The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime? Perhaps
Voting 2024: A Libertarian's Dilemma in a Two-Party System
I have to tell you, for most of you, this presidential election in 2024 is cut and dry, black and white, a no-brainer. But for me, I am struggling. I am a Libertarian through and through; even when I was a Republican, I was a libertarian.
I first came to register to vote in 1983 in Florida, and I registered as a Republican. Not that I knew anything about politics, but my mindset at 18 was that I wanted to be rich and own a Lamborghini someday. My naive perception of politics at the time was that the Republican Party was the party of the rich. So, without any political knowledge whatsoever, I registered as a Republican -- I lived in a split household; one parent was a Democrat, and the other was Republican.
Just before this, at age 16, I owned my own storefront business, whereas, in the early morning, I would go to work, make sure things were set up, and then go off to high school and pretend to be interested in what they were teaching. Still, I truly just wanted to get back to work or hang out with my friends. I had zero interest in academics, and my grades showed that. The administration would let me leave school early, and I’d get back down to my business, where I’d remain until closing up around 7 or 7:30 PM, when I’d drive home and try doing my homework, usually horribly. I have no idea how I made it through the drudgery of high school. Thankfully, I had some great friends, and this eased the pain.
Fast forward to the 1990s, I was the living definition of a workaholic. Today, not too much, but I worked absurd hours back then. Though I had little time to involve myself in politics, I had gotten involved locally. I was still drinking the Kool-Aid, and the political party I was in was the party of lower taxes, less regulation, etc. But it was all bullshit, frankly. The government continued to grow, with more rules on my businesses, and it continued to be more intrusive in my personal life, etc. It did not matter if Republicans or Democrats were in control of the House, the Senate, or the White House. All the promises by the Republicans I supported on the campaign trail and at the ballot box were empty. So, I started doing some soul searching.
In 1996, I happened upon Harry Browne on C-Span, who ran for president that year as a Libertarian. The only thing I knew of the Libertarian Party was that they were a bunch of pot smokers wanting to legalize marijuana. Over ten years after I first registered to vote, my political acumen had not improved. Browne converted me with his speech that evening. I quickly learned all I could about him and the Libertarian Party, then quickly switched political parties that year and cast my vote for Browne in 1996. It felt amazing to vote for someone who believed my beliefs regarding how our government should be run. It had nothing to do with smoking pot; it had to do with living a truly free life, something I once thought Republicans believed in, but I was duped. I decided in 1996 that I would no longer vote strategically; I would vote for the candidate that I felt was promoting true freedom for the individual and the business person -- who was the most libertarian, regardless of political party.
Now, granted, being and voting Libertarian is not for the weak; it takes a strong person to stay in such a dysfunctional party. I am not going to go into all the internal BS that goes on in the LP, as I learned similar things happened in the Republican and Democratic parties as well; they are just better funded and won’t let go of the power they hold. Since then, I have been heavily involved in the LP and have always voted for Libertarian Party presidential nominees, even when I didn’t like them (Bob Barr comes to mind). These days, for the most part, I have taken a backseat regarding politics, and I am glad I have.
So, today, I feel like George on the set of the movie ‘Scent of a Woman’; I’ve come to a crossroads with this 2024 election. As I stand here today, I am voting for our Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Chase Oliver. He is a good guy with good convictions and would make a great president—no doubt. Will he win? Nope! And please save your banter as to why I must vote for Harris or Trump; I’ve heard these arguments a thousand times. Oliver won’t gain over 1%, and this is for many reasons, mostly due to the media blackout of his candidacy, like most before him. So, will I vote for Chase to be our next president? Most likely, though I don’t mind saying, I am struggling for the first time in almost 20 years. Frankly, voting out of Florida is not going to make too much difference to who lands in the White House since Florida is not in play. Sorry, but that’s just reality.
As I hear from most Americans regarding Trump and Harris, “Is this the best we have to vote for, out of 350 million Americans?” Well, of course, this is not our best, but it’s what the powers that be have given us within the two old political parties — a controlled duopoly of political power. Their political and media machines will not allow much else. Look at what happened in 1992 when Ross Perot got 19% of the vote; they weren’t going to let something like that happen again.
In Florida, seven names for president will appear on the ballot for voters to decide, yet why is it the general populous only knows of 2? Is it because the other five are somehow unqualified? Not at all; as mentioned earlier, the powers that be do not want you to know and, frankly, would prefer their names not to appear on your ballot. In fact, many state Republican and Democratic parties around the county go to court to remove their competition from ballots.
You can vote your convictions this year or vote strategically. You can vote FOR someone, or you can vote AGAINST someone, to keep them out of the White House. It’s your choice. Here is the list of qualified candidates on your Florida ballot as they appear on the State of Florida’s website (including the two qualified write-in candidates).
President of the United States
Ayyadurai, Shiva (WRI) / Ellis, Crystal
De la Cruz, Claudia (PSL) / Garcia, Karina
Fox, Cherunda (WRI) / McVay Jr, Harlan
Harris, Kamala D. (DEM) / Walz, Tim
Oliver, Chase (LPF) / ter Maat, Mike
Sonski, Peter (ASP) / Onak, Lauren
Stein, Jill (GRE) / Ware, Rudolph
Terry, Randall (CPF) / Broden, Stephen
Trump, Donald J. (REP) / Vance, JD
