Dear Rush:

            For the first time in my life I think I’m going to go into the ballot box this November to vote for a third-party candidate for President.  I try to convince myself otherwise but I can’t do it.  Maybe McCain will convince me by November but I just can’t see how.  I agree with you that a McCain presidency would do more to harm the conservative movement and the long term interests of this country than either Obama or Clinton ever could. 

I really believe there are a substantial percentage of conservatives like me.  Some just won’t vote, others will hold their nose for and vote for McCain, many will vote for whichever libertarian runs, others will write in somebody.  I have talked to some staunch conservatives who are so upset that they will vote for Hillary or Obama just to ensure that McCain doesn’t somehow sneak through.

We need an alternative that:  a) can ensure that McCain is not elected,  b) can embarrass the queasy moderates who begat this nomination.

Think about it.  You could and would embarrass McCain by beating him in the popular vote and in most states  You would also take substantial fundraising away from McCain and severely limit his ability to get out his message.   It would only further enhance your legend status when you returned to the air in November.  (You wouldn’t have to officially announce your candidacy until late summer because of your unmatched popularity and name recognition among conservatives). 

What do you have to lose?  You’ve got everything in place already and you would only lose three months of air time at the most.   In the best case scenario conservatives would flock to you and the supporters of your independent candidacy would use your popular vote victory over McCain as a springboard for redefining and reuniting the Reagan coalition going into 2010 and 2012.

Even if you just got on the ballot in most of the Republican states it would be worthwhile.  It would be a blast for you as well.  The media would be forced to include you in the debates and you could toy with the MSN moderators like no other candidate would dare.

Finally and most importantly, a rumble between you and McCain would animate the GOP base and help blunt the damage that a McCain candidacy will surely cause in the Congressional Elections.  

Think about it.  You could announce two or three weeks before the Republican Convention and take all of the spotlight away from McCain and his attempt to redefine the Republican Party.

The Country is counting on you.   You are the only Republican who could make this work to the advantage of the party and the country.

I’ll wager that you would win Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming outright along with a few southern states.  With the amount of red states that you would be throwing to the Democrats you may even beat McCain in the Electoral College as well as the popular vote.

This isn’t crazy.  You could do it.  It would be a lot of fun and it would be a good thing for the country.