Here’s the argument I had with my wife, a centrist moderate Gore republicrat.
As a Libertarian, I plan to vote for Harry Browne, since he is pro-choice and fiscally very conservative.
My wife says why not vote Al Gore. He is pro-Choice, but most likely there will be a Republican congress to keep his spending in check.
She has a good point. But if I vote for Gore, I feel that I am falling into the trap of voting for someone to keep the other guy out of office, even though I really would prefer Harry Browne to get my vote.
It honestly matters where you live. If your in Texas or NY or whatever, go with Browne. If your in a Battleground state you may want to consider changing to Gore or even vote trading (Browne trading doesn’t work).
Just skip the national election for a second.
Who do you want for local offices?
Now, ask yourself, since you trust these people to represent you, who are they probably voting for?
There’s your answer in good conscience.
I’m a libertarian. I do not plan on voting for Gore due to the fact that I agree with him on maybe one or two issues, and even then, probably for different reasons. There’s a vast difference between the spending Gore would do as President and the spending Browne would do as President. Plus, there are principles to be considered. I say, vote your conscience, not for someone who might be prevented by Congress from fucking things up too much.
Do not vote for Gore (or Bush for that matter) if you are a Libertarian.
If you want the Libertarian Party to continue, we need to have all Libertarians step up to the plate and let the Demopublicans know we are here and growing in rank.
Yes, if you vote for Gore then please do not call yourself a Libertarian and you are a sellout.
If you are into government intrusion into your lives, then by all means vote for Gore. If you disagree with tactics of this nature then please vote for Browne. Abortion should not be the sole issue with which you make a presidential candidate vote.
I can not stand all of the people who claim that any vote for anyone other than Dem or Rep means your vote doesn’t count. Since those 2 groups have thoroughly convinced the majority of America of this fallacy, then we shall never see a third party win (self-fulfilling prophecy).
IMO, vote for who you want to be the president. Period. If your guy doesn’t win, it (should be) because a majority of Americans truly felt otherwise. But, when we have citizens who vote someone else “out,” then we don’t truly have a winner, but the lesser of two evils.
Whn you vote you are voting for someone to represent you in government. You should vote for the person that is closest to your ideal canidate. Any other vote is a wasted vote because your ideals are not being represented. I pay no attention to tracking polls, opinion polls, or the status quo. I am a free thinker and vote for my ideals not someone elses.
I’m not sure that it makes you a sellout, but it does tend to taint you in some way.
One of the most popular and recognizable governors in the country (Jesse Ventura) was elected by garnering the 34% necessary to win in a three way race. If a significant portion of the people that voted for Jesse had been afraid that their vote was wasted… well, you get the picture.
Vote your conscience. You may not back the winner but you will have made your voice heard. And during the next election cycle, if a few more people vote their conscience…
I’m not sure that it makes you a sellout, but it does tend to taint you in some way.
One of the most popular and recognizable governors in the country (Jesse Ventura) was elected by garnering the 34% necessary to win in a three way race. If a significant portion of the people that voted for Jesse had been afraid that their vote was wasted… well, you get the picture.
Vote your conscience. You may not back the winner but you will have made your voice heard. And during the next election cycle, if a few more people vote their conscience…
One more point no one has mentioned. If you really want to keep spending down, vote in a Libertarian President. Hasn’t your wife learned yet that the other two parties can’t be trusted to keep a check on each other?
My two cents: Unless you’re literally selling your vote for cash, you’re not selling out.
As a voter, you are an active participant in the mechanics of government through your vote. Voting “your conscience” is not the point in and of itself; the point to democracy is that the common man(woman) has an active say. How you choose to exercise your voice is irrelevant, to my mind, providing that in doing so you are consciously trying to perform, on some level, a civic good.
If you decide the best thing for you to do is to vote for a candidate you dislike to prevent a candidate you REALLY dislike, that’s a perfectly valid decision. Or you might choose the candidate you like even if he can’t win because you feel your support will somehow perform a civic good (e.g. helping to legitimize that party, or third parties in general) and that’s fine too. The marginal benefit tradeoff is up to YOU as a voter to decide, but whichever you choose is based on your honest assessment of what’s right, so they’re both 100% valid, moral-wise.
As long as you make an honest and informed choice and vote the way you think is best, you are doing what’s right.
Actually, I changed my mind. I live in Pennsylvania, where Al trails Dummy-ya by 3 points. I just can’t bear the thought of that idiot being our next President (just my opinion).
Here’s how it goes:
If the polls show Gore within 5 points of Bush, I vote for Al Gore, and the local Republican congressional candidate (there is no Libertarian House candidate on the ballot).
My wife, in turn will vote for the state Libertarian Senatorial candidate (John Featherman), and at least 1 more Libertarian state chandidate.
This way, I will help elect Gore, protecting the pro-choice movement. I will help elect a Republican house member (trust me the Democrat in my district is a moron and a liar, and has no shot), helping to keep Gore’s spending sprees more in check.
The Libertarians get 2 EXTRA votes in the state races. My wife benefits because both Rick Santorum and Ron Klink, the Senate candidate are pro-Life.
If the race were not so close, I wouldnt even think of doing this. Instead of 3 Libertarian votes, we get 5 this way.
Having been a Libertarian for almost 40 years, I usually vote Libertarian when one is running. But there have been exceptions: when one candidate really scares the hell out of me, I’ll vote for the person most likely to beat him. And no, I don’t consider this selling out, I consider this a preemptive strike against insanity.
I think that any candidate who is significantly supported by the religious right, such as George W. Bush, has got to be stopped at all cost. If that group gets in power some very major freedoms are going to get tossed aside, and I will do anything to prevent this, even vote for Al Gore.
If Gore continues the policies of the past eight years, it certainly won’t be the end of the world. But if Dubbya wins the election and puts a few of his cronies on the Supreme Court, it could set this country back for a very long time.