The Votes Are Not In
May 19th 2008 08:22 pm
I seldom remember my dreams, but I had a doozy of a nightmare last night. I dreamt the Libertarian candidate for president actually got elected, then proceeded to raise taxes, escalate the war, increase the power of the federal Department of Education, and make the IRS regulations more incomprehensible.
I have been having a spirited online conversation with a young friend over whether it is more important to nominate Libertarian candidates who adhere to strict Libertarian principles, or who are more moderate and can appeal to a broader range of voters.
This young friend has also suggested I write about my criteria for deciding whom I will vote for at the upcoming Libertarian National Convention.
I lay the responsibility for my nightmare squarely at his feet.
The fact is, I don’t know whom I will vote for yet. No, really, I don’t.
I admit I will be looking carefully at how the candidates present themselves. As shallow as that looks to me even as I type it, I know I don’t have to apologize for it. I suspect that’s what a large percentage of the American voters do, and presentation is just background for any serious candidate. So I will be looking for a presidential candidate who looks, well, presidential.
Fundamentalist Libertarians running for office have sometimes had the bad sense to conduct their campaigns along the lines of, “Let me tell you how wrong your views are and why mine are right. And let me start out with the Libertarian principles you disagree with the most.” That is fatal to any campaign.
So I guess I’ll be looking for a candidate who will approach the voters with, “Let me show you how Libertarian ideals will help you and your family, how an LP president will help make your life safer and more prosperous. Here’s how the War on Drugs, the War on Poverty, the War on Terror, the War on Crime have failed the American people, and here’s the LP approach instead.”
There is one area in which I will expect my candidate to be a fundamentalist — the Constitution. I will expect anyone I vote for to be willing to veto any legislation that pushes us any further away from the Constitution than we already are. I don’t expect to eliminate the federal Department of Education next February, but I would expect an LP president not to let it get any bigger.
I don’t want my nightmare to become reality.
I don’t know whom I will vote for yet. No, really, I don’t.