Along the Way…

Archive for the ‘Election’ Category

I have never voted for a Republican or a Democrat in any of the Presidential elections in which I’ve voted. I was hoping for the opportunity to break this trend, when Ron Paul was actively campaigning. Unfortunately, though not unexpected, we are not so blessed as to be given such an option this year.

There are two primary reasons that I refuse to vote for either John McCain or Barack Obama:

• Clear Conscience: I would much rather be able to say “I told you so,” than “I’m sorry,” in six months when we are sorry about the President we have. So far, in my two decades of voting, I have never cast a vote that I regret; I don’t want to cheapen the value of my vote by merely predicting a winner.
• Null is a Value: It is not true that not voting means nothing. Especially if you vote for other elections on the same day, but abstain from the Presidential election, a null vote for President (or, better yet, a conscientious vote for a third party) sends a message about the candidates on the ballot.

Here’s a really good, albeit brief, explanation of the value of a null vote, by Lew Rockwell:

The Only Choice on November 4th

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.

The critical problem we face today is the same one all mankind has faced: the state, those monopolists who claim the right to break the laws that they make and enforce. How to restrain them is the critical problem of all sound political thinking. Making matters worse, this gang now has a monopoly on the money and the ability to print it, and they are abusing that power at our expense.

How does voting change the situation? Neither of the candidates for president wants to do anything about the problem. On the contrary, they want to make it worse. This is for a reason. The state owns the “democratic process” as surely as it owns the Departments of Labor and Defense and uses it in ways that benefit the state and no one else.

On the other hand, we do have the freedom not to vote. No one has yet drafted us into the voting booth. I suggest that we exercise this right not to participate. It is one of the few rights we have left. Nonparticipation sends a message that we no longer believe in the racket they have cooked up for us, and we want no part of it.

You might say that this is ineffective. But what effect does voting have? It gives them what they need most: a mandate. Nonparticipation helps deny that to them. It makes them, just on the margin, a bit more fearful that they are ruling us without our consent. This is all to the good. The government should fear the people. Not voting is a good beginning toward instilling that fear.

This year especially there is no lesser of two evils. There is socialism or fascism. The true American spirit should guide every voter to have no part of either.

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. is president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and editor of LewRockwell.com.

Have you ever seen those “Man on the Street” interviews that Jay Leno does on The Tonight Show? The ones where he’ll ask some random person where Canada is, and he’ll get a blank stare…? Well, here’s the same sort of thing, only with people who say they’re going to vote for Obama!