Jeremy Kauffman is the Libertarian nominee for US Senate running against Don Bolduc (R) and Maggie Hassan (D). Many libertarians will be voting for him and many disaffected Republicans and Democrats are likely to, as well. However, some liberty-minded folks will be voting for one of the two evil candidates. This is not because they believe Bolduc or Hassan are the best candidates for the job. It is because they believe only Hassan and Bolduc can win, and they have to help the ‘less evil’ one win. So, even though Jeremy Kauffman would be the candidate that best represents them, they feel he won’t win so they must vote for one of the two-party candidates. This is a phenomenon known as ‘Wasted Vote Syndrome’.
Independent and third-party voters have always dealt with people who want them to vote for their major party candidate accusing them of “wasting their vote” because the third party candidate “can’t win”. This is what I was told in 2016 when I wanted to vote for Gary Johnson. I was told by my bosses at my job in Utah that if I voted for Gary Johnson instead of Trump, I would be “acting like a child,” “wasting my vote,” and potentially “helping Hillary Clinton.” None of that was true. Republicans do not own libertarian votes. Libertarian ideals are just what Republicans sometimes campaign on, only to violate their promises once in office. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self that all I was doing by voting for Gary Johnson was voting for Gary Johnson. And if I voted for Trump, who I didn’t actually want to vote for, I would be betraying myself.
I ended up voting for Trump in Utah, a state he was already going to win. I regret that now, mostly because I let myself get bullied into making a choice I didn’t want to make. I could have voted for the candidate who I truly believed represented me best. Trump won in 2016, and the world didn’t end for the Democrats. Biden won in 2020, and the world still hasn’t ended for the Republicans. We are all living our lives the way we would be regardless of what is going on in DC.
What will bring you liberty in your lifetime immediately is not any of the candidates for Senate winning. The thing that will bring you liberty immediately is taking control and responsibility for each one of your actions now and refusing to be manipulated into doing things you don’t believe in.
That is why I will be voting for Jeremy Kauffman on Tuesday. Because no matter who wins or loses, my vote is about me and your vote is about you. You’ve done your research and you know what you believe. If you believe mandated vaccines are wrong, you should not vote for Maggie Hassan who strongly supported corona-fascism. If you believe war is one of the most evil things that occur on this planet you should not vote for the General who lied about getting hit to escalate violence against a Granite Stater this week. If you believe in liberty, you should vote for Jeremy Kauffman. Have courage and stand for whatever you believe in because your faith in yourself depends on it.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Liberty Block or any of its staff. We welcome all forms of serious feedback and debate.
6 Comments
Janet · November 6, 2022 at 1:00 pm
So all NH Libertarians who vote for Kauffman and claim to want their guns, wars to end, less federal government intrusion, school choice, less taxes, etc., will only have themselves to blame if Republicans lose. Sometimes you have to hold your nose and accept the “lesser of two evils” for the overall good. This is especially true when you realize that it was Democrats who poured money into Bolduc’s campaign to purposely get a “weaker” candidate to run against the Democrat. Don’t let them get away with it!!!
Patrick · November 10, 2022 at 6:44 pm
Voting in Rs never works at the federal level, focus on NH primaries, that is where we can affect the type of R on the ballot- liberty r or typical establishment authoritarian R
Janet on her own planet · November 7, 2022 at 2:46 am
Punish the democrats by voting for Son Bolduc? That makes no sense. Vote your conscience if you have one at all. If you betray yourself you have nothing
D. Rice · November 8, 2022 at 7:16 am
The only thing in this article that is worthy of admiration is the part about my vote is my vote and your vote is your vote. The rest of it is an immature screed that is just regurgitated libertarian ideas. Essentially candidates that run as libertarian are usually those who failed to get enough votes in a Republican or Democrat primaries so they switch their party affiliation after they already lose a major party primary race. To paraphrase the old movie, Yes Virginia voting for a Libertarian is you throwing your vote away. Absolutely, I support your right to do so but no one needs to try to sell me on the idea that they have no concept that politics is the art of getting things done. Libertarians want 100% for things to be done their way and 100% according to their parameters or they will take their ball and go home. In the process they usually end up fracturing the Republican vote count, which is why for the last couple decades I have accurately contended that Libertarians are simply Democrats that like to keep their money. They would much rather hurt Republicans and they don’t give a s*** that evil Democrats get elected to office. Libertarians are the spoiled children of the political world.
Daniel · November 8, 2022 at 7:17 am
Well I just posted an entire counter argument to this immature article and it was completely blocked. Since when does liberty block prevent people from making posts?
Elliot "Alu" Axelman · July 4, 2023 at 1:26 am
We don’t block comments other than spam. For some reason, WordPress does not post some comments unless we manually approve of them. We go through comments as often as possible.
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