Why Are You Throwing Your Vote Away?, by Edward Dunnigan

Special to TLE

Another election looms large and once again I find myself in the unenviable position of having to suffer the slings and arrows of the truly ignorant. I have never made a secret of my contempt for the two 'major' political parties. Yet for some reason, this election I seem to have run into a greater than usual number of people that look askance at me when I declare that I will be voting for neither Bush nor Gore. Upon my revealing that I am voting for Harry Browne of the Libertarian Party, I am asked by the incredulous individual, "Why are you throwing your vote away?" This is usually followed by diatribes of how I am simply facilitating Al Gore's rise to the presidency.

Of course, when I attempt to explain my reasons, I end up facing the only effective weapon that the intellectually bankrupt have in their arsenal, volume. Regardless of how effectively I cite my reasons, I cannot compete with the hysterical screeching of a true believer. So in the interest of preserving what little hearing I have left, here are my reasons in writing.

I am not voting for Al Gore or any other Democrat. There are a multitude of reasons why, but the most important reason is the simplest one: Bill Clinton. He is a power hungry, hedonistic, dishonest, craven, criminal that has used The Constitution and The Bill of Rights for toilet paper. When this sorry excuse for a man approved the largest (and unconstitutional) tax increase in the history of this nation, Al and the gang were deathly quiet. When he was discovered to be cheating on his wife, the Democrats circled the wagons and made excuses for him. Ruby Ridge? Waco? Elian Gonzalez? The Democrats thought nothing of murdering a few citizens or condemning an innocent child to life under a despot.

What makes Al Gore culpable in all of this is the fact that he led the silent choir. He had a golden opportunity to be a real man and stand up for decency and honesty. Instead he groveled at Bill's feet and mewled out praise for Billy Jeff's courage during the periods of 'adversity'.

With this kind of background, is it any surprise that he chose a woman to teach him how to be an alpha male?

On the other hand, the Republicans are far worse. At least the Dems are obvious about their dishonesty. The Republicans are more insidious. They beat their collective chests about preserving the Constitution and defending The Bill of Rights. Yet, a little investigation into recent history tells another tale.

Starting with Bush the Elder, we see that his 'War on Drugs" has been a sham from day one. The only accomplishment of that reckless campaign was the gutting of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to The Constitution (if you don't know, LOOK IT UP!!) Then we have his "Assault Weapons Import Ban". Having little effect on crime, all that this misguided effort served to do was to lay the groundwork for the likes of Charles Schumer and Diane Feinstein to run roughshod over the Second Amendment.

Several years later, after Billy Jeff had free reign over the nation for a couple of years, we had the so-called "Republican Revolution". The Republicans took both legislative houses, promising to keep Clinton in check, and restore the teeth to The Constitution. There were lofty declarations about rolling back taxes, revising the tax code, balancing the budget, and protecting our right to keep and bear arms. No sooner had the dust settled when the old line Republicans promptly turned on the newcomers and attempted to force them to "toe the party line". The end result of the Republicans takeover of the legislation was; a half hearted attempt at balancing the budget, some drivel about school prayer, a lot of noise regarding flag burning, and (my pet peeve) MORE GUN CONTROL.

The 96 election isn't even worth mentioning.

So that brings us to the present. George W. Bush rides in on the wave of name recognition and smirks his way to the nomination (" I'm George Bush, Vote for me because I'm not Al Gore"). Most infuriating of all is that Alan Keyes, the most rational, honest and up front individual that the Republicans had running for the nomination was completely ignored, by both the media, and his own party. Admittedly, his stance on mandatory national service frightened me, but he stood head and shoulders above the flotsam and jetsam that surrounded him during the debates.

To those that still don't get it, I'll make it simple. There is no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Both of them want to accumulate and centralize power. Neither of them have any intention of rolling back government infringement on our Constitutional rights. Both will work towards ultimately disarming us.

If the Libertarians divert votes away from 'W', and cause Gore to become president, I consider that a good thing. Once Gore begins his campaign to eliminate the internal combustion engine, electricity, and private ownership of firearms, perhaps then the citizenry will snap out of their collective stupor and start participating in their government again.

In response to those people that still insist that I'm throwing my vote away; I am voting for the candidate that is most aligned with my beliefs. If you vote for a candidate simply because you think he will win, or because your voting against the candidate from the opposing party, I have to ask;

Why are you throwing your vote away?

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