Anybody reading this blog knows I’m a left-leaning libertarian and that, despite my contributions to and primary-election support for Barack Obama, I’ve now abandoned him because of his post-primary decisions to support FISA and conditionally embrace Bush’s faith-based initiatives. And because — as much as I like and admire him — he is a textbook tax-and-spend liberal.
Because I’ll be traveling on election day, I went the mail-in route for the first time. Nearly two weeks ago, I filled out all but the presidential slot on the ballots. I had been waiting for the local elections office to post so-called authorized write-in candidates for the presidential post.
Although Bob Barr is running on the Libertarian Party ticket, I couldn’t vote for him because of this. McCain and his monumentally dysfunctional GOP are a non-starter.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered here that Ron Paul was recognized in California as a presidential candidate. Ron Paul, although on paper a Republican, has been one of the most consistent advocates of smaller government, the elimination of government waste, and hewing to core Constitutional definitions for governance.
I am thrilled that this long and distasteful presidential campaign has ended in a triumph of personal ideology for me. I didn’t have to hold my nose to cast that vote. I didn’t have to agonize over personalities, my disgust with both major parties, or social calculus related to the opportunities or damage either candidate could wreak in the coming administration.
I don’t believe in voting for the lesser of two evils. I don’t believe in wasting my precious right to vote on people who don’t meet the simplest ideological litmus test for responsible and limited government. And I certainly don’t believe in reinforcing America’s bland, homogeneous 2-party system.
So, Ron Paul, congratulations. And thanks, by your involvement, for giving me election peace at last.