Okay, so the 2012 election has come and gone, and once again, we were faced with the ultimate choice of....
What has he done for us... Lets see, he's a democrat, and we all know that democrats stand for civil liberties, equality and big government....
Well, after the NDAA, I guess the civil liberties part is something that is more lip service than actual practice... Equality... well I guess you could say that eventually we will all end up equally unemployed.
Which leaves... big government... A new war heating up, our troops pulled out of Iraq, yeah, um wait... why are they headed to Afghanistan?, but that's ending next year... and then i guess they'll be headed to Libya or Iran....
And of course OBAMACARE.... Thanks for spreading coverage to everyone equally, but spending as little as possible, so that everyone gets equally shitty health coverage...
But there was an alternative, right?
We also had this idiot,...
I mean this guy wouldn't take on something so huge and inefficient as a government run health care... wait, I forgot, Obamacare was based on his state level template... hmmm.
But he's a republican, so that means small government, fiscally conservative leading... And yet, the debates seemed (as usual) to consist of the two of them trying to promise to outspend each other on medicare, the military, cough, buying our votes, cough cough...
But I have to make a choice, right?
I have to choose between the two...
Right?
Okay, let's dispense with the bullshit and simply face the facts... There isn't very much difference between the two parties, or their two "leaders" anymore, republicans and democrats have become more alike than different for the last few decades to the point where I really can't tell the difference.
Fiscal conservatives, spending like it's going out of style,
Civil liberties, tossed to one side or the other in the name of national security.
So how do they differ? Abortion? Gay Marriage? Taxes?
I don't see the first two as having any place in public debate, unless you finally admit to the Government having control over your body and your behavior, and yet, it's a main sticking point.
The third?
Do we tax the wealthy and depress job growth, or do we give corporate welfare a free reign?(remember, when it's folks who can't find a job, it's either a voting blocks right, or it's a shameful blight on our society. Yet bailing out private multibillion dollar screw ups is somehow less shameful? Forget demonizing a single mom on welfare, howzabout the white collar million dollar tax brackets who get bonuses for a job that the government had to bail out of bankruptcy...)
But the devils in the details, and they are so politicized that it's hard to really know which version of the lie to swallow.
And yes, I know, cutting spending more than we make would be fiscally responsible, or not increasing spending each year, cutting back by half of that increase and claiming it's a cut, or any of the other bullshit tricks to make it seem like they are doing anything but spending our money like a college kid with his first credit card.
But lets ignore the obvious problems with both candidates, and follow up with the usual voting criteria.
Which one is gonna screw up the least?
Yep, once again, we have to choose between the lesser of evils...
But, what other choice do I have...
Not voting?
At this point in the election cycle, you will hear about third party candidates... Yeah, but they never get elected.
Well, of course not, dummy, because nobody votes for them.
This is the point I normally flip a coin and go, yep, that one... Which is a manner of selection that is only partially more enjoyable than enduring a 30 minute, clamp my cramped body over a toilet, oh dear GOD why the hell did I buy Taco Bell again??? interlude of chemical warfare with anyone who might drift in the direct vicinity of the bathroom.
Or is it Biological warfare?
Who cares.
Anyway, third party votes are a wasted vote...
But on a lark, lets just see what this doomed campaign is saying.
You can hunt the major media outlets, and with good search skills, you'll be deluged with one or two very short articles about how this or that third party cannot possibly get elected.
But wait.... This is the internet.... And it's not just for porn anymore (at least not until the swelling goes down), you can actually look up relevant material!
Isn't technology amazing?
So I find this guy.
Two term Governor, okay, veto record, okay, libertarian....
Oh man, I simply cannot vote for those assholes that always used to camp out at the entrance to the DMV when i was a kid and bitch and moan and tell me the sky is falling because of new world order fiat economy...
It's bad enough I have to wait for half the month for DMV to take notice. I purposely shut my brain off in my preparation for visiting here, why the hell should I turn it on for the political equivalent of a free E-Meter reading from the local cult of Scientology every time I wanna go shopping...
But I do my thing, I browse a little, looking at youtube links, bunches of ads (isn't it ironic that you have to wait five seconds to skip a Obamney add so that you can watch a Johnson Ad on youtube?) and debating on simply searching for a Gif collection video or the lastest Epic Rap battle of History, when you recognize the screen capture of one of the libertarian labeled video and there, I SHIT YOU NOT, is Penn... You know, Penn and Teller?
Wait? Is he on a news show?
Okay, I welcome my new crack addiction, libertarian guests on everything from CNN to FOX to online interview web channels, to clips from all manner of media.
