Dave Easterly’s Bravo Sierra Blog

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My thoughts on “wasted” or “protest” votes and candidate endorsements

(I initially wrote this as a response to someone who was considering voting for McCain instead of voting their conscience. But since I have posted anything for a long time I thought I would also put it here…)

A vote for the lesser of evils is still choosing evil over good.
Especially when there are non-evil options from which we can choose.
I will follow the advice of John Adams and vote my principles even if
I vote alone much like a certain congressman we all admire. I
completely understand the fear of a vote for principle being “wasted”
but are we any better or worse off with either demopublican? By
accepting the “You’re wasting your vote” mentality it is tantamount to
surrendering to BOTH parties’ stranglehold on the nation and our
system of government. If we keep caving at the last minute and keep
accepting what we are told to accept by those that would set
themselves up as our masters then we will never free ourselves from
the yoke of subservience and the message of “government is the servant
of its people and not the other way around” will NEVER be more than it
is today – a small group of “radicals” marginalized by the
establishment and the corporate media. This may well be the (much
deserved) death knell of the neocon controlled republican party and
the opportunity for Liberty minded parties to rise to fill the void
left in the wake of the rotting elephant corpse that once was the
party of principled men of honor and intellect like Robert A Taft and
Barry Goldwater but today only offers candidates like the Bushes (1
and 2), McCain & Palin, Larry Craig, and Stephen Hartgen. Neither the
left nor the right wings of this vulture that is destroying the
country I love has any real principles and therefore neither has
earned my vote. I don’t want anything I have not earned, yet they (on
both sides of the demopublican monopoly) have adopted an entitlement
mentality when it comes to our votes. I say NO MORE and never again.
The most valuable thing we have as citizens is our vote and I will
treat it as a thing precious and not squander it on anyone other than
the most deserving of candidates. I respect concerns about moral
issues but the bottom line is that when we abandon principle and
choose lessers of evils over good it is only THEN that we have wasted
our vote.

If you want to know who I’m voting for for president, I will say that there isn’t anyone on the ballot with whom I 100% agree, but I will vote for the one who most closely matches the philosophy of limited government, individual liberty, civil rights, and personal accountability. So you know who I’m NOT voting – either of the demopublicans. Believe it or not, I’m actually still undecided between Barr and Baldwin… Baldwin is too much of a theocrat for me and deep down I suspect Barr is still really a neocon in Libertarian’s clothing but either one is INFINITELY better than McCain or Obama. I respect Nader and McKinney for their principled positions but I cannot in good conscience vote for either one of them because I see their view of the proper role of government as not in line with our Constitution (just like McCain and Obama).
I am also opposing the demopublicans for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Wide Stance, and voting for Dr. Rex Rammell, a conservative independent. No way am I voting for neocon Risch or big government liberal lobbyist LaRocco in that race!
For US Congress I will write in Gregory Nemitz, a principled Constitutionalist conservative who ran in the Republican Primary against neocon Mike “Wall Street’s Sellout and Bailout Congressman” Simpson.
Locally, if I could vote in Legislative District 23, I would vote for anyone BUT neocon liberty-hater Stephen Hartgen. Democrat Mike Ihler isn’t a perfect choice, but he’s far better than Hartgen. For LD 23, I would support Jim Patrick over Peter Rickards, but only narrowly. I actually respect Rickards for his highly principled positions but Jim Patrick is the better choice for our future economic development. The one man for LD 23 I can say that I 110% unequivocally support for re-election is cattle rancher and statesman Bert Brackett. LD 23 is lucky to have Bert representing them in Boise and I hope someday he might represent us in Washington, DC because we need more men of his principles on the Potomac.

Since I live in LD 24, I will cast my ballot for a principled and upstanding lady, Sharon Block. Sharon hasn’t always dazzled me with her grip on all the issues before the state legislature, but she HAS always proved willing to listen and has demonstrated genuine small-government principles, supports our state’s educators and children, and is a good choice for the people of LD 24.
Chuck Coiner (state Senator), who I would like to see replaced with a better fiscal conservative, is running unopposed, as is Leon Smith (state Congressman). Not much choice there…
Both our county commissioners are also running unopposed, and they have done a good job in difficult economic times and should stay in office, especially Terry Kramer.
Wayne Tousley’s irresponsible budget mishandling and his ineffective administration needs to end. For that reason I am supporting Tom Carter for Sheriff.

So… that’s my candidate endorsement list if anyone cares.