Last summer, in the Republican primary to fill Michigan's vacant 19th state Senate seat, we raised a ruckus by dropping leaflets in the district exposing the outrageous RINO record of the the Michigan GOP's chosen one for the seat, former state representative Mike Nofs. More ruckus was raised when our Common Sense in Government organization (formerly the New Patriot Revolution) "educated" grass roots GOP activists about Nofs at the recent Mackinac Island party conference.

I'm no Sarah Palin, but given Nofs' voting record I have to wonder whether sending the Republican Party establishment over the deep end by seeking his defeat in a general election is worth considering.

After all, I'm a political Independent, and indifferent to which party wins so long as the victor upholds the limited government principles of Common Sense in Government. There are four candidates in this race, and the best candidates most likely are not either of the mainstream party candidates.

The fact that this decision requires some thought indicates just how far Michigan's Republican Party has strayed from the principles they profess to their grass roots supporters - but increasingly are betrayed by lawmakers with "R" after their names.

My sincere hope is that if he wins next Tuesday, we see a new Mike Nofs -- not the one who kow-tows to the unions or the one who voted to spend most of that big tax increase from two years ago.

We're not naive here at Common Sense in Government. If we can get a majority of lawmakers who are afraid to do the wrong thing, that's a lot better than just having a tiny handful of really good ones who genuinely want to do the right thing. Maybe we can add Mike Nofs to that majority who, with pressure from you, will do the right thing.