Don't waste your vote. Vote Libertarian.
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| Going to vote for the lesser of two evils? This is what you're doing. // photo my own |
With the Democratic convention concluded and the Republican convention in progress, the election cycle is in full swing, in a weird Coronavirus way. Cue the duopoly talking heads saying, "voting third party is a wasted vote".
Especially telling is when Joe Biden supporters inevitably tell me that "Voting Libertarian is a vote for Trump" while Donald Trump supporters inevitably tell me that "Voting Libertarian is a vote for Biden". Four years ago, Clinton supporters said the exact same thing, and Trump supporters were saying "Voting Libertarian is a vote for Clinton."
Does anyone in the Democratic or Republican parties have any semblance of self-awareness at all? Do they never listen to the other side talk? How can voting for Jo Jorgensen be for voting for Biden and Trump at the same time?
Obviously, it can't. They don't know which duopoly candidate I would prefer over the other (they always just assume it's their candidate) and it never seems to cross their mind that I would rather leave the ballot blank than vote for either Biden or Trump.
They're just making it up as they go along, inventing excuses for their own diaper blowout of a candidate. If they want me to vote for their party's candidate, nominate someone that isn't a complete train wreck. If Democrats would have nominated Tulsi Gabbard, I would consider ticking the Democratic ticket come November. If Republicans would have nominated Rand Paul four years ago, I would have considered ticking the Republican ticket that year (Bill Weld can go pound sand). Neither are what I consider libertarian (especially Tulsi, but Rand's departure from libertarianism, especially in that race, hurts more), but both are palatable, hold at least some libertarian values in their core messaging, and neither are contemptible human beings. They have nobody but themselves to blame for their failures.
When voting for someone for President, you are not really voting for that person to win. The state of California, where I am, will go for Biden, no matter who I vote for. Even in swing states, the likelihood that the margin is that tight for your vote to really matter hovers right around zero. Even state recounts in a medium population state vary by hundreds of votes. So what does a vote really do? It is a statement that you generally agree with the candidate and the principles they put forward. You are adding a Facebook-style Like to a candidate and in the end, they'll tally how many likes each candidate received to see which principles people have endorsed.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his long time work on expanding police powers to be tough on crime, much of it resulting in the aggressive use of police force seen today. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his refusal to sign any bill to repeal qualified immunity. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing an end to qualified immunity, an end to the war on drugs, an end to no-knock raids, and a general reduction in the size and scope of police power.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his vote for the Iraq War and his calls for the war before Bush was even in office. He has since said it was a mistake, but was that really for any principled stand, or did it just become the popular thing to do? He has since been part of an administration that expanded the war in Afghanistan, started a war in Libya, started a war in Syria, bombed Iraq after troops had already been shifted to Afghanistan, and funded the genocide in Yemen. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his record of expanding wars. While he hasn't started any new wars, has increased military presence and operations in existing wars though has recently tried to scale back the war in Afghanistan. He also nearly got us into a war with Iran, drone striking Iranian general Soleimani. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing ending all of the current wars we are in, sending the troops home, and utilizing the military for defensive purposes only.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his plans as well as his record to drastically increase spending, including doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to corporations, despite the debt spiraling out of control. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his record of increasing deficits by trillions of dollars the past few months alone. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing a return to fiscal sanity with keeping money and value in the hands of individuals, eliminate corporate welfare, while destroying regulations that decrease opportunities for the desperate and poor.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing sweeping gun bans with no real efficacious definition of what an "assault weapon" is and holding gun manufacturers liable for its products used in crimes, as ridiculous a notion as holding car manufacturers liable for the use of its cars in bank heists. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his support for red flag laws that have already been used to abuse gun rights, bump stock ban, and complicit in talks of "assault weapon" bans. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing the ability for people to defend themselves with firearms against people that would do you harm.
Does anyone in the Democratic or Republican parties have any semblance of self-awareness at all? Do they never listen to the other side talk? How can voting for Jo Jorgensen be for voting for Biden and Trump at the same time?
Obviously, it can't. They don't know which duopoly candidate I would prefer over the other (they always just assume it's their candidate) and it never seems to cross their mind that I would rather leave the ballot blank than vote for either Biden or Trump.
They're just making it up as they go along, inventing excuses for their own diaper blowout of a candidate. If they want me to vote for their party's candidate, nominate someone that isn't a complete train wreck. If Democrats would have nominated Tulsi Gabbard, I would consider ticking the Democratic ticket come November. If Republicans would have nominated Rand Paul four years ago, I would have considered ticking the Republican ticket that year (Bill Weld can go pound sand). Neither are what I consider libertarian (especially Tulsi, but Rand's departure from libertarianism, especially in that race, hurts more), but both are palatable, hold at least some libertarian values in their core messaging, and neither are contemptible human beings. They have nobody but themselves to blame for their failures.
