Posted on 11/07/2006 7:01:57 AM PST by libertylovinactivist
Take a look at independent voters. There are more of them than before, especially in the West. More than 25 percent of Arizona voters now register as independent or third-party voters. And according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, they've shifted sharply toward the Democrats in this fall's elections.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
And yet despite all their bellicose angst and relentless self promotion, they STILL have yet to elect even ONE person to ANY office ANY where.
What Libertarian is voting for Dems? Get serious.
It's either Republicans (in my case this year), Libertarians, or stay home.
Libertarians or just dopers?
But I think the point of the article was that they are stealing away votes from Republicans. Voting Libertarian is seen by some as a protest vote.
IMHO, it will take a major uprising against existing politicians to bring a third party into strength to start winning things....but that day may come.
Despite all the negative talk about conservative christians, it looks to me like the libertarian wing of the party is a lot more likely to undo the GOP.
I just returned from a monetary conference at Hillsdale with a lot of Libertarians, and they really are angry people. I don't even want to read "Reason" mag any more. They are completely detached from reality when it comes to national security because . . . SURPRISE . . . they don't approve of nations!
If you don't want 'em, let 'em go.
Humm. Seems to me that a Libertarian who votes for a Democrat over a Republican isn't a Libertarian; they’re a moron.
And the big-spending, internationalist, pro-illegal immigrant Republican party, in conjunction with the big spending, internationalist, pro-illegal immigrant Democrat party seem to working together to change that
Conservative libertarians (me) IMHO are looking to conserve freedoms and do not understand GOP big government spending and legislation such as senior prescription drugs, NCLB, CAFTA, immigration issues, Dubai Ports ... but, most of all, we abhor not committing fully the will to win in foreign entanglements. Voting write-in or not voting at all is a way to send a message to the president that we're angry.
The Libertarian is voting Libertarian. I can see no reason for a Libertarian to vote for a Democrat.
(Opinion) Libertarians are much more toward anarchy than other conservatives, Christian or otherwise.
Agreed. How you can be a pro-self defense, pro-capitalism, pro-property Rights, pro-individualism libertarian and vote for a socialist Dem is completely beyond me.
Or course, how you can be a pro-self defense, pro-capitalism, pro-property Rights, pro-individualism libertarian and vote for a RINO socialist is entirely beyond me as well but folks like McCain and Specter keep getting nominated by the GOP.
I'm not a Libertarian and I'm not advocating voting Libertarian...my point is really just that both parties, for as much as they pretend they are diametric opposites, offer voters no real choice. I will vote Republican because I want the tax cuts extended...that's it. And it becomes harder every year to convince myself that my vote for Tweedle-Dee or Tweedle-Dum makes any real difference
Actually it does happen. I'm listening to a Delaware radio talk show, and a candidate for one of the legislative offices, who is running as an independent/libertarian was just on talking about how he is looking forward to a democrat controlled congress and State House of Representatives.
I've known the guy for years, so I know he is speaking the truth. he is also campaign manager for a candidate that is running as an independent because she lost the Dem primary for the lone congressional seat.
Say hello to the democrats with your vote. All the things you don't like about the republicans will be 10 fold worse with democrats, but you are so smart that you outsmarted yourself with your vote. Lot's of people did the same thing when they voted for Ross Perot, and we got the democrat Clinton.
This Libertarian voted for Allen in Virginia because he's actually a pretty decent senator (a lousy campaigner, though). My rep is a republican and is running unopposed.
Do your homework.
Agree. I had dinner with a couple of prof-types in April, and these people were COMPLETELY open borders. They didn't even want us to have a border.
Keep your Glock oiled and ready
Yawn. More of the same old, same old. Libertarians are disgruntled. Evangelicals are disgruntled. Yada, yada. If only we had a third party (snicker). I believe in SOME libertarian principles, I also understand the importance of building majorities to get things done. I voted for every Republican I could. Note: the Libertarian Party does NOT represent all libertarians.
You have it backwards -- the religious right is demanding too much and thereby driving away the mass of anti-Big-Government voters on which the GOP depends.
I think they've gotten dog catcher and sewer inspector in a couple of out of the way places.
And insure that the communists get into power once again. Not exactly a "Hobson's" choice as I see it.
One wonders if these idiots lock their doors at night.
IANAL-I am not a libertarian.
I find doctrinaire libertarianism a bit whacky, but if I was a dedicated Libertarian, I would vote third party. If you really hold those beliefs, it's not a matter of picking the lesser of evils.
