic Party that could have pro-life candidates, but that will never happen.

So I'll stick to my Republican ticket, and vote for them, with a little bit of sadness that I can't make my positions on other issues more clear in my vote.  But when you come down to it, it really is a matter of principle.  That's that.