When voting for someone for President, you are not really voting for that person to win. The state of California, where I am, will go for Biden, no matter who I vote for. Even in swing states, the likelihood that the margin is that tight for your vote to really matter hovers right around zero. Even state recounts in a medium population state vary by hundreds of votes. So what does a vote really do? It is a statement that you generally agree with the candidate and the principles they put forward. You are adding a Facebook-style Like to a candidate and in the end, they'll tally how many likes each candidate received to see which principles people have endorsed.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his long time work on expanding police powers to be tough on crime, much of it resulting in the aggressive use of police force seen today. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his refusal to sign any bill to repeal qualified immunity. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing an end to qualified immunity, an end to the war on drugs, an end to no-knock raids, and a general reduction in the size and scope of police power.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his vote for the Iraq War and his calls for the war before Bush was even in office. He has since said it was a mistake, but was that really for any principled stand, or did it just become the popular thing to do? He has since been part of an administration that expanded the war in Afghanistan, started a war in Libya, started a war in Syria, bombed Iraq after troops had already been shifted to Afghanistan, and funded the genocide in Yemen. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his record of expanding wars. While he hasn't started any new wars, has increased military presence and operations in existing wars though has recently tried to scale back the war in Afghanistan. He also nearly got us into a war with Iran, drone striking Iranian general Soleimani. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing ending all of the current wars we are in, sending the troops home, and utilizing the military for defensive purposes only.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing his plans as well as his record to drastically increase spending, including doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to corporations, despite the debt spiraling out of control. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his record of increasing deficits by trillions of dollars the past few months alone. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing a return to fiscal sanity with keeping money and value in the hands of individuals, eliminate corporate welfare, while destroying regulations that decrease opportunities for the desperate and poor.
If you vote for Biden, you are endorsing sweeping gun bans with no real efficacious definition of what an "assault weapon" is and holding gun manufacturers liable for its products used in crimes, as ridiculous a notion as holding car manufacturers liable for the use of its cars in bank heists. If you vote for Trump, you are endorsing his support for red flag laws that have already been used to abuse gun rights, bump stock ban, and complicit in talks of "assault weapon" bans. If you vote for Jorgensen, you are endorsing the ability for people to defend themselves with firearms against people that would do you harm.
How are some of Biden's stances not a complete deal-breaker for progressives with principles? Do they not care about police violence, wars, and corporate welfare anymore? How are some of Trump's stances not a complete deal-breaker for conservatives? Do they not care about wasteful government spending and gun rights anymore?
In the broader sense, Democrats and Republicans are very much alike to the point where they're nearly indistinguishable. In the areas where the media reports they vehemently disagree, they are actually quite similar. The Republicans, in the latest stimulus talks, want to increase the deficit by $1 trillion. The Democrats in the same talks, want to increase the deficit by $3 trillion. These are the only two options available? Run us off the cliff at 160mph versus run us off the cliff at 120mph? Hell no to either. In a recent podcast of System Update on The Intercept with Glenn Greenwald, he outlines a recent Congressional "debate" where war hawks from the Democrat-controlled House Armed Services Committee unanimously passed a bill with a massive military budget to continue the wars and genocides the United States is engaged in abroad, along with amendments that make it difficult for the White House to withdraw troops. The bill will likely be passed unanimously by the Republican-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee and passed on to the White House to be signed into law. Greenwald makes a great case that the media, focusing exclusively on where Democrats and Republicans are split gives a false impression to the public that these are wildly differing parties that can never agree on anything. A choice between a Democrat and a Republican are not choices in any meaningful sense of the word.
So as always, it comes back to voting for the lesser of two evils, and the two evils are much closer than anyone really recognizes. But nobody will see your vote for Biden as a vote against Trump; nobody will see your vote for Trump as a vote against Biden. They will see your vote as an endorsement of the respective candidates. If you hate Biden but less than Trump, and you vote for Biden, you are telling the Democratic National Committee, "Yes, more candidates like Biden, please!" If you hate Trump but less than Biden, and you vote for Trump, you are telling the Republican National Committee, "Yes, more candidates like Trump, please!" You wonder why the candidates get worse and worse each year? It's because you continue to endorse these people when you think they're terrible. It's because you continue to vote for the lesser of two evils, which is still voting for evil. I don't care how forcefully it is said "this election is just too important!" That is what was said four years ago and eight years ago and twelve years ago and so on. To cave in to the fear-mongering to vote for evil is throwing away your vote.
Don't throw away your vote. Vote Libertarian. Vote for Jo Jorgensen.
So as always, it comes back to voting for the lesser of two evils, and the two evils are much closer than anyone really recognizes. But nobody will see your vote for Biden as a vote against Trump; nobody will see your vote for Trump as a vote against Biden. They will see your vote as an endorsement of the respective candidates. If you hate Biden but less than Trump, and you vote for Biden, you are telling the Democratic National Committee, "Yes, more candidates like Biden, please!" If you hate Trump but less than Biden, and you vote for Trump, you are telling the Republican National Committee, "Yes, more candidates like Trump, please!" You wonder why the candidates get worse and worse each year? It's because you continue to endorse these people when you think they're terrible. It's because you continue to vote for the lesser of two evils, which is still voting for evil. I don't care how forcefully it is said "this election is just too important!" That is what was said four years ago and eight years ago and twelve years ago and so on. To cave in to the fear-mongering to vote for evil is throwing away your vote.
Don't throw away your vote. Vote Libertarian. Vote for Jo Jorgensen.
