EDITORIAL - Once upon a time, I used to be a Republican - one of those Republicans that opposed the slow but steady intervention of government into the lives of the American people. I was a proud and staunch supporter of individual liberties, personal responsibility and a limited and clearly defined federal government.

Then I came to my senses. While I still strongly supported downsizing Washington D.C., I quickly began to realize that the Republican party was not prepared to accept that admittedly-daunting responsibility. The Republican party was lost, and I refused to let it bring me down with it.

And so I moved. I left. I packed up my things and split for a better land – a land that would not tie me to a set political party, with a set leadership and always on the defensive about why I belonged to a party that spends like drunken sailors drink.

Often, I'm asked if I would ever consider voting for a Republican again, and that answer is simple: once the GOP begins to embrace accountability among our government, personal responsibility among the populace and a limited federal government in Washington D.C., I will consider throwing my support back their way. But alas, I don't see that moment coming any time soon.

So how does Hillary Clinton fit into this? Most Republicans despise the Clinton family, especially Hillary, often thought of as being the true “man” of the family. They liken a Hillary presidency to the policies and the mentality of the devil himself. To many, Hillary Clinton is the personification of flat evil, of eternal darkness, and of the fiery pit of demonic tendencies, of death and of destruction.

The “anybody but Hillary” mantra is in full swing within the Republican party, at least among those who I have spoken with. Whether it be Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney, anyone, including Satan himself, would make for a better president than Hillary Clinton. To the GOP, it's largely not about their own party. It's about the other guys.

If Clinton happens to win in 2008 and takes office early the next year, the flood of emotions from the GOP will make even the fiercest hurricane look like small potatoes. The anger, hostility and fear of her looming presidency will put many in the GOP on suicide watch.

But what if a Clinton victory, while clearly stirring the emotional side of the Republican party, also works to open their eyes to how their own party, not their opponents, have failed them? What if the GOP gets so fed up that they begin to formulate a strategy to “take the country back”, as it were, led by a truly small government candidate, not simply the lesser of two evils?

A Hillary Clinton presidency could very well save the GOP from itself. The GOP needs a wakeup call, and who better to provide that call than the person whom the majority of the GOP considers the archetype of evil, death and destruction? Call it tough love if you must, but sometimes, when things get particularly dire, a swift kick to the jaw is necessary to provide the needed jolt to the heart and mind of the GOP.

If Hillary wins, the GOP has no one to blame but themselves. They continue to run big government candidates masked as Conservatives and the GOP base is getting disillusioned by the entire process. If the GOP expects to survive, the electoral process needs to once again bring a smile to the face of voters, similar to the way Ronald Reagan was able capture the hearts of the Republican party in the early 80's.

The GOP needs to stop settling for the lesser of two evils and get angry enough about the utter failures of their party, rather than masking them with excuses and tired political mantra, and once again give the GOP base a reason to vote. The past several years proves the GOP is incapable of mustering up the requisite anger themselves, so an outside influence may be necessary. That influence is Hillary Clinton.