I rarely venture out into politics, but recently I've just been annoyed at the number of things that are just being done wrong. For the longest time, I'd chock these things up as a symptom of Hanlon's Razor, but recently I've been wondering if something more was at play.
Anyways, today m favorite candidate (who is no longer directly in the race) recently held a conference and put out a statement I'd like to point out here. I quote the relevant parts below, but it's worth reading the message itself to get the full effect.
Quote One:
The system we have today allows a President to be elected by as little as 32% of the American people, with half of those merely voting for the “lesser of two evilsâ€. Therefore, as little as 16% actually vote for a president. No wonder when things go wrong, anger explodes. A recent poll shows that 60% of the American people are not happy with the two major candidates this year.----
The two parties and their candidates have no real disagreements on foreign policy, monetary policy, privacy issues, or the welfare state. They both are willing to abuse the Rule of Law and ignore constitutional restraint on Executive Powers. Neither major party champions free markets and private-property ownership.
Just for example, the current approval rating for President Bush has a 64% disapproval rating, giving him only a 32% approval rating (with 4% unsure). That means that despite a 64% disapproval, he would stand a good chance of getting re-elected if a 3rd term was allowed.
Quote Two:
This system is driven by the conviction that only a major party candidate can win. Voters become convinced that any other vote is a “wasted†vote. It’s time for that conclusion to be challenged and to recognize that the only way not to waste one’s vote is to reject the two establishment candidates and join the majority, once called silent, and allow the voices of the people to be heard.
And finally, my favorite, part, the action plan:
Since a principled non-voter sends a message, we must count them and recognize the message they are sending as well. The non-voters need to hold their own “election†by starting a “League of Non-voters†and explain their principled reasons for opting out of this charade of the presidential elective process. They just might get a bigger membership than anyone would guess.Write-in votes should not be discouraged, but the electoral officials must be held accountable and make sure the votes are counted. But one must not be naïve and believe that under today’s circumstances one has a chance of accomplishing much by a write-in campaign.
The strongest message can be sent by rejecting the two-party system, which in reality is a one-party system with no possible chance for the changes to occur which are necessary to solve our economic and foreign policy problems. This can be accomplished by voting for one of the non-establishment principled candidates - Baldwin, Barr, McKinney, Nader, and possibly others. (listed alphabetically)
Yes, these individuals do have strong philosophic disagreements on various issues, but they all stand for challenging the status quo - those special interest who control our federal government. And because of this, on the big issues of war, civil liberties, deficits, and the Federal Reserve they have much in common. 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.
I haven't picked out who I will vote for yet, but I am now convinced it won't be for Obama of McCain.
Link 1: Ron Paul's Statement
Link 2: We Agree