I voted early today...for Bob Barr! Yes, the libertarian candidate. My grandmother has been telling me the past few weeks that I would lose my vote if I voted libertarian. Correction: John McCain and Barack Obama will lose my vote if I vote libertarian, but I will not lose my vote, and I didn't. The implication is that Barr has no chance of winning and I should therefore vote for the candidate who I like the most who has a chance of winning. Well, perhaps, if I particularly care for either McCain or Obama, and less for principle, but alas, for me it is the other way around.

First, voting on principle is not a waste of a vote. The most successful third party candidate was Teddy Roosevelt with his progressive Bull Moose party. He did not win, but that does not imply his pioneering move had no worthwhile effects. Subsequent Democratic and Republican campaigns realized that if they adopted some of his policies they would pull in more votes, so they did. In this indirect and more long term manner, policies espoused by third parties, if there are enough supporters, are adopted.

And secondly, focusing on long term considerations really sums up the extent to which I care about politics. The message I would like to send to the government in a vote is this: I don't care what the current administration's policies are, I just want administrations in general having fewer of them, and thus making fewer decisions about my life (not in the least taking my money). The government has been steadily growing in size since the late 1700s and I don't approve. This is, in a nutshell, mostly but not wholly, the purpose of the libertarian party.