He found himself "quickly check[ing]" Ron Paul's name on his absentee ballot before making his daughter a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:
I cast my vote for the only candidate who spent his entire public career standing athwart history yelling "stop" to an ever-expanding centralized state. While Romney was distancing himself from Ronald Reagan, Paul was fighting with Republicans to balance the budget for the first time in a generation. While Santorum was supporting an unprecedented expansion of entitlement spending, Paul was warning of a great recession that would be caused by government interference in the housing market. And while Gingrich was talking about how he would build up the federal government to push his conservative agenda, Congressman Paul spent all his waking hours focused on dismembering that big government beast. It was the first "protest" vote I’ve ever cast, and it felt … well, it felt good. … Do I think a Ron Paul presidency is ever possible? No, I don’t. But I do want some of the Pauline virtues of candor and non-poll-tested conviction to play a larger role in our politics. So now I’ve cast my protest vote. It felt good.
I guess Joe and I have more in common than I imagined. But I think he perfectly captures Paul's appeal to those of us in the "alienated conservative" camp.
The Dish 