Okay Libertarians. Who’s it gonna be? Johnson or not-Obama?

Franklin, Jefferson, Paine… Johnson

As a Libertarian, you've just gotta love Gary Johnson. I personally adore the man. He knows that we need to bring our soldiers home. He speaks openly about reducing crime and gang violence nation-wide by ending the black market of drugs. He'd never agree to raise the debt ceiling – he'd actually want to pay our debt. He significantly cut spending and taxes in New Mexico during his two terms as governor. He even vetoed a bill because “this piece of legislation [is] just way too long and we don’t understand what it says.” (Take that, Ms. “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it” Pelosi.) He stands by every libertarian principle I can think of whether it be fiscally conservative or socially liberal. He's the one candidate who would have a remote chance of getting our country out of the mess it's in. However, as Libertarians, we are also all too aware of where another four years of Barack Obama would get us.

Obama's failure is our future

For now, we've got facts like these to ponder:

Lowest percentage of taxpayers paying income taxes in the modern era (49 percent).
Highest rate of government dependency in American history (47 percent of Americans receive one or more federal benefit payments).
America’s sovereign debt rating has been downgraded for the first time in our nation’s history.
Adding more debt to our nation than all other 43 presidents combined
All of his lies, about 100 on record so far – things like Obamacare is “absolutely not a tax.”
President Obama said in February 2009 that the stimulus would lift “2 million Americans from poverty.” But since Obama took office, 6.3 million Americans have fallen into poverty.
I have friends who are so liberal, they don't even have a clue about our deficit, our debt, how “flexible” Obama said he'd be after his re-election to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, how much Michele Obama spends of our hard earned money on her vacations, that middle eastern kings and the rest of the world's wealthy come to the US for their health care, Obama's marxist past, etc. They also can't stomach the right wing's moral broken record. They are still, even though it's like shooting yourself in the foot when you can't get antibiotics, going to vote for our own Nobel Peace Prize winner again. They simply can't get over W, and born-again America.

So, my serious consideration – and what I want your opinion on – is that this election is in the hands of us Libertarians. Post-Ron Paul, our numbers are staggering. If we vote our hearts, Governor Johnson will come in a close third in the race, and Barry will win again. And then most of us are going to start wondering if New Zealand is very open to immigrants. If we want what's best for our nation and our liberty, and we stop and think about it, as the nausea sets in, we will simply be forced to vote for Romney.

We all know that it will be Washington garbage in, garbage out as usual, but at least Mitt will be facing re-election, and would likely put off any real funny business until his second term, the kind of second-term funny business from Obama that would sink the nation. That is, if we're not already sunk.

I know that trying to pin Libertarians down is like herding cats, and that's one of the hallmarks of being a Libertarian – we don't take too kindly to being herded. However, I really do want to hear from some of you. As much as I know that Gary Johnson would be the greatest president since Lincoln, I also know he's more likely to be a Ross Perot, who received 18.9% of the vote, and for whom I proudly cast my first presidential vote at the wee age of 20, and then wore black for the next week in mourning of the liar my vote elected – who won the presidency with one of the smallest percentages of the popular vote in history.

My solution is for us to be smart about this. Not just principled, but really thoughtful. If we can elect an R for four years, then a D for four, then an R for four, and so on until the nation realizes that the vast majority of us are truly Libertarian and vote in an L, then no single man (or woman) will have a lame duck term where he or she can do political favors, spend us into oblivion, and speed us along to the demise of all democracies historically thus far.

Vote Counting in Spain?

Of course, all of this is a serious waste of time if it's true that this November's vote is going to be counted in Spain by some friend of Obama.

We need to vote in a Libertarian majority in Congress. We need Libertarian sheriffs, state houses, judges, school boards, and city councils. And for President this year, you might need, gulp, to vote for the R.

If you live in a red state like Texas, show our strength and vote for Gary Johnson. But if you live in a swing or blue state and you love liberty, I'm suggesting that your liberty-based decision is heavier than mine.

Sticking my liberty loving, Constitution abiding neck out,

Betsy Dewey, Libertarian Candidate, US House of Representatives – Texas District 25.