The political process in the US is broken.
On the left, we have a young, inexperienced black man with wide appeal who brought in an old white dude to give himself credibility. On the right, we have an old white dude with credibility who brought in a (somewhat) young, inexperienced woman to give himself wider appeal. The left has the black vote, so the right upstages it with a shot at the female vote. I don’t buy into the Obama hype machine, and I’m especially not going to vote for him with Joe Biden behind him. I’m not thrilled with McCain, but I’m especially not going to vote for him with Sarah Palin behind him.
Does either side care about the best candidate anymore? Not from where I’m standing. It’s about who is the most electable candidate. It’s not about taking care of the country, it’s about keeping the party in power. And they both fuel the myth that there are only two parties in this country, which, sadly, the media perpetuates.
To Hell with them both. I’m voting for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party.
Not (just) because I want to spite the other two parties, but because I can vote for him without feeling like I’m choosing the lesser of two evils. Because I can vote for him without having to “hold my nose” and pull the lever for Candidate X, as one of my friends recently put it. Because I happen to agree with Barr on many issues, and because a third party is the real change I can believe in.
I’ve heard the usual arguments against this: I’m throwing away my vote; I’m splitting the vote in favor of one side or the other; the electoral college will never place a vote for a third party; blah, blah, blah.
That may be true for the moment, but I think that’s changing. Ventura got Minnesota on a third party ticket. The last Illinois election for governor landed the Green Party more votes than any third party in the state’s history. I think people are becoming more and more disillusioned with the current bi-partisan system and are looking for alternatives, and the Internet has finally given them a way to find those alternatives.
If you honestly like Obama or McCain, then fine, by all means, vote for them. If you don’t like either one of them, then please, don’t flip a coin or just stay home, do some research and pick the candidate who is right for you.
For me, again, that candidate is Bob Barr.
on Sep 1st, 2008 at 7:24 pm
I will stay out of the political debate, for the most part, but I will say that I was one of those people who sent my vote to the Green Party last year. When both of the major candidates suck, what else is there to do but look for alternatives, after all?
on Sep 1st, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I voted Green, too. Can’t stand Blago, and Topinka would have been Ryan Redux.
on Sep 2nd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Hype and politics aside, what do you want from your candidate?
on Sep 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am
I like someone who’s not afraid to break from their party line and who will make an effort to produce real answers instead of mealy-mouthed bullshit. One of the things that first got my attention with Barr is he broke from the Republican party. I agree with some Republican viewpoints, and I agree with some Democrat viewpoints, but I disagree with a lot from both sides.
on Sep 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Isn’t an organized libertarian party an oxymoron? So what draws you to the libertarian position? Legalized pot? More guns? Polygamy/pedophilia? Anti-semitism? Maybe the hatred for the public school system or the interstate highways?
on Sep 3rd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
It’s not so much the Libertarian position as it is this particular Libertarian candidate. I half wonder if he’s running as Libertarian because it’s easier than running as an independent, and the Libertarians like him because of his stance on privacy.
on Sep 4th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Probably – a marriage of convenience. He’s a better choioce than Ron Paul – who says that Lincoln was wrong for fighting the Civil War.
on Sep 4th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Agreed. Barr’s far and away better than the last Libertarian candidate who, if memory serves, was a 2nd grade teacher.
on Sep 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
The little square add with his picture disturbs me. I think he’s leering at me.
Maybe it’s the glasses. Someone should have told him that style is “sexy librarian” not “doomed candidate.
on Sep 9th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I couldn’t agree more, bro. Not with your candidate choice, but with your approach. If EVERYONE would vote for the best candidate instead of voting for “their” party, this fucking party system could die the slow death it deserves.
GoBama! -Mikey-