CDR: Re: Parties

[Tim May]

At 11:16 AM -0700 10/27/00, Eric Murray wrote:
>On Fri, Oct 27, 2000 at 12:54:39PM -0500, Carskadden, Rush wrote:
>>  Eric,
>>       Yeah, there is the Libertarian party, and they get a lot of electoral
>>  votes. In fact, I think that our next president will be Harry Browne. Our
>>  work is done. Let's go get a drink.
>>       Seriously, what we are discussing here is the feasibility of
>>  establishing a credible power base for a third party. I don't think (and
>>  maybe you disagree with me here) that the Libertarian party has achieved
>>  this at all. I don't think that the current Libertarian party CAN establish
>>  this kind of voter confidence. The current presidential candidate for the
>>  Libertarian party, Harry Browne, has done little to gain voter enthusiasm
>>  with such bold and impractical claims as the statement that his first action
>>  in office would be granting executive pardon to drug offenders.
>
>Well, that gets my vote!
>
>Why should I vote for someone who doesn't stand for what I beleive
>in just because the media says that they're "not electable"?
>That's the kind of loser attitude that's gotten us a contest
>that'll assuredly elect either an idiot (Bush) or a fool (Gore).
>Unfortunately Americans are more interested in voting for a "winner"
>than they are in voting their concious.

I assume you mean "conscience," though many voters are indeed close 
to unconscious.

Anyway, where did you ever get the idea that voting is about "conscience"?

A vote is a chance to minimize damage, financial or in terms of 
freedoms, as far as I'm concerned. Voting has never been about 
"voting for the best man." It's been about evaluating the 
alternatives, estimating the rewards, payoffs, costs, and then voting.

Needless to say, any single person's vote is hardly worth spending 4 
minutes evaluating the issues.

(Beware the logical fallacy of "If _everyone_ thought that way..." 
What one person actually does in the voting booth will affect no 
other person. This is separable from what people may say on 
television that they plan to do, or say here, etc.)



--Tim May
-- 
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