AG writes:
I went over to visit my dad and grandmother last night, because she’s in town for a few days and we haven’t seen her in a while. Anyway, the two of them are big Republicans, and raised me that way as well. So, of course we got to talking about politics and the “war on terror” and so forth. After complaining about how the media aren’t covering the goings on in Iraq very well, such that anything good for Bush is not shown, and anything bad for Bush is shown, I dropped the bombshell: I’m not voting for Bush, I’m voting for Badnarik.
Immediate reaction: well, if you want to throw your vote away, go ahead. Why are you not voting for Bush? Do you want to see Kerry elected?
1. If you want to throw your vote away, go ahead
Thank you. The fundamental point of even limited democracy is that every individual can choose to vote as he or she pleases.
2. Why are you not voting for Bush?
Because after 3.5 years of his presidency, I have learned that I do not support his policies. His policies bear more resemblance to those of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt than Ronald Reagan. I wouldn’t vote for them either.
3. Do you want to see Kerry elected?
No, otherwise I would vote for him. However, I don’t want to see Bush elected either. Since I don’t support either one of them, I’m voting for neither.
I suspect that most Republicans who’ve never considered a third-party don’t realize how similar Bush and Kerry are, as one cannot see this clearly until one takes into account the massive differences between Bush and Badnarik and Bush and Peroutka. The fact that Badnarik and Peroutka appear so similar only highlights this vast gulf that separates both Bush and Kerry from genuinely Constitutional government.
If you support either Bush or Kerry, you do not support the U.S. Constitution. It’s that simple, and it makes no difference if we drive towards the cliff of Empire at 80 MPH or 65. (I used to say 55, but Bush has certainly stepped on the gas.) What I’m interested in hearing from pro-administration Republicans is how they believe supporting someone who is actively building larger government is going to lead to smaller government.
The evidence would seem to suggest that they don’t support smaller government or constitional govenment at all. Turning things around will not be easy and in fact may not be possible. But surely it’s not hard to understand that one will never turn around when one has no desire to do so.