Same thing with a communist, no I am not comparing the two. But if you genuinely believe in communism, voting for democratic style socialism would be repulsive as well. I disagree with the philosophies, but I do get a bit annoyed when folks here try to suggest that Libertarians go and vote for Chris Shays or Lincoln Chafee and they are horrible human beings if they don't.
It wouldn't have happened if we had the instant runoff ballot in place. But that would be dangerous to our beloved 2-party system; if people could actually vote for the 3rd party candidate without throwing their vote away, he might eventually even win!
Bill Masters, sheriff of Telluride County, Colorado.
Big difference between Bush and Kerry as POTUS? Supreme Court picks. Fighting the War on Terror. Tax cuts.
Not to toot Bush's horn too much. He's still entirely too liberal for my tastes. Especially on things like McCain-Feingold, No Child, and Borders.
That's why I think it would be interesting to see Chafee lose his seat, yet the Republicans keep control of the Senate.
What is the religious right demanding that's going to cost anybody a cent? I'm a social conservative, but I'm for small government, too. There's no dichotomy there. Getting rid of partial birth abortion, supporting school choice, supporting traditional marriage, etc. are free to the taxpayers. Traditional Judeo-Christian values save the government money. Fewer out of wedlock births, one man and one woman in a traditional marriage, schools that aren't liberal cesspool money pits, people who believe they are accountable to God for the way they live their lives--all of that lessens the burden on government and eliminates the need for the Nanny state. A win-win.
True, however, there at least two libertarians in the US congress that call themselves republicans - Ron Paul of Texas and Jeff Flake of Arizona.
I would just like to vote for the party that is for maintaining the security of our borders, our property, and our nation, providing a criminal justice system, and otherwise reigning in the rampant Federal agencies and the rampant budget that supports them.
Once upon a time, Republicans were that party, but most of them don't even bother to talk the talk any more, let alone walk the walk.
I will probably hold my nose and vote mostly for Republicans today...but if there was a viable Libertarian on the ticket, I'd be all for it.
Thanks a lot, GOP. [sigh]
Having the federal government get rid of all the pornography.
I agree. I cannot imagine why Libertarians would be inclined to vote for the party that introduced Socialism to America and strives to perpetuate its continuation.
The only thing that I can think of would be that Democrats are more and more secular in their thinking, and many libertarians are opposed to a conservative social agenda. I consider myself a libertarian but not a pure Ayn Rand type. Milton Friedman is my role model. Also, Barry Goldwater--kep government out of our pockets and bedrooms.
I'm not buying it. A libertarian might sit this one out, but it is hard to imagine very many true libertarians getting Dem witted.
Agreed. Seeing a re-surgance of Goldwater/Reagan-esque Republicanism would do my heart a lot of good at this point.
I agree completely. I never met a libertarian who did not come off as angry and completely self centered.
It's highly unlikely. The Republicrats learned their lesson after Ross Perot, and clamped-down on third parties. Top that with Campaign Finance Reform to make it difficult for smaller parties to raise money and there's virtually no chance except in smaller state races. Even then, the Republicrats have that "straight ticket" check box on many state ballots to make it easier to vote for just them, excluding other parties.
The only positive change I've seen over the last several years is the relaxation of state election laws due to challenges from other parties. It's still hard for other parties to get on the ballot (while the Republicrats get on automatically), but it's not quite as onerous in many places now.
Republicans and Democrats fight with each other all the time, but they will always band together to defend their duopoly.
Well, why won't the president listen? He's been compared favorably to Lincoln in many ways BUT ever hear of Simon Cameron and Hannibal Hamlin? They were Lincoln's respective Secretary of War and Vice President before Edwin Stanton and Andrew Johnson...according to Rumsfeld, he has offered resignation twice but has been turned down and, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why. Rove has got to know that he's probably the most unpopular Defense Secretary since McNamara and, if he's willing to fall on his sword for the good of the president and the country, why not let him? I recall a very good Chief of Naval Operations (Kelso) during the infamous Iowa battleship tragedy and tailhook fiasco did just that because, in his words, he became a lightening rod. I also recall that antoher CNO (Jeremy Brooda) commited suicide in the belief that he disgraced the service. Now, I'm not advocating that Rummy do the same but he was a Navy man and he should know where the buck stops when the war in Iraq is in such a mess, the war where he and the vice president claimed we'd be welcomed as heroes, the war where we had an opportunity to corral WMDs going to Syria, where we could have contained looting and the outbreaks of sectarian violence if only he'd have listened to voices such as Gen. Shenseki and committed 500,000 troops to REALLY produce "shock and awe" instead of the plainly insufficient 150,000 in his "shuck and jive" effort!
No true Libertarian or libertarian would EVER vote for an unrepentant Statist, which all Democrats are.
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