Matt aptly summarizes below why I’ll be voting for the libertarian cadidate, despite the sisyphean absurdity of voting and the fact that the libertarian candidate is a honking bozo. But why not embrace the absurd, embrace democracy, and run a balls-to-the-wall if-you-have-libertarian-bone-your-goddamn-body-then-vote-for-Michael “Atrophied Felons” Badnarik campaign until the election!
Now, it’s true, I had promised my friend Anna to vote for Kerry if she would buy me a sandwich. Well, Anna, I don’t want your dirty sandwich! (And people wonder why Brazil is corrupt.) I want Michael Freaking Badnarik. Or at least the tiny sick thrill, like throwing pebbles at the IRS, that voting for Badnarik will surely provide. I want the constitution class, damn it!
Under the circumstances, it’s no wonder the GOP feels free to take the libertarian vote for granted — it doesn’t appear to exist. This may be because libertarians are, in fact, only a miniscule proportion of the population who just happen to be disproportionately represented in the Beltway policy community and the academy. Alternatively, it may be because the libertarian love of the cynical, anti-political pose prevents them from engaging in any sort of constructive political action. I continue to think that the best way for libertarians to advance the small-government cause over the long haul would be to try and convince the GOP leadership that the “miniscule proportion” theory is wrong by voting for Michael Badnarik. Thus, much as I would welcome a Stuart Benjamin vote for John Kerry, I think libertarians should pull the lever for the LP, the well-known problems with the LP and Barnarik notwithstanding. If Bush loses to Kerry and the LP gets a historically large share of the vote (not a hard hurdle to clear) then the GOP will hear the message that they need to pay more attention to the small government vote.
I don’t think libertarian efforts will matter one damn bit. But, for heaven’s sake, if you’re going to vote throw your vote away!
Hey, Ohio! Be on the lookout for reasons why YOU should vote for Michael Badnarik in 2004!
We can think later about how we libertarians, no longer cynical and cooler-than-thou, can fight much, much harder in the exciting 2008 primaries. If not Certified Friend of Liberty Jeb Bush, then who?
Will Wilkinson 