The media believe in "swing voting" even though it is an invalid concept, therefore Libertarians should take advantage of this belief to increase media coverage. by Ron Bain
(libertarian)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Although it's overly simplistic to assume that all Libertarians would vote Republican if the Libertarian Party didn't exist, the Libertarian candidacy of former Republican Bob Barr is the LP's best shot to demonstrate the power of "swinging" the vote.
If the Obama-McCain vote percentages are close and Barr gets even one or two percent of the popular vote, pundits analyzing the election will tell the nation that the Libertarians "swung the vote" away from Republican McCain and toward Democrat Obama.
Particularly in Barr's home state of Georgia, which is considered a Republican red state, an Obama victory will be credited loudly to Barr. The same situation could happen in other traditionally Republican states where libertarianism is strong, such as Alaska or Nevada.
If this happens, it's a guarantee of media coverage for our 2012 candidate because those same pundits will speculate endlessly about, "Will the Libertarians steal the election from (insert name) this time?"
Never mind that elections don't "belong" to one party or the other. Never mind that the whole concept of "swing voting" buys into the limited two-party view of politics. Never mind that most journalists are too limited in their thinking to ever understand libertarianism.
Not only will the concept of "swing voting" bring more media attention to Libertarian candidates up and down the roster, it will bring pressure to bear on Republicans and Democrats to consider implementing some of our platform planks.
Fear that some day Libertarians will be victorious or "change" the predicted outcome of elections will force entrenched politicians to end wars, lower taxes, cut subsidies, legalize marijuana or make some other concession to libertarian thought.
This is how third parties traditionally exert power and influence policy without winning elections. How do you think American socialists and communists managed to get all the major points of the Communist Manifesto implemented by Congress? Libertarians will have to use the same strategy - fear of losing elections, fear of revolution - to reverse the communists' policies, point by point.
By convincing the Republicans and Democrats to implement our platform for us because of their fear that we will win elections or take victories away from one party or the other, we ultimately win without winning.
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 You are sadly missinformed. The Libertarian party does have a platform that continues to express a strong desire for individual liberties. The Libertarian Platform address issues such as abortion, national deffense, personal privacy (which includes the kanguage "We favor the repeal of all laws creating "crimes" without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes).
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I do not know where you or how you came to your conclusion about the party lacking a well thought out platform but I suggest you read the platform first and comment second
I already voted for Barr. McCain has my state in the bag. I'm ticked off at Republicans and won't vote for another for a while. McCain is so far ahead in my state that my vote wouldn't have helped him anyway, nor would a vote for Obama help him because all of our electors go to the candidate that wins my state. I voted for Barr thinking that the more votes Libertarians get, the more strategists from both major parties will be thinking about how to lure these voters in the future. Less war, smaller government, better drug laws, these are some of the things I hope to see the major parties considering in the future. Will a voting for Barr help make that happen? Who knows? All I know is that a vote for McCain or Obama in my state would have been wasted. My vote for Barr has a better chance of "meaning something" than a vote for either of the major candidates.Â
NOTHING will be credited to Bob Barr NO MATTER what happens. And, your suppositions that Barr could get 1% of the vote makes me laugh. He'll be lucky to get 1/2 that!
Nobody follows Libertarians, or any of those "alternative" parties. They're really just people who can't make it in the mainstream, so they go out on tangents to the left and the right on various issues. Even if ONE should somehow, someday be elected, they could never rule because they would have NO ONE else in their party to vote with them. The Republicans and Democrats would just snuff him out.
Join the mainstream if you really want to participate. Otherwise, you're just whistling in the wind.
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