What is the liberty minded person of conscience to do about voting for president? The hard core anarchists say to not vote at all as a protest, whilst the pragmatic person says to vote for Romney or we get another four years of you-know-who.
I'm puzzled.
What is the right message to send with my vote? In reality, my effort counts but little, but there is still a personal principle to consider. I have to do the right thing, regardless of the marginal utility of the action.
This is over-thinking the problem, but I see four options for the person who believes in small government, in order of intensity:
1. Stay home and arrange the sock drawer - Don't show up, and thereby send a message that we won't be dupes of the system which produces such horrible candidates, instead of principled ones.
2. Show up at the polling place, look around contemptuously, shake the dust off of your feet, and return home - this option avoids the allegation of apathy, and preserves the principle of disdain for the establishment insider choices they give us to rule over us.
3. Vote for Ron Paul - A wasted vote, which sends a message that their favored cronies are no good, any of 'em.
4. Vote for Mittens Romney - This is not necessarily an evil thing, although for some it would be unthinkable. However, many persons of integrity will vote for the Mittster, knowing full well he is a Lizard Person, because the alternative is to re-elect the usurping, despotic, plundering, criminal tyrant.
Each of these positions has their adherents, who go on in wordy articles about how it is the only principled stand, and anyone who would do otherwise is a traitor, a fool, or a worm.
I'm still puzzled.
