This is an opinion column.

In a live radio segment, Huntsville radio host Dale Jackson asked me whether I could vote for Hershel Walker in spite of credible reports about his past relationships, personal behavior, and not-so-pro-life decisions. The question made me think. Is the worst Republican still better than a Democrat?

Walker is a hell of a running back, but his lack of character has proven a significant distraction in the Georgia Senate race. He is correct in claiming that Democrats hope to keep the conversation about his personal life instead of inflation, immigration, and fuel prices. On the other hand, it’s his behavior and choices enabling them to do just that.

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If a politician hasn’t made a series of mistakes and learned from them, they’re not the best candidate to represent my family. I don’t need to hold my elected representatives on a moral pedestal, but I shouldn’t be constantly excusing poor choices and behavior either. Thankfully, most Republican politicians are within the range of normal. Their representation of Americans around the country is neither scandalous nor bizarre.

Then there are folks like Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar who made a weird anime video of himself killing a Democratic member of Congress. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has argued, “Bill Gates wants you to eat this fake meat that grows in a ‘peach tree dish’ so you’ll probably get a little zap inside your body that’ll say ‘No, don’t eat a real cheeseburger, you need to eat the fake burger.’” Retiring Rep. Louie Ghomert notes, “If you’re a Republican, you can’t even lie to Congress or lie to an FBI agent or they’re coming after you.”

These are just a few of the eye-roll-inducing episodes from Republicans that leave conservatives either scratching their heads or explaining.

As a columnist who does a lot of talking, I understand that anyone can rhetorically fumble. I’m fairly certain Ghomert understands that lying to Congress and the FBI is a crime. At some point, the cumulative impact of such behaviors and comments removes the common excuse of “that’s not what he/she meant.”

Like Senator Mitch McConnell or not, he’s a senator in the range of normal who has come to Walker’s defense. The reason is clear: Walker is one more vote in the Republican column who would make McConnell majority leader once again. McConnell’s approach is pure power politics. If Republicans want to advance any sort of agenda, they need the votes in the Senate. Right now the best option to do that in Georgia is to support Walker.

Power politics rejects the view that the issues we care about might take more than one election to accomplish. Politics is a long-term game filled with people who have short-term memories. Republicans must build governing majorities that can both respond to voters’ immediate concerns and endure multiple election cycles. To do that, successful candidates need the disposition and capacity to navigate both Washington, D.C. and a media minefield.

Oddly, Jackson’s question for me wasn’t about whether I could vote for Walker’s Democratic opponent. He knows I’m not a Democrat. When it comes to Congress, I don’t share the Democratic party’s view of the government as a social and economic engineering tool. Quite the opposite, I see the government’s purpose as maximizing individual liberty in the context of an ordered society. McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are much more aligned with my views than Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

That doesn’t mean I’ll always back the Republican candidates on the ballot in November.

I’ve been asked a question similar to Jackson’s when my vote was actually on the line. Failed Senate candidate Roy Moore didn’t earn my vote. It wasn’t all the allegations of misconduct that turned me away from his candidacy. I’d seen from his judicial career that he didn’t respect the rule of law when he didn’t agree with the outcome. Friends and politicians pressured me by arguing America’s future rested on Moore’s electoral success.

It didn’t.

I’m quite happy with the Supreme Court’s makeup in spite of former Senator Doug Jones’s brief tenure in office. The Affordable Care Act is gutted on a number of fronts. Moore’s vote wouldn’t have made a difference in America’s fiscal trajectory because majorities of both parties borrow and spend with reckless abandon. Now, Sen. Tommy Tuberville is in office, and he’s proven to be an effective, level-headed senator for the state.

I don’t hold my nose and vote. Virtues such as honesty and humility matter to me. If a candidate like Walker can tell the truth, clear the air, and explain how he’s changed, I’d consider him. People make mistakes. Some of them are rough. On the other hand, I’m not interested in an ongoing clown show excusing boorish behavior because Democrats use it as an electoral tool.

Asking whether the “worst” Republican is better than the “best” Democrat isn’t a useful hypothetical. It’s never actually on the ballot. I’m just not voting for a creep who shares my policy views or an excellent candidate who doesn’t.

Smith is a recovering political attorney with four boys, two dogs, and an extremely patient wife. He engages media, business, and policy through the Triptych Foundation and Triptych Media. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.