But I think those who profess libertarian sympathies really should consider which party MOST reflects their beliefs.
Done that. Justme, the problem is that BOTH parties poorly reflect my beliefs, in practice. In this case, there's a good chance the election will pit a dishonest, government-growing, socially liberal, gun-grabbing, tax-raising New Yorker against a dishonest, government-growing, socially liberal, gun-grabbing, tax-raising New Yorker. It's not that there's
no difference between the two; it's just that there's not enough difference to make any real difference in practice.
The Republicans could own my vote, if they were actually serious about their long time fiction of cutting taxes and reducing the size of government and following the Constitution in its original intent. But they're not, haven't been for years, and in many cases around here they haven't even bothered mouthing that mantra in the past several election cycles.
The Democrats could own my vote, if they were actually serious about their long time fiction of respecting the
entire Bill of Rights. But they're not, and their attempts to make voters believe otherwise have been depressingly transparent.
As for the big-L Libertarians, they have a well deserved reputation for being either incredibly stupid or incredibly naive when selecting candidates (and when doing 'most everything else they do, too).
My vote's going to Ron Paul if I get a chance. He's a
Republican, not a Libertarian. And if he's not actually on the ballot and it comes down to a vote between two essentially identical liberal candidates, I'll write his name in and let the Republican party draw its own conclusions about why they lost my vote.
Not a dime's difference between the two front runners in either main party this time around, and I have no stomach for helping to put
either one of these evil people into the highest office in our fair land.
pax
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule -- and both commonly succeed, and are right. -- H.L. Mencken