I write this on Election Eve, and I don’t know what name I’m marking on my ballot for president tomorrow.  This is a first for me.

It’s somewhat ironic because I follow politics very closely.  I read a lot about what is going on.  I write about it.  I have a love/ hate relationship with politics.  I hate it because I despise the use of violence for political or social goals, which is really what politics is all about. I love it because I find it entertaining, perhaps in a sick sort of way.

I consider myself very informed, but most people who don’t have a similar philosophical outlook would probably disagree.  They would call me ignorant or brainwashed.  They can’t grasp their own ignorance or brainwashing.

It’s not to say I am free from ignorance or brainwashing when it comes to politics.  It happens to some degree to everyone. But I understand what is happening.  I understand that there are evil people who want to use power over others, which especially includes those in politics.

I also understand the position of others.  Most non-libertarians cannot accurately describe my libertarian philosophy.

I don’t live in a libertarian bubble.  I read many articles and listen to podcasts and watch videos with libertarian themes.  But I am quite aware of the differing views on issues.  I occasionally watch the news because I can’t help myself.  It is somewhat of a curiosity sometimes just to see what brainwashing the masses are getting.

So I don’t know whom I’m voting for.  Or more accurately, I don’t know if I am voting against someone or something. I am not voting against Trump, as most people voting for Biden are really doing.  It could be Stalin with a D next to his name and the anti Trump people would vote for him.

Donald Trump

If I vote for Trump, I am not really voting for Trump.  I am voting against everything I despise in politics.  I am voting against the establishment.  I am voting against the establishment media and the lies.  I am voting against today’s culture.  I am voting against political correctness.  I am voting against all of the mouthy celebrities who don’t have a clue.  I am also, presumably, voting against a greater evil in Joe Biden and, even more so, Kamala Harris.

Trump has a lot of problems.  From a libertarian standpoint, he has even more.  His understanding (or lack of) economics is horrible.  His foreign policy is generally bad because he surrounds himself with establishment war hawks, and Trump sometimes feels the need to act tough.  So the wars and foreign interference continue on.

However, Trump is better on these issues than Biden and Harris.  Trump is the first president in many decades to not start a new major war.  It shouldn’t seem like that great of an achievement, but we really haven’t seen relative peace in a long time.  If Biden (or worse, Harris) gets in, we could see more war in the future. Of course, we could with Trump too, but the chances seem greater with Biden.  Biden and Harris are bragging about how they have the lying liars from the Bush administration supporting them.  In other words, they have the full backing of many of the people who lied us into war in Iraq.

I am tempted to vote for Trump because I think he has a shred of honesty and decency in him. I know he has a big ego, and I know he has a lot of flaws.  But to get someone with some honesty in the presidency is a big achievement. There is always a chance that he might do something good.

Trump has been bad on the coronavirus and lockdowns, but not nearly as bad as other politicians. He has an advisor (Scott Atlas) who has been quite critical of the lockdowns and overreactions.

There is always a chance that someone like Tucker Carlson does a story on the atrocities in Yemen and how the U.S. is helping to fund and support the atrocities.  There is a chance Trump will see the story and do something about it.  There is little chance of this happening with a Biden or Harris presidency.

There are many compelling reasons to mark my ballot for Trump.  However, I don’t generally keep my voting a secret, and I don’t want to defend every stupid thing Trump does for the next four years if he is reelected.  I also don’t like voting for the lesser of two evils unless there is a big difference between the evils.  In terms of rhetoric, Trump is much different.  But I’m not as sure about his policies.

There is also reason to hope that a Biden presidency could actually improve some things. Maybe the coronavirus will magically go away with a Biden election win.  Maybe we can see some civility again, only because the left will stop being quite so uncivil.  Maybe we will see a reduction in rioting and looting.  I know this angers some Trump supporters by saying it because it sounds like I am giving in to the mob.  It’s like they’re saying, “You better vote Biden in, or we are coming to a city near you to burn it down.”  But it’s not my fault the American people have allowed all of this nonsense to happen.  I just want some of the old normal back.

