Tomorrow is not going to be a particularly good day for those who love freedom and desire individual liberty. Either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, both collectivists hostile to the principles of freedom and liberty will be elected President, an office that comes closer and closer to a despot every year.
But just because both candidates are losers worthy of scorn and ridicule doesn’t mean there aren’t a few semi-realistic occurrences that we can root for. I will be watching election coverage tomorrow, while hoping for the following outcomes.
1. A respectable showing by Gary Johnson. I voted for Gary Johnson. No, he is not perfect, but he’s as close to Ron Paul as we’re probably ever going to get. I would like to see him do well. In a similar way, the libertarian party as a whole is far from perfect, but I would like to see it do well. The Johnson campaign has been advertising that if Gary receives greater than 5% of the vote, it will mean matching funds and greater ballot access for the LP in future elections. I have not researched this, but if true, that would absolutely be positive news.
2. Low turnout. The voter turnout numbers are not discussed very loudly by the mainstream media, and for good reasons. The media has become the fourth branch of government, and as such, works very hard to perpetuate the myth that the American government is absolutely perfect and benevolent and totally representative of what the population wants and desires. The powers that be want you to believe that “we are the government” and that it’s totally within our power to change everything and make it great. So, they are reluctant to report the fact that quite a few people don’t vote. According to Wikipedia, voter turnout has been between 50-60% in most recent presidential elections (we actually went under 50% in 1996). The fewer people who actually vote, the less of a case these state-apologists have. If only 50% of the public votes, and the winner receives less than 50% of the vote, then that means less than one of every four Americans actually voted for the President. Hardly a “popular mandate.”
3. Partisan gridlock. Largely ignorant members of the general public often decry “partisan politics.” In pathetic displays of populism, various candidates for various offices promise to promote bipartisanship. Of course, those of us who want less government understand that gridlock is desireable. Two different parties occupying different branches of the government, thus preventing the government from “getting anything done,” is absolutely a good thing. If Romney wins, root for the Democrats to keep the Senate. If Obama wins, root for the Republicans to take the senate. In any case, single-party rule is the worst possible outcome. I want a “do-nothing Congress” that refuses to support the President’s agenda, and a power-mad President who refuses to go along with anything Congress proposes. Let them spend all their time battling each other, and they will have less time to battle the public.
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About Dude Where's My Freedom?
My name's Matt and I love Freedom.
Dude, Where's My Freedom? 
What To Root For On Election Night
But just because both candidates are losers worthy of scorn and ridicule doesn’t mean there aren’t a few semi-realistic occurrences that we can root for. I will be watching election coverage tomorrow, while hoping for the following outcomes.
1. A respectable showing by Gary Johnson. I voted for Gary Johnson. No, he is not perfect, but he’s as close to Ron Paul as we’re probably ever going to get. I would like to see him do well. In a similar way, the libertarian party as a whole is far from perfect, but I would like to see it do well. The Johnson campaign has been advertising that if Gary receives greater than 5% of the vote, it will mean matching funds and greater ballot access for the LP in future elections. I have not researched this, but if true, that would absolutely be positive news.
2. Low turnout. The voter turnout numbers are not discussed very loudly by the mainstream media, and for good reasons. The media has become the fourth branch of government, and as such, works very hard to perpetuate the myth that the American government is absolutely perfect and benevolent and totally representative of what the population wants and desires. The powers that be want you to believe that “we are the government” and that it’s totally within our power to change everything and make it great. So, they are reluctant to report the fact that quite a few people don’t vote. According to Wikipedia, voter turnout has been between 50-60% in most recent presidential elections (we actually went under 50% in 1996). The fewer people who actually vote, the less of a case these state-apologists have. If only 50% of the public votes, and the winner receives less than 50% of the vote, then that means less than one of every four Americans actually voted for the President. Hardly a “popular mandate.”
3. Partisan gridlock. Largely ignorant members of the general public often decry “partisan politics.” In pathetic displays of populism, various candidates for various offices promise to promote bipartisanship. Of course, those of us who want less government understand that gridlock is desireable. Two different parties occupying different branches of the government, thus preventing the government from “getting anything done,” is absolutely a good thing. If Romney wins, root for the Democrats to keep the Senate. If Obama wins, root for the Republicans to take the senate. In any case, single-party rule is the worst possible outcome. I want a “do-nothing Congress” that refuses to support the President’s agenda, and a power-mad President who refuses to go along with anything Congress proposes. Let them spend all their time battling each other, and they will have less time to battle the public.
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About Dude Where's My Freedom?
My name's Matt and I love Freedom.