Two days to go. So, wither the patriot and his vote?

TheEye struggles with such thoughts. It is a struggle made easier by the lack of a Westminster vote for us here in Gibraltar, so this blogger watches impotently as the future of his Rock is shaped on distant shores. Of my fellow bloggers here; David Vance has of course nailed his colours to the mast as the candidate for Traditional Unionist Voice in East Belfast, St Crispin gets his voice, and GOT will doubtless be stockpiling bullets and tins of beans in case Gordoom doesn’t go quietly.

But for all of you who are still genuinely wavering; maybe between one of the two main parties and a fringe one, consider these words from The Gipper.

If there is a weakness in our two-party system it is that we accept a party label as ours and then vote the label without questioning whether the party continues to represent our own philosophical beliefs.

I was a Democrat when the Democratic Party stood for states rights, local autonomy, economy in government and individual freedom. Today it is the party that has changed, openly declaring for centralized federal power and government sponsored redistribution of the individual’s earnings.

[Reagan, A Life in Letters :from Ronald Reagan to Philip; undated pre-presidential]

Go with your instinct, and don’t be afraid to break with what you’ve done for years, or what your family has always done. This is not a tribal election – this is a watershed election…an I Was There election. The chance of only the second change in governing Party since 1979.

Don’t hold your nose and vote. Don’t vote for someone because of who they’re not. Vote for who they are, regardless of size or the local situation in your constituency. When you’re asked in years to come who you supported in the election of 2010, make sure you can say that you voted positively. Whether your big issue is immigation, the EU, fundamental freedoms, or just being able to put food on the table, vote with your heart as well as your head.