I'll be voting Libertarian...

[Dutch Uncle]

Just a note on your footer. Mattis was quoting the Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla who famously made that comment.

Thanks but what Sulla actually said was "'No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full." Yes, similar, but it just goes to prove another ancient maxim "there's nothing new under the Sun".

Modern man has been around for up to 300,000 years and modern-thinking man up to 40,000 years ago. Human beings operate within a set range of behaviors which makes them predictable as a group and, to a certain extent, as individuals. Hence the "nothing new under the Sun". I'm certain others have made statements similar to Sulla and Mattis just as others have made statements similar to Lincoln's "A house divided" (the Bible is just one source).

Wisdom and truth are still wisdom and truth regardless of the source.

 

[Trumpet]

Libertarians are a joke. There was a time when I flirted with becoming a libertarian but then realized that they are just leftists who don’t like high taxes. They really are indistinguishable from liberals.

Now that weed is pretty much legal in most places, libertarians are an after thought.

If they split the Republican vote, I'm all for them.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

I don't know, I heard this on the local news.

Notable Texas members of the Libertarian party crossed over to the Republican party to run for office, Ron and Rand Paul. Rand, of course, has bent the knee and became a full blown Trump dick sucker (TDS) Trump supporter.

Still, the principle of voting one's conscience remains the same.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

If they split the Republican vote, I'm all for them.

It'll split the Democrat vote too but I think not as much.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Then please explain to me why we have all these institutions that prevent them from doing just exactly that?

What do you mean "prevent"? They're doing it to some extent and keep eroding the Constitution to do so.

Remember Clinton's gun ban? Remember the state's that limit abortion or force women to jump through hoops to get an abortion? The push to make "marriage between a man and a woman"?

What do you think one of the first things on agenda if Biden is elected and the Senate turns blue will be? Guns? What if the WH and Congress turned red, what do you think the main agenda items will be? Abortion and gay marriage?

 

[cawacko]

Pretty much everything is racist according to anti-racism lol.

And that’s barely an exaggeration. I get that people vote 3rd party in national elections out of principle; and yes, it would be great if more people did it, but this is not the election for that.

We can lose this country based on the outcome of this election. Maybe someone can convince I’m being hyperbolic.

I think each election we hear how important it is and the future of our country depends on it etc. I vividly remember the '04 election and hearing liberals say "this is the most important election in a generation..." I think there's an argument to be made that now more than ever we need a Libertarian to step in. (I could go into why but I'm being lazy, lol)

 

[Nomad]

childish.

Says the childish Trump apologist/ass-kisser.

 

[cawacko]

I've never really understood the libertarian penchant for cutting off your nose to spite your face. You might as well vote for Biden, it'll have the same effect.

Not all Libertarians are right leaning. There are a number of left leaning civil libertarians. But I get why Libertarians continue to vote for their candidates. It's two fold to my understanding. The first is the Libertarian candidate needs to earn a certain number of votes to get on the ballot each year and ultimately the goal is to earn enough votes to stand on the main debate stage with the Republican and Democratic candidates. So for that to happen people have to vote for their candidates.

And if you think Republicans and Democrats are mismanaging the country why support them? (I'm just giving the argument here)

 

[Phantasmal]

Same to you my dear. I wish I could say that Ohio took the trash out but the truth is it was a Trump appointed Federal investigator who took the trash out.

It will be interesting to see if they overturn the law giving financial support to the Nuclear Energy coalition and give us refunds on the extra fees they added to our utility bills and end the restrictions they placed on renewable energy.

It’s good to hear some people still do their job!

Be well!

 

[Phantasmal]

Two different things here: a vote for a Libertarian Presidential candidate is a protest vote. It's main effect is to deny either major party candidate 50%+ of the vote. In comparison, a person who doesn't vote at all is a person who doesn't exist as far as the parties are concerned. It sends a message to each party "I'm here, but I not voting for you assholes."

Spoiler

If 10 voters vote with 5 for each of two candidates, the vote is split 50/50. If 10 voters vote, 4 for one, 4 for the other and 2 for a Third Party candidate then the vote is split 40, 40, 20. The winner, no matter how many votes they receive, can't break 50%.

