I heard about Blake Ashby on a local newscast talking about the Republicans who are challenging Bush for the Party's nomination and googled each of 'em to learn more.   Relative to the other candidates running, Ashby's platform is the most serious and has the most appeal for me.

From his Why I Am Running page:

My name is Blake Ashby, and I am running for president. Why? Because it is time for moderate republicans to stand up for the traditional GOP values of individual freedom, limited government and fiscal restraint.

I am committed to free markets and free trade -- and firmly opposed to unfunded mandates and bloated budgets.

These used to be the core values of our party -- and the well spring of economic growth. We saw this not just as good fiscal policy but as a moral obligation, an act of stewardship. This ensured the excesses of one generation would not be visited on the next. Yet this administration has abandoned these economic values for short-term political gain.

I am running because the extreme social conservatives are taking over this party-and it is time for freedom-loving moderates to take it back.

The Republican Party was born into the cause of individual liberty, and with my commitment to economic freedom, constitutional rights and limited government, I am prepared to challenge this administration’s intrusive, heavy-handed approach to the challenges facing our great nation.

Pretty cool.   Ashby sounds like he's mostly a red-blooded libertarian.   He's got an interesting stance on the War on Terror -- he believes we haven't used ENOUGH force and is in some ways far more classically Jacksonian than even I like to consider myself.   I'm sufficiently attracted towards his stance on government spending that I'm willing to give him the best airtime I've got - a blog entry  ;-).   Consider this my protest vote towards Bush's domestic policy.

---

UPDATE - I decided to put my money where my mouth is and donated a few bucks to Ashby's campaign. Fingers crossed ;-)

---