Who should I vote for?

dblack

Diamond Member
May 21, 2011
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Sums up my views. Despite intentions, you can't vote against a specific candidate. All you can do is vote for one of their opponents. In doing so, you are endorsing that candidate and their policies, no matter what you tell yourself.

Who Should I Vote For: Ron Paul Supporters Should Protect Liberty By Not Voting for Obama or Romney

Regardless of who wins the presidential election, the next four years will look virtually identical to the last four. While different special interests may benefit, on issues of vast substance and importance, President Obama and Governor Romney are virtually identical and 2014 will not look a lot different regardless of who is president.

My opposition to Obama and Romney should be well known to PolicyMic readers. It is based on my libertarianism and a general disgust towards politicians. What I wanted to do on the eve of the election is to offer a reminder that since voting is essentially an endorsement, even if it is a defensive vote against a supposed "lesser of two evil," what one is condoning by casting a vote for either President Obama or Governor Romney.

Early in his term, President Obama re-authorized the extension of the much-hated PATRIOT Act, a bill that expanded the already broad powers of the federal government to monitor and spy on American citizens and affecting speech, privacy, and nearly every banking and financial transaction. Not to be outdone, Obama signed the NDAA and the provisions in the bill that would give the president the power to indefinitely detain American citizens without trial.

Eric Holder, Obama's Attorney General, even made a special speech at Washington University to justify acts that even the Magna Carta sought to prevent the King from having. Obama has spent his time since then blocking lawsuits that challenge the legality and constitutionality of the NDAA provisions. For someone claiming that he wouldn't dare abuse this power, he sure has an odd way of showing it.

While candidate Obama ran on a fairly moderate and liberal stance on the drug war, President Obama has doubled-down on the drug war, launching multiple federal raids on medical marijuana facilities in violation of state law. On the issues of torture and warrantless wiretapping -- issues that President Bush was widely condemned for -- Obama essentially launched a fantastic rhetorical PR campaign against these abuses while simultaneously expanding them and refused to prosecute those under the Bush Administration who committed felonies by engaging in torture.

On the economy, Obama has basically pursued the same Keynesian policies as his predecessors. Spending, borrowing, and printing trillions of dollars in a QE ad infinitum attempt to re-inflate bubbles in an economy that desperately needs clearing, sound investment, and capital-based production for real recovery. Obamacare, his crowning legislative achievement, added more coercion, mandates, and corporatism to a health care system that has been crippled by all three for decades.

Despite all of this, it is on foreign policy where Obama truly has shown his true colors. While lying about "ending the war in Iraq," Obama has expanded the presence of U.S. Special Forces into now over 120 countries, expanded the Afghan war, has spread the "War on Terror" into Africa, and launched drone strikes in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan. He claims the right to assassinate U.S. citizens anywhere around the globe without due process, and even targeted the teenage son of Muslim cleric Anwar Al-Alawki (both U.S. citizens) like a judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one.

The irony of this is that while his conservative "opposition" portrays him as some weak appeaser, Obama will be the first one to tell you what a warmonger he is. In multiple articles in national newspapers, Obama bragged about these targeted assassinations, drone strikes, and his own "kill list" -- including the leaking of classified information. This is essentially what Obama is punishing Bradley Manning and other whistleblowers for. And when pressed by good journalists about this, he hides behind the cover of "national security" like a chickenhawk coward.

If Romney wins, it is highly unlikely that any of these policies will change. ....
 

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