BallotVox

Libertarian Dilemma

Undecided [iluvrhinestones / Flickr]

Libertarian Jason Kuznicki is still undecided about how he’ll vote in November. It’s a tough election for libertarians because it’s forcing them to weigh some core priorities: divided government, free trade, and withdrawal from Iraq. Kuznicki explains (thanks, Ann Raber):

So… depending on one’s priorities, a libertarian swing voter who assumes the Democrats will extend their control of Congress has two choices:

a) Divided government, with McCain as president, NAFTA likely unchallenged, no new trade treaties forthcoming (thanks, Democrats!), and the Iraq War continuing indefinitely. The Republican “security” state marches on unbowed.

b) Unified government, with Obama as the likely president, NAFTA facing a challenge of yet-to-be-determined strength, a socialized healthcare bill that will be deeply repugnant to every libertarian political principle, and the Iraq War possibly — gosh we hope — coming to its inevitable end sooner rather than later.

When you throw in McCain’s antilibertarian views on campaign finance, national greatness, and the like, the choice is (yet again) Southparkesque. […]

The simple answer is that none of the candidates are appealing, that they are bad for different reasons, that to my mind McCain is the worst of the lot […]

And the final verdict is… I’m still undecided. Divided government is a very, very powerful incentive to vote Republican, but it may well be the only one.

Kuznicki, quoting another blogger, notes that if the election is close, the libertarian swing vote could be “determinative.” Hence the pressure to make the right decision.