As a Libertarian, I hear a lot of things from a lot of people.  Some people are very supportive, and some people are not.  I also get a lot of feedback from people regarding my voting for Bob Barr.  I've talked about the idea that many people have that it's a "throw away vote" before.  What's interesting is that I hear that a lot from people who are inclined to vote for Bob Barr themselves.  The irony is that if all those people would actually vote their conscience, then it wouldn't be a throw away vote anymore, and would have a real effect on the election.

The other refrain I often times hear is, "That's fine, but not this election. There is too much at stake this time around."  The problem with that, is that I hear that every damn election!  Every time the consequences are so dire it seems, that if we choose wrong the world will end.  I don't buy it.  I've talked ad nauseum about how similar McCain and Obama really are.  I think both candidates will take this country in the wrong direction.  However, I also don't think either candidate will be a suicide pill for this country.  But just because they won't kill us, doesn't mean they won't do harm.  The only real difference is the method of harm they choose, and the area in which they choose to inflict it.

But maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe Obama actually will institute forced abortions for all women, or John McCain might really be a Manchurian candidate who is going to nuke Iran as soon as he gets into office.  The problem is, if this election really is that damn important, everyone who has said that every time has by now lost all credibility.  You've cried wolf too many times, and frankly, I'm sick of it.  Instead, I think the "this election is too important" refrain is really just another method that party diehards use to trick people into making a false choice between two bad candidates.

I will admit quite openly here, that I'm harder on Republicans than I am on Democrats.  There was a time, in college, when I actually self identified as a Republican.  I'll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor now.  Even then, the Republicans in office didn't follow the Republican ideal that I learned from my mother, who supported Barry Goldwater.  Yet I believed.  But it became quite clear as I read more in the news, about economics, and foreign policy, and particularly about history, that Republicans of today don't come anywhere near to the ideal that so many people of their own voters believe in.  Even when Barry Goldwater ran for President, he was a dark horse in the party.  To hear people talk today, you'd almost think that he was the norm.  He was in fact, a failed Republican revolutionary who was trying to bring people back to their roots, which after his failed run turned more liberal.  Republicans continue to move further and further to the left, so that they are becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between Democrats.

Democrats on the other hand are doing what they've always done for the last 70+ years.  They are pushing more and more social programs through government fiat as they can.  Their goals and methods haven't changed much.  I certainly disagree with them, but at least they've stuck to message and kept reasonably true to their own platform.  Republicans on the other hand seem to have no such allegiance to their voters.  That is much worse.  Certainly there are people who think they can change the system from within, but I think we're past that.  We've been trying that for a long time, will little effect.  As long as Republicans who disrespect their own platform get voted in, they will continue to do so.  The only way to change the party, is for them to get their asses handed to them by the voters, and stop rewarding bad behavior.  There's no guarantee it will work, but it's the only medicine that has a chance.

By the same token, I refuse to vote for Obama as a protest vote against McCain.  That's simply stupid.  That vote will not be seen as a protest.  Instead, I will be counted as one of the many adoring fans which would give him more of a "mandate to lead", whatever that means.  No, the only way for my vote to mean anything, is to actually vote for a candidate who stands for my beliefs.  Does that mean it is more likely that Obama will win?  Absolutely.  And yes, that will mean a Congress and White House that are both Democratic, which is probably one of the worst possible outcomes.  But it won't kill us.  And even under the first years of Bill Clinton, federal spending was more restrained under total Democratic control than it was under the first years of Bush under total Republican control.  And while a McCain win for the White House will be a short term Rebpuclian victory, it will be a major loss in the longer war for smaller government ideals.  Republicans need to start thinking longer term about the direction of their party, instead of constantly thinking about just the next election, which always leads to supporting the same old candidates.

I hope and pray that as a result of total Democratic control for a couple years, that Republicans will truly examine themselves, kick out their leadership, and come back with new stronger candidates who actually believe in small government.  Republicans like this one running in North Carolina.  If they don't, then I hope and pray that more Republicans will reject their party for the power hungry behemoth that it is.  Libertarians will only benefit as a result.  There is too much at stake here.  There is too much at stake to vote against someone instead of for someone.