Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Will the Libertarian Party's Candidate Swing the Election to Kerry?

No way. The Libertarian Party has outdone itself this year. I predict that its current presidential nominee -- one Michael Badnarik -- will garner fewer popular votes than any Libertarian candidate has since 1980. That year marked the party's high-water mark in presidential politics, when its nominee received 921,199 popular votes. It's been pretty much downhill since then. The second-best showing of 485,798 popular votes in 1996 was followed by 382,892 popular votes in 2000. (Stats courtesy of the LP web site.)

An article posted yesterday on The Chattanoogan.com indicates the quality of Mr. Badnarik's intellect:
The reason we can't find a relationship between the Constitution and our current government is that there is none. [Oh really, none at all, not even the three branches of the federal government?] If I can win the Libertarian nomination, there's no reason I can't win this election. [Of course, it would take an unprecedented and undetected failure of most voting machines in the United States.] We have a unique opportunity to change the world. [What an original thought!]
The article goes on to say, "Badnarik urged the national audience to reject the 'wasted vote' argument..." Right. Well, if the LP candidate in 2000 had received as many wasted votes as the LP candidate in 1996, the election probably would have gone to Gore, without the need for a long recount in Florida. If Libertarian Party members don't like Bush's "compassionate conservatism," they'd surely hate Gore's "ultra-compassionate liberalism."

Badnarik scattered a few more pearls of wisdom:
If you were in prison and faced a 50% chance of death by lethal injection, a 45% chance of the electric chair, and had a 5% chance of escape, would you vote for lethal injection because it was the most likely outcome, or would you try for escape? [What an absolutely compelling metaphor. Will it fit on a bumper sticker?] Voting Libertarian is our only chance for political survival. Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. [It may be, but if you don't choose the lesser evil, you get the greater one.]
My heart may be libertarian but my mind is Republican.