12 years ago I had to explain to the libertarian running for congress for my district that if he pulled the 5% as expected he would be responsible for returning to congress the deciding vote that passed the assault weapon ban. I promised him that if that happened, despite my strong libertarian leanings and sympathies, I would dedicate my efforts to ending the libertarian party as a functional political group in my state. I was not alone in my views. Nor was I the only one to share them. In the end, he, a good and honorable man, made a very hard choice and threw his support to the republican and asked that people not vote for him. It greatly damaged his standing with his party, and he still polled about 2%, but we unseated the democrat and started the ripple through the government that opposing the 2nd amendment can come at a high price.
I have thought about that conversation many times. I am not sure that I did the “right” thing in helping to convince him to withdraw. I am sure that I would do so again. I mention this to illustrate that I, as you, take seriously the decision not to support your party’s candidate.
I wish that the libertarian were a viable choice. That alone would move all 3 parties to the right. The unfortunate fact is that Barr can not win, all he can do is tip a few key swing states to Obama.
Libertarians, ask yourselves if you’d rather have McCain or Obama because that is your only choice. You can’t win the presidency with out becoming a viable 3rd party. That means you need to WIN a some seats in the house and senate and a few governorships first. Is making a political statement, that the media will completely ignore, worth 4 or 8 years of an Obama presidency? I fail to see how you can responsibly answer yes.
