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-Yoda
Those of us that believe in a federal government limited by the U.S. Constitution are in a small minority. Most Americans want to keep sucking on the government teat until it’s dry. They want to keep running up the credit card debt until they hit the limit. They want to party all night and not worry about tomorrow.
Those of us in the minority do what we can, to quote Susan Powter, to “ stop the insanity!” Many of us believe that the only way to rein in the federal government is via the ballot box – to vote in “the right people.” Many rational people believe this, despite it having never worked. Ever. Nevertheless, those in the pro-liberty movement have been taught – most via government schools – that if they work within the system, they can achieve change. Too many of us believe it. This is what we must unlearn.
The system, however, is not broken. It is a mistake to think otherwise. The system is doing exactly what the statists want it to do: grow. It grows no matter which wing of the two party duopoly is in charge of Congress. It grows no matter which wing of the two party duopoly sits in the White House. It grows no matter which wing of the two party duopoly controls the federal courts. It always grows.
Always.
To think that the federal government can be reigned in by “voting for the right people” is belied by history. It is belied by the facts. It is wishful thinking at its worst. A problem can not be solved until it is properly diagnosed. The diagnosis we must accept is that the current political system feeds a cancer. We can not cure the cancer by feeding it.
Let’s look at an example. Those of us in the liberty movement understand that social security should be privatized. What happens to any candidate that speaks the truth on this topic? They are soundly defeated and a candidate that is willing to continue the Ponzi scheme is elected. The cancer continues to grow.
The two party duopoly is part of the problem. Plurality voting is part of the problem. Our two party, plurality voting system requires that anyone that wants to win an election pander to the masses. Telling people that they can not have any more free stuff is not pandering – it is the truth. Our current system results in an untenable and unworkable reality: Telling the truth means defeat.
Of course, statists will point out what they perceive to be a fatal flaw in my argument: They will say social security is just fine and will continue indefinitely just as it is. This is not the place for that discussion, but the continued redistribution of wealth from a dwindling group of those that are working to a growing group of those that are retired can not continue. (And I’m sorry, Virginia, but there is no social security “trust fund” to which you have contributed. You, like Bernie Madoff’s victims, were lied to.)
I do not pretend to have a solution to our demonstrably failed process – but I know we have a demonstrably failed process. Most of use refuse to even see that.
The first step to recovery is to admit the problem.
Once we recognize our problem, I suggest we trash our voting method where candidates with less than 50% of the vote can win. Seriously, what kind of system declares someone victorious when most of those that voted wanted him to lose?
This is not question posed by the Mad Hatter at tea. It is our reality.
Plurality voting is nonsense. Approval voting is one, far better, alternative. There are others, as well. No matter the ultimate solution, we need to “unlearn” the notion that we can reign in the federal government by our current political process. It has failed for 150 years. The country will not be around another 150 at this rate. It might not be around another 15.
Abandon the myth that that one party is more likely to shrink the federal government than the other. At best, one party will allow it to grow slower than the other.
Unlearn. It is the only chance we have to learn.
If, tonight, a Libertarian candidate gets more votes than the margin of difference in a Republican loss, I know what I’ll hear:
“YOU COST US THE ELECTION!!!!!”
Allow me to reply now, just in case, so I can refer all complaints here:
1) Republicans and Democrats make the election rules. Do not complain when we play by them. Plurality voting is stupid. Change it. Approval voting solves the problem. The two party duopoly has the power to change the system. They do not do so. Ergo, they must not want to solve it. That’s not our fault. It’s yours.
2) Assuming all Libertarian votes would have gone to the Republican is arrogant nonsense. Most Libertarians would not vote if given the choice between more of the same… and more of the same. We provide those that would otherwise sit out an election an opportunity to be heard.
3) We didn’t “steal”any election. Again, more arrogant nonsense. The metaphor “to steal” means that the votes belong to the Republicans and we wrongfully took them. Nope. Our votes belong to us, and we can use them as we see fit. Try harder to get them next time.
4) We didn’t “cost” the Republicans any election. If the Republicans had not acted irresponsibly while they had control, perhaps they would have gotten a few more votes. Look inward before casting blame on others.
Thank you for your consideration of these points.
And let freedom ring.
Competition is always good. Always.
The more competitors, the more choice and the better off we all are. This applies to goods and services. It applies to public schools. And, yes, it applies to political candidates. More choice is never a bad thing. Ever.
When choice becomes a bad thing, there is something wrong with the system that creates that result.
Tom Tancredo is not the problem. Third parties are not the problem. Our two party election process, including plurality voting, is the problem. A two party duopoly, controlling and limiting the choices of every American citizen, is the problem.
If we want a better America, criticizing competition is misplaced.
Colorado Republican state chair Dick Wadhams called Tancredo’s plan to run for governor as the American Constitution Party candidate “reprehensible.” It is not. What is “reprehensible” is a system that gives the people of Colorado two really bad choices for governor. Anyone trying to solve that problem is not “reprehensible.” People defending the status quo are not “reprehensible” either, but they are horribly misguided.
Most people, even die hard political activists, act as if the two party system and plurality voting are some immutable law of nature, like gravity. Our election process is not a law of physics. It is not even a law of our Constitution.
It is a process that has simply evolved without any particular design, intelligent or otherwise. We can change it if we are willing to recognize the problem. Pretending that Tancredo and third parties are the problem is a bad diagnosis.
Our system is broken. While there is no panacea, there are ways to fix it. Approval voting is one such fix.
Jonah Goldberg has offered his take on where the Tea Partiers where while George W. Bush was expanding government and spending money he didn’t have. (See “Tea parties a delayed Bush backlash.“)
Concerning W’s Big Government Republican proclivity, Goldberg wrote:
Conservatives didn’t necessarily bite their tongues (remember the Harriet Miers and immigration fiascoes), but they did prioritize supporting Bush — often in the face of far nastier attacks than Obama has received — over ideological purity. Besides, where were conservatives supposed to go? Into the arms of John Kerry?
This perfectly illustrates the problem. With our two party system, we are given two bad choices: Expand government a lot, or expand it slightly less.
As long as we accept two bad choices, we’ll keep getting them. If you keep buying tripe for lunch because the only other option is haggis, guess what you’ll keep being offered? Tripe.
You can gag it down while you tell yourself, “well, it sure beats the hell out of haggis.”
We need more options. We need to be creative. The two party system ain’t in the Constitution. Neither is plurality voting. My immediate suggestion is adoption of approval voting. I’m open to ideas. I’m begging for ideas! Bring me ideas!
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