Voting Philosophy: Part 1

(In order to avoid inflicting a huge ridiculous post that no one will read in its entirety explaining my voting philosophy, I'm going to be posting over a few days exactly why I vote the way I do and why I will not be voting for Obama or Romney in the next election. If you just want the outright explanation, wait another day or so. I'll get there. I promise.)

A good friend of mine who works for the Tax Foundation and whom I met through a summer internship in Washington posted something political on his wall. He explained why he would be voting for the libertarian ticket in November, and why he thinks other people should as well. Seeing as the fellowship we both attended was sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies and is an organization dedicated to the spread of free market ideas, libertarian philosophy, and principles of classical liberal thought, this was unsurprising. Seeing as I (occasionally) write in a blog called "The Sane Libertarian," it was unsurprising that I would share such views and plan to vote for Gary Johnson and Jim Gray.

However, I have gotten a good deal of response to that posting, both on my Facebook wall, through messages from friends, and even from some family members. Several of them wonder how I could, in this MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL ELECTIONS (at least that is the consensus), vote for anyone but their favored candidate. It is utterly unconscionable to many that I could "waste" my vote and support someone who will obviously not win this election. What is worse, though, is the idea that I could not use my vote to help stop the evil of whatever party they are opposed to.

Since I get this argument from both sides, and friends on both sides have asked why I am voting the way I am, I have decided to lay out some of my voting philosophy here. I will also explain why I will vote for neither Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, nor any other candidates the Democrats or Republicans nominate any time soon.

My First Presidential Election

I turned 18 in 2001 and just missed taking part in the epic, game-changing election of 2000. It was the first year I became truly aware of politics, and it couldn't have been a more exciting time. Book after book analyzing the election where Al Gore lost to George W. Bush in a court case convinced me how important every vote truly is. If an election can turn on a single state and come down to a handful of votes in a single county, and then those votes can be accepted or rejected by the highest courts, then truly it matters whether every person votes.

In 2004, then, i was ready. I was in my final year of college having majored in government and philosophy, so I was more well-read on the subject. I knew the ins and outs of the electoral college, and I knew the importance of researching my candidates. I read everything I could get my hands on to learn what Bush and Kerry were all about.

I read Bush's biography and thought he sounded like a decent person in a tough job. I thought Kerry was a bit out of touch with the everyman, but that his intelligence would serve him well. I hated many of the policies Bush had pursued in the aftermath of his wars, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the compromises that had been made when it came to our civil liberties. But then, I thought Kerry would do no better. Foreign policy was the topic du jour, and I truly believed that Kerry couldn't handle the job.

So I voted to reelect President Bush.

(Cue the shaming now.)

For the next four years, I had to live with that decision. Every time President Bush passed another policy that abrogated human rights, every time he gaffed it up and diminished our international reputation, every time he backed legislation like No Child Left Behind, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, I cringed. But I also felt responsible. I had placed my name, my vote, my integrity behind this man. I had been one of the millions who gave him the power to do these things. All because I believed Kerry would have been worse.

I still believe that to be true. As painful as parts of Bush's presidency were, I truly believe that a Kerry/Edwards administration would have been besieged by worse decisions, scandals, and corruption.

But I had to admit to voting to keep in power someone I did not believe in. I voted for a man who was willing to compromise on the integrity of our Constitution in the name of Homeland Security. I voted for a man who expanded the power and spending of the federal government, even as he called himself a compassionate conservative. I voted for someone I was already disappointed in just to keep someone else out of office.

And I regretted that vote.