You’re Not For McCain or Obama, Who Do You Vote For?

For a Libertarian such as myself, Presidential election season is a frustrating time. I don’t agree with many of McCain’s positions and I agree even less with Obama’s. I’m not even a big fan of Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate. So who will I vote for? Here’s a quick analysis of my three options.

1. Don’t vote. This is not really an option, but I want to address it because so many people don’t vote. Ever go to a Revolutionary War battle re-enactment or watch one on TV? It’s a great experience. Our citizen soldiers lined up to walk head-on into a hail of gunfire, in part so their descendants would have the ability to choose their own leaders – a concept that was new to Europeans. Those men believed they could make a difference — and they did! The odds were against them, yet they prevailed. Voting is not simply a right but a responsibility. Our country was founded on the idea of a government “by the people, for the people,” but if you don’t vote – if you don’t believe your vote can make a difference – you’re not living up to your responsibility as a citizen of the United States of America. And you have no right to complain about the state of our nation.

2. Vote for the lesser of two evils. If you feel McCain or Obama will make this country a better place to live, then by all means vote for one of them. But I wouldn’t vote for either major party candidate just because one of them is sure to win, or because I wanted to vote against the other candidate. That’s a mistake. When you cast your vote, you’re saying “I support this candidate and his policies.” Don’t take that lightly.

3. Vote for a third-party candidate or write-in a candidate. The odds are against any third-party candidate winning, but is a third-party vote a wasted vote? No! If enough people vote third party, elected officials will take notice. Voter data is heavily analyzed and if every Independent voted for what they believed in it would send a message to the government, the special interests that control the government, the media, and the “lesser of two evil” voters… a message that says “We, the people, want to try another way.” Slowly (and on a lower governmental level at first) things could change.

Ron Paul, who got my vote in the primary election, says it best in this statement:

People will waste their vote in voting for the lesser of two evils. That can’t be stopped overnight, but for us to have an impact we must maximize the total votes of those rejecting the two major candidates.

For me, though, my advice – for what it’s worth – is to vote! Reject the two candidates who demand perpetuation of the status quo and pick one of the alternatives that you have the greatest affinity to, based on the other issues.

A huge vote for those running on principle will be a lot more valuable by sending a message that we’ve had enough and want real change than wasting one’s vote on a supposed lesser of two evils.