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Fellow Republicans, you have reason to decry. You have been handed the presidential candidate chosen by the elites within the Republican Party. For some reason they believe that only Senator John McCain has what it takes to beat the Democrats come November.

McCain needs your conservative feedback. Send him e-mail. Call his office. Tell him what he needs to do to get your vote on Election Day. McCain respects the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) members' point of view.

He boasts that he is the only candidate within the GOP that can execute the appropriate strategies concerning the War on Terror. If you're not from Missouri (the "Show Me" State), it is time to adopt their attitude. We need to scrutinize his every move. We can't blindly trust him for one moment.

McCain's Republican endorsements are impressive. However, these leaders are moving the party to the left because they want to win at any cost. The heart of the Republican Party is based in conservatism. Don't forget that when these leaders vie for your vote.

The very same elitists within our party never took seriously Dr. Alan Keyes and his run for the presidency. He battled continuously to be included in the debates, yet Michael Huckabee, the darling of the liberal media, got the Johnny-come-lately James Dobson endorsement.

McCain will continue to embrace Democrats and their far left political ideas. He can tell the conservative base that he is one of us until doomsday. We know better. The Republican elites do not embrace conservatism.

John McCain is no Ronald Reagan, who never compromised his conservative integrity. He brought liberals around to his way of thinking, not vice-versa. This self-proclaimed maverick, McCain, knows how to play dirty politics like the liberals he consorts with.

McCain agrees too often with the far left Democrats and allows them to erode conservatism. He has absolutely no compunction in siding with them when he wants to appear as a policy maker. Is it by chance that everything he initiates also has a Democrat's name attached to it? He will say he is exhorting bipartisanship when in actuality; the maverick enjoys tweaking the nose of the party he probably should have departed a long time ago. He even considered running as vice president with John Kerry on the Democratic ticket in 2004.

McCain tells us that he is a man of integrity. He says that he has the reputation for being strong on national security. But it was McCain who crafted a Senate vote giving enemy combatants all the protection of the Geneva Convention. This is of course the same mindset as that of his bosom buddies, John Kerry and Teddy Kennedy.

Conservatives are practical and realistic. We understand that we have been undermined and that McCain is trying to sell us a bill of goods that no true conservative appreciates. The status quo within the Republican ranks is to discount the conservative wing of our party unless they require something from us.

We will be tossed aside like yesterday's newspaper if we do not stand and fight for our views. Should he get elected, we must try to keep McCain in line by voting for every conservative legislator within our own voting districts.

Mitt Romney represented our last opportunity to feel positive about our vote. But hey, it is not our fault that we were all lead astray and never noticed what a gem he was until it was too late. It took some outspoken conservative talk show hosts to make us see the light. As difficult as we tend to be to wake, it is unfortunate they did not endorse him much sooner.

Almost from day one, we were told that Romney was from Central Casting, devoid of feelings. We allowed others to berate his Mormon faith and that as a result he was unelectable. We gave ear to those who accused Mitt Romney of being a man who continually changed his mind on crucial social issues. He denied the charges.

We allowed Huckabee to cast religious aspersion on the man who might have held the wining ticket for all conservatives. Romney showed enormous class and dignity in his farewell speech. It made many of us long for this incredible person even more.

The media was characteristically negative toward Romney. However, they are only partly to blame for the situation we are in today. We looked the other way while thinking others, including Fred Thompson, would be our ideal candidate. As the result, a very patriotic, conservative American could have served our nation well in the White House rather than a pretender (assuming McCain even wins the general election).

Ann Coulter tried to tell conservatives that Romney was the elephant in the room. As it turned out, the majority of conservative voters eventually supported Mitt when they began to see McCain thrust upon them. By then it was too late.

Be prepared to be bombarded by some hot and heavy razzle-dazzle verbiage coming from those who put winning over principles. Party loyalty will be the card played by many.

The message will be to come together because we must defeat Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama by voting for someone who has been a miserable thorn in flesh for a very long time.

While many conservative writers are feeding us a line of malarkey, claiming that McCain is a true conservative, try not to be disappointed and disheartened. If you do not vote for McCain, you still should participate come Election Day and vote for fellow conservative Republicans who will need all of our support. The National Republican Party believes that eventually we will toe the line and vote for McCain, because conservatives do not want a Democrat to get elected and appoint far left judges to the Supreme Court.

There are some newspapers hinting that President Bush wants conservatives to rally around McCain. Bush's legacy, as well as ours, is to keep Iraq and Afghanistan safe. He has every reason to be proud of what has been accomplished. One day Iraq will become a beacon of hope in the Middle East alongside Israel.

Although there are no true conservatives in the race for President, we need to get out and vote. Otherwise we have much more to lose. Step back from the conservative divide and make your vote count on Election Day.

Marie Jon'

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