The weird part is, a libertarian is not a libertarian, unless he's... well, you have Anarcho Captialists, Classic Liberalism, Civil Libertarians, Fiscal, Geo, and even Neolibertarianism, and the list goes on...
Okay, this got too complicated. Found a cliff notes version and read up on the main versions...
Much in the way that the "christian" label encompasses everything from Mormon to Baptist to Roman Catholic, all of which differ in many ways, but fall under the same banner, it seems that Libertarians also seem to encompass a wild and varied variety of fruits nuts and vegetables....
But which one am I?
Okay, so as far as I can gather, If I'm in a bad mood, Anarcho Capitalist tends to float my boat, but for the most part, I fall under the heading of Classic Liberalism... Sort of...
Okay, so the various labels really mean nothing, except as a sort of self identifying, err, label.
Who the hell is this Johnson guy, I mean, I know who Ron Paul is, hell, I was praying that his grass roots efforts would force a brokered convention and put many of the issues he brings up to the table...
Yeah... When the "anointed" candidate can pick and choose who gets to vote in the convention, it's pretty much a hearty "fuck you" to almost half of the republican base, so I guess it's no wonder why so many of the die hard republicans either voted for third party, wrote in Ron Paul, or simply abstained from voting the presidential ticket...
Congratulations Romney, the nomination was so important that you couldn't hear another viewpoint from Ron Paul supporters that you managed to alienate enough of your OWN BASE to ensure that you would loose the election....
There should be some kind of political Darwin award to give you....
Ahem,
So I start watching the videos of Johnson speaking at colleges, answering questions and dressing, well, jeans, a casual jacket, and a black tee shirt with a peace symbol on the chest...
Yeah... It's either obvious, or the guy really sees that as his public image...
But hell, if I vote for a guy like that, and yes, I found myself agreeing on damn near everything he stumped, Legalized Weed/cutting the war on drugs, ending the wars overseas and bringing our troops home instead of simply shuffling them to another war zone, taking gay marriage, abortion, and all the other issues that rightfully belong with a person and their loved ones or doctor and NOT in the public forum of political debate.
For example, if Marriage is a constitutionally protected form, than why the hell shouldn't gay or lesbian couples have the same protected rights as everyone, well, they should.
Why is the government in the process of dictating what is a very personal and often very traumatic choice between a woman and her doctor.
What business is it of government to make these kinds of choices...
Well, he said it isn't...
And I yelled at my computer, "Fucking A, none of their damned business."
Which brought a nervous barking attack from my suddenly awakened dog who gave me a stern look and left the room.
But not before she farted, and I had to walk away for a half hour...
But I'm tangenting....
I'm not sure about the Fair Tax idea, it sounds good, but there is a lot of things that I'd have to research to make up my mind, but even so...
I saw a REAL alternative to Romney and Obama...
If only he could get elected.
After all, if the CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and major network anchors all say that a third party cannot win, then why bother...
Why waste my vote?
Then I began thinking, you know... I've voted for the lesser of evils, or I've voted against candidates for so long, I don't recall every voting for a candidate.
Is Gary Johnson perfect, nah. Read his Reddit AMAs, he's not perfect, but who could be.
Is he honest?
I think he might be. And I'm a guy who sees a politician and immediately things.... whore...
After all, isn't politics considered the second oldest profession, because it bears such a striking resemblance to the first?
So, this past week, I wasted my vote. I threw my vote away, I voted for someone who could never get elected...
And yet, I don't feel like that at all. I feel suprisingly happy about voting for Johnson and Judge Gray.
Because, in the end, instead of trying to think of how my vote would affect the political landscape, or how it would have a real world effect, for the first time in several decades, I voted for who I thought I could believe in.
Before I voted, I explained my choice to the wife, (who normally votes republican) and she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and went on a long, and colorful language inflected tirade on how much she dislike Romney, how he was about as much a conservative as my left testicle (I couldn't say what she said, it was much worse), and that after letting her read up a bit on Johnson, she decided to vote for him instead.
Then a few other members of my family, not all, but a few, who were going to vote either against Romney or against Obama.
Instead, they voted for Gary Johnson...
And we all didn't feel that frustrating edge afterwards, that tinge of heavy sadness of being forced to choose between two candidates who were easier to tell apart by their physical appearance than by the content of their campaigns...
We voted our conscience.
So, thanks, Gary Johnson, and please, run again in 2016, and thanks also to Ron Paul, for forcing us to pay attention to what is happening to our country and our political system.
And to all those who voted for the lesser of evils, or voted against a candidate, yeah, mebbe I wasted my vote. But for the first time in nearly my whole adult life, I'm proud of the fact I voted.
Because I voted my conscience.
Seer....
