libertarian | SmallGovTimes.com - Libertarian at heart, small government in mind

Popular wisdom seems to indicate that when votes are placed for a Libertarian or other third party candidate, that essentially counts as a vote for the Democratic contender. Unfortunately, not only is that logically untrue, it is mathematically untrue as well.

The only way to vote for a candidate is to – you guessed it – placing your vote for that candidate. Voting for a third party is not the same as voting for one of the “Big Two” political parties. The real argument is that a vote for a third party will not directly cancel out a vote for the “other” major political party. That is an accurate representation of the issue, but slaves to the two-party system refuse to accept it. The fundamental ignorance and collective lie being perpetrated by these empty talking heads stands as a perfect example of why our country has maintained the two-party abyss that we find our nation in. Advancing a purposeful untruth does not effect political reality. It never has.

Imagine a candidate who proposes a 43% cut in the military budget (yes, nearly half), an end to the wasteful War on Drugs program, an immediate stop to the never-ending War on Terrorism, believes in true Internet freedom and actually has a chance at winning the election in 2012, albeit remote. Who is this candidate? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Ron Paul.

This candidate’s name is Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and ex-Governor of New Mexico. Johnson has successfully dented Mitt Romney’s stronghold on the “other than huge government” crowd and promises to continue fighting and striving for victory. “The idea is to win,” Johnson said in an interview with the Huffington Post.

Johnson strikes me as, well, appropriately small government. The man supports an end to these costly wars overseas and might be the only major politician who does not want to bomb Iran. He supports removing the government from the business of marriage and wants the Internet to remain free of government censors. He supports repealing the Patriot Act, which he calls an “assault on privacy” and believes in a woman’s right to abort until the fetus is viable.

The real world gives Johnson next to no chance at securing victory in 2012. But then again, the real world does not make a lot of sense either. Every day, Americans break laws that they did not even know existed. Americans have become complacent and comfortable within the confines of a so-called government “safety net”. They have become content – until something jarring enough hits them hard enough to knock them out of their own little worlds. This year, it’s health care.

Johnson’s web site says 15% support in the polls gets him a podium at the debates. Let’s find out if Americans feel that sensibility in government is worth not throwing their vote away on the “big two”.