Secondly, every American should vote their conscience. Do you really think voting for "the lesser of two evils" is voting one's conscience?

I do, I do not want Trump to be President more than anything. I have to in good conscience vote for Biden to deny Trump a second term. I could not sleep at night knowing my vote helped place him in office.

 

[Darth Omar]

I think each election we hear how important it is and the future of our country depends on it etc. I vividly remember the '04 election and hearing liberals say "this is the most important election in a generation..." I think there's an argument to be made that now more than ever we need a Libertarian to step in. (I could go into why but I'm being lazy, lol)

Show me a libertarian that stands a chance and I’m in lol.

Pro-anti-racism is a deal breaker with me though.

 

[countryboy]

Not all Libertarians are right leaning. There are a number of left leaning civil libertarians. But I get why Libertarians continue to vote for their candidates. It's two fold to my understanding. The first is the Libertarian candidate needs to earn a certain number of votes to get on the ballot each year and ultimately the goal is to earn enough votes to stand on the main debate stage with the Republican and Democratic candidates. So for that to happen people have to vote for their candidates.

And if you think Republicans and Democrats are mismanaging the country why support them? (I'm just giving the argument here)

Oh I know, which is why I often refer to libertarians as, liberal-tarians. But I still will never understand how voting for candidates with absolutely zero chance of ever winning does anyone any good. There's a reason libertarian candidates never garner widespread support.

Libertarians often defend their voting practices by saying "but I have to vote my conscience man". Really? Your conscience tells you to vote for people who can never win?

 

[jacksonsprat22]

One less vote for Biden. BTW, it's at least two less votes since I'm voting Libertarian too. This is two elections in a row where both major parties nominated candidates clearly unfit to serve. I refuse to vote for "the lesser of two evils" since it only encourages the major parties to keep doing it.

Trump is as evil as I have experienced in my life.

 

[Teflon Don]

Libertarians are actually for limited government reach, unlike Republicans
Dems are hopeless statists who will intrude in every possible area of your life they get their claws into- forget them

Buy as noted Libertarians are not ready for prime time POTUS politics.
Gary Johnson "where is Aleppo" moment shows that

I disagree. They are not for limited government. Their entire platform centered around weed and taxes.

Libertarians are a joke. No different than the Green Party

 

[Teflon Don]

exceptions to the rule. Perot had a message of fiscal responsibility. Nader a long time consumerist (populist).

What was Gary Johnson's message? or the current dweeb? nobody knows or cares

Gary Johnson is why I lost any respect for people who call themselves libertarian

He was a joke. Anyone could run as a libertarian and they would vote for them.

 

[Phantasmal]

Show me a libertarian that stands a chance and I’m in lol.

Pro-anti-racism is a deal breaker with me though.

Yes, I imagine it is. Heavens forbid you support anything that is anti racist. You finally admit your racism. This is a start.

 

[Teflon Don]

The 2 party system has failed.

I reject the argument that it's useless to vote 3rd party, and that voting that way is really a vote for candidate x or y.

I reject that argument too. You should vote Green Party

 

[BartenderElite]

I reject that argument too. You should vote Green Party

I have. The last 2 elections.

Probably won't this time, though.

 

[Minister of Truth]

I voted for Gary Johnson in '16. I would have voted for Justin Amash had he run in '20. I need to know more about Jorgensen. I saw a tweet of hers that supported the Kendi Abraham anti-racism movement which made no sense to me considering Araham would consider a fair amount of what Libertarians support as racist.

I voted Gary in 2012, but, he seemed to have cognitively declined in 2016, so, I voted Evan McMullin.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Agreed. The 1992 and 2000 elections pointed out a minor flaw in our winner-take-all voting system. I prefer a ranked system. If a ranked system was allowed in 1992, GHW Bush would have been reelected. If it had existed in 2000 Al Gore would have been elected....even though that would be unlikely if Bush had won in 1992.

I suspect that if a ranked system had existed in 2016, Trump would have won by an even larger margin since Hillary's popularity is very, very low.

If it was very, very low how comes she won the popular vote with a high turn out (by American standards)?