So I registered Libertarian today

[Non_Comformist]

As I posted earlier I have become increasingly interested in the Libertarian party as of late. Today I filled out my voter registration card and decided to register as a Libertarian. I still have some issues I disagree with the platform on, and depending on how close Oregon is expected to be I may still vore for President Bush. However I felt that if more people register Libertarian that in itself may move the Republican party back to it's conservative principles.

[Felix_Nietsche]

I am very sympathetic to the Libertarians and I use to always vote libertarian. If a Libertarian is running 1-on-1 against a Demo or Repub then the Lib gets my vote. But.....I now feel the best way to enact libertarian values is to work with the Republican party. I would never call a vote a "wasted vote" but I'd say a libertarian vote is analogous to a "Ralph Nader" vote.

In the 1930's during the Great Depression, many people became disillusioned the Democrats/Republicans. As a result, 3rd parties achieve a significant amount of power. So what happen? The big parties saw these votes, adopted many of the ideas of these 3rd parties and these 3rd parties lost their power. The bad news for theses 3rd parties was they lost much of their power(votes). The GOOD NEWS many of their ideas were implemented. Since getting your ideas implemented is the name of the game, I'd say these 3rd parties were successful. So can history repeat itself and today's 3rd parties get enough votes to get noticed? My conclusion is this is not likely. Look at Ralph Nader, most of his voters would have prefered Gore to Bush and by voting for Nader, Bush became elected. So how much influence does Nader hold with the Repubs/Demos. I'd argue his influence is almost zero.

With in the Republican party, there are several caucuses. I believe the "Liberty Caucus" is the Libertarian wing of the Republican party. Also, the Cato Institute is well respected in Republican circles. My point is Libertarians DO have influence on the Republican party. Not as much influence as I would like but they do have influence. Enacting libertarian ideas is a process that will takes YEARS....and I think the Repubs are the best way to make that happen.

[jstnrgrs]

If you live in a state that is largely in favor of one candidate, it makes no sense to vote for a candidate other than the one you most agree with.

Since I live in Massachusetts, I have no problem voting libertarian, but If I lived in a swing state, I'd probably vote for Kerry.

[jcx]

Congratulations, you won't regret it. Don't let anyone tell you you're wasting your vote. A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil. At the very least, your vote tells TPTB that you do not consent to their joint (GOP and Dem) destruction of our Republic.