Don’t waste your vote on Mitt Romney. A single vote will not change the outcome of the election, and even if it did, libertarians and anyone who believes in freedom shouldn’t be excited at the prospect of a Romney victory in November. Libertarians should stick to their principles and vote for Gary Johnson.
Conservatives recycle the same argument: a vote for Johnson is a vote for Obama. But you choosing between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney won’t determine which man wins. Prominent Statistician Nate Silver from The New York Times did the math and discovered that the odds of a single vote affecting a presidential election outcome hover around 1 in 60 million. That’s not compelling motivation to participate in the civic process.
Probability aside, libertarians shouldn’t vote for Romney because he will never give voice to our ideas if he wins. Conservatives struggle to make a case for Romney. The tagline has become: “We can’t afford four more years of Obama.” But what evidence suggests a Romney Administration would be any different?
During his one term as governor of Massachusetts, Romney expanded the welfare state, failed to balance the state budget, and passed the precursor to ObamaCare. He grew the size of government with so few positive results that he couldn’t even garner support from the electorate to seek a second term.
He promises to deliver more of the same failed policies from recent presidents— bloated defense spending and involvement in needless foreign wars. Obama’s disaster in Libya will pale in comparison to Romney’s disasters in Iran and Syria. Domestic spending will continue at unsustainable levels and entitlement programs will remain largely unreformed. Debt levels will skyrocket further. Realistically, there will be only minor differences between the two administrations.
Even if Romney is the lesser of two evils, libertarians can do better. Americans are conditioned to accept a two-party system, but with both parties failing to satisfy the wants of the voters, shaking up the system may be the best solution. A vote for Mitt Romney perpetuates the broken system. It won’t be fixed in 2012, but political movements take time to foment. Using your vote to show dissatisfaction with the candidates has more impact than voting for either one. If Johnson gets 2 percent this year and 5 percent in 2016, which would give the Libertarian Party “major party status,” this growing movement would force the Republicans to include libertarian ideas in the party platform. If libertarians wish to be taken seriously, they must demand it.
Johnson actually deserves our vote. He has twice as much executive experience as Romney, spending two terms as governor of New Mexico. Johnson is the only candidate willing to take a position on issues such as the failed war on drugs, the hopelessly ineffective TSA, and ending indefinite detainment of American citizens. Never flip-flopping, Johnson represents libertarian views without shame or apology.
Candidates should earn the votes of the people. As an intelligent, rational voter, it is your responsibility to make an informed decision. Mitt Romney is unacceptable. Even diehard Republicans should flinch at the notion of electing someone so devoid of principles and real ideas.