I also believe that we have really tough economic times ahead.  If the Republicans can maintain the Senate, we could be just as well off with a Biden presidency, especially if he takes a lot of the blame for the problems.  With Trump in there, we will hear a lot of blame put on capitalism, even though Trump’s policies are not generally pro free market.

Anyway, I’m not going to not vote for Trump just because of the way he might be portrayed or because the mob might settle down if Trump leaves office.  But I am also not as fearful that life will not go on as many Trump people are.  They are really scared of the prospects of a Biden victory.

Jo Jorgensen

I don’t have a lot to say about the Libertarian Party’s nominee.  I was mildly excited when Jo Jorgensen became the nominee.  I have not voted for a Libertarian Party presidential candidate since Michael Badnarik in 2004.

Jo has been disappointing to say the least.  She hopped on board the political correct movement and sent out praise to BLM.  She sent a message on Twitter saying that it is not enough to not be racist.  Instead, you should be actively anti-racist.

Aside from a few of her politically correct things, there isn’t a lot where I really disagree with her.  The problem is that she doesn’t show a lot of enthusiasm, and she doesn’t stress the important issues.

I understand that the lockdowns came from governors and mayors, but the federal government has had a lot of input on the coronavirus, which has mostly been bad.  Jo should have been speaking out hard against the lockdowns.  She should have been an advocate for the tens of millions of people whose lives have been turned upside down due to government lockdowns and restrictions in response to hysteria over a virus that is no more than the flu to most people.

I could vote for Jo as a protest vote, and I haven’t completely abandoned the idea.  But on the other hand, I feel like she has not earned my vote.  She has done almost nothing to promote the cause of liberty that I can see. She got very little attention in the media, which isn’t all her fault, but some of it is.  She should have reached out to all of the Ron Paul people from 2008 and 2012 instead of trying to suck up to the hard left.  I don’t understand what she was thinking. It is just another year of a disappointing LP candidate.

Write-In

My most likely vote will be a write-in candidate.  Maybe I’ll vote for Ron Paul again.  I sometimes leave my ballot blank for certain races, but I don’t want to do that this time for the presidency.  I don’t want to open up my ballot for possible fraud. It would be too easy for someone to fill in a bubble.  I mean, I hope it’s not easy, but you never know.  I would rather it be unmistaken that I am choosing not to vote for anyone on the ballot for the presidency.

This is the easiest way to vote because I never have to defend my vote except for people who are mad that I didn’t vote for one of the major party candidates.  But I don’t have to defend the bad things that someone is doing.

I live in Florida, which is an important swing state.  In that sense, my vote matters.  But I know the chances of the election coming down to one vote in my state are essentially zero.  Even if it did come down to one vote, then I’m sure there would be enough fraud somewhere to make it not come down to one vote.

It’s still amazing that the 2000 election came down to a few hundred votes in Florida.  Of course, 2020 has been one for the record books, so you never know.

The election results will be entertaining if nothing else.  If Trump wins, then I get the entertainment that I got this time four years ago.  I get to watch the entire establishment media sit there with a look of shock, and I get to hear them still not understand that they are part of the reason that Trump gets the support that he gets.  If you think 4 years ago was bad, wait until this time.  Anyone with Trump Derangement Syndrome is going to have their head explode.

If Trump loses, I don’t think we are going back to the pre Trump days.  As I wrote in my last post, Trump still may be the leader of the Republican Party, and the 60 million or more people who vote for Trump are still out there.

I heard Donald Trump Jr. in an interview the other day, and I was more impressed than I thought I would be.  He was saying that Trump’s supporters are sick and tired of Republicans getting into office and folding over like Paul Ryan.  He said that these Republican politicians are going to have to answer to the voters in future elections.

Anyway, I don’t know how this whole thing will turn out.  There are a lot of Trump haters out there.  There are also a lot of Trump lovers, as can be seen by the tens of thousands of people showing up to each rally he holds.  In the meantime, I’ll make my final decision on which candidate (or non-candidate) I’m voting for by the morning.