The Wisconsin primary is in five days.

To some, mainly Republicans, it might seem pointless to go
out to the polls on Tuesday because Sen. John McCain has such a large lead over
the other GOP candidates for president. Well, Wisconsin, nothing is decided
yet. Sure, it might seem like there?s no question that Mr. McCain will get the
nomination, but judging by the audience reactions I saw in Washington, D.C.,
this past weekend, he?s sure got to prove that he deserves it. No offense, but
not voting because you think that the nomination is already locked up would be
stupid.

November?s election is going to be one of the closest
elections this country has ever seen, and it?s vitally important that every
single American who has an opinion be heard. Equally as important is
understanding what is at stake for the Republican Party. There are a great
number of conservatives, Ann Coulter included, who have vowed not to vote for
Sen. John McCain and will vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton instead. As much as I?m
sure Ms. Clinton appreciates Ms. Coulter?s endorsement (Coulter now refers to
Clinton as ?my girl Hillary?), I don?t think people with this mentality really
comprehend how essential it is to have a quality, electable candidate on the
Republican ticket. Just think about some of the upcoming issues for a second.

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Health care

This is turning into an even bigger issue than many of us
thought it would be. If Ms. Clinton is elected to the White House come
November, we move to a single-payer health care system, and that means we?re
one step closer to socialism. Republicans want to cut health care costs for the
individual by giving choices, not mandating insanely priced care packages for
everyone. On the other hand, if you want to be forced to pull your own teeth
because you?ve got a cavity and can?t get in to see an overworked, underpaid
dentist under the Democrats? plan, by all means, vote for Ms. Clinton. ?

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Iraq

The Democrats want to cut our nation?s losses and leave
ASAP. Now, I want our loved ones to come home safe just as much as the next
person, but I don?t want our loved ones lost to have died for nothing, either.
If we pull out now, like Sen. Barack Obama wants us to, we leave an already
weak region of the Middle East open to chaos and anarchy. Then, the same
Americans who said we should get out are going to be the ones telling us we
should go back and fix the problem, and we?ll go back to an even more dangerous
place where it will take even longer to repair the region. So if you want to
see your loved ones drafted to go finish a war that you demanded we pull out of,
by all means, vote for Mr. Obama. ?

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The Supreme Court

In the term of the next president, we are going to lose
three justices on the Supreme Court. If for no other reason, this should be the
one thing that Republicans focus on when choosing a candidate. Two of the three
justices that are going to be leaving are very liberal ones. Some would argue
that even Sen. McCain wouldn?t elect the most conservative justices. Let me
tell you, I?d be happy to have another John Roberts over a Ruth Bader Ginsberg
any day.

If I had to speculate, I?d say that in the next few years
there are going to be some highly valuable opinions coming down from the
Supreme Court ? hopefully, including an overturn of Roe v. Wade. I?d like to
have a president who appoints justices to make this possible. If you disagree
and want the U.S. to continue to legislate from the bench and ignore the 10th
Amendment, then, by all means, vote for a Democrat. (For all those Democrats
who don?t know or seem to conveniently forget, the 10th Amendment says, ?The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people.?)

Republicans voting for Democrats in the primaries to make a
point doesn?t work either. A few years back, there was this crazy liberal
candidate that was running for local office who was so radical not even Dane
County would elect him. Republicans voted for him in an effort to try to screw
things up for the Democrats. We can thank ourselves for the man who later
turned out to be Gov. Jim Doyle. Primaries are no joke.

When it comes down to it, there are multiple sides to every
issue. When you vote, think about the issues that really matter. Do not vote
for a candidate just because you don?t agree with him or her on one issue.
Think of what is best in the long run ? for the people, for the country, for
the world. Then go out and cast your vote in the primary on Tuesday. ?

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Sara Mikolajczak ([email protected])
is chair of the College Republicans.