As South Carolina prepares to vote in the republican primary, I hope that they see the big picture and responsibility that they carry.  They are the first in the south primary, a chance to see how true conservatives will vote.  I say that because most true Reagan conservatives are found in the south.  You may find fiscal and foreign policy conservatives in the north and midwest, but the so called Reagan conservatives, social, fiscal, and foreign policy are only found in the south.  You also have conservative democrats in the south, the so called Reagan Democrats, these are now referred to as "Blue Dog" Democrats.  I have to stop here and admit that I am a Fred Thompson supporter and now a delegate for him in West Virginia's GOP Convention.  I support Senator Thompson because he is the only true conservative in this year's GOP race.  He is a Reagan triple threat conservative and can back that up with his voting and campaign records.  I also believe that he is a true state's rightist in an age where States' Rights tend to be overlooked and forgotten.  Ronald Reagan was a true state's rightists in words and deeds.  My worry is that Senator Thompson will drop out of the GOP primaries if he does not win in South Carolina.  If this is the case then the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan will be gone forever.  When I look at the other GOP candidates, I don't see anyone who can carry the torch forward for the party.  John McCain can win the general election and I like some of his fiscal policies to curve wasteful spending, however on to many issues, he has shown himself to be too moderate and a little liberal.  Some examples of these include his disregard of First Amendment rights with McCain-Feingold, his stances on immigration and gun rights.  Also he has called the Flag of the Confederacy a flag of hate not heritage.  Mike Huckabee is a decent conservative, but he raised taxes, is liberal on immigration, crime, health care and his stature as a Baptist minister will make him a easy target for the left.  Rudy Guliani is a liberal on to many social issues, but good on foreign policy.  Mit Romney is a typical Massachusetts' liberal (moderate?), he will flip flop and change positions so much, I look to make sure he is not John Kerry in disguise.  Ron Paul has some good libertarian positions but can be kind of Ross Perot-like nutty.
    My fear is that if Senator Thompson is knocked out of the race, then the party may splinter into two parts, a northern moderate party and a southern conservative party.  Don't kid yourselves, we  could end up having no set nominee at the national convention and cause the party to divide into different factions.  This would mean an easy victory in November for Hillary Clinton and we all know how that would be.  So I ask the voters of South Carolina to remember the days of Ronald Reagan and true conservatism and vote for Fred Thompson and revive his campaign and help elect the only candidate who is good for the party, but the nation and world as well.