I’ve heard it said that the difference between football and politics is that politics is a game that is won between the forty yard lines.  That is to say that while in football you want to get to one end of the field or the other, in politics, in order to win elections, you must run to the center and try to appeal to as many people as possible.  For years we have seen evidence of this, as more moderate candidates have generally done well and extreme candidates have rarely gone very far.  2016, however, seems to be a year to throw out all of the conventional wisdom.  Donald Trump is expressing plenty of ideas that are anything but moderate.  On the other side Bernie Sanders is a self declared socialist (not the most moderate position) running as a Democrat. (He has spent most of his political career as an independent or as a member of a much smaller party.)  The third (and probably final) real contender from the “major parties” is Hillary Clinton, and many people seem to see her more as a part of the machine rather than a moderate. Many people find themselves unhappy with who they think is going to get their party’s nomination for POTUS and even more unhappy with the alternative from the other party.  Thus, many are asking for another alternative.

So what are the alternatives? There is a great deal of talk about Ted Cruz and / or the 2nd place finisher from the Democrats side running either as an independent or with another party. These are possibilities, but “sore loser” laws have an impact on that option. There are all sorts of very small parties around the country, but if you are not even on the ballot in enough states to get a majority of electoral votes then you’re not really a candidate for President.  The Green Party (of Ralph Nader fame) was on the ballot in most states in 2012 and of course there is the Libertarian Party which is on track to be on the ballot in all 50 states in 2016. But how do you decide which one makes sense for you to support? About 10 years ago or so during George W. Bush’s second term I was facing that very question.  I wasn’t pleased with the President or with the Republican Party in general.  They had lost me, but I wasn’t sure where to go next. It was actually some Democrat friends that suggested that I should look at libertarian ideas.  It wasn’t long before I came across the idea that political ideology was better mapped along 2 axes rather than just the one I had always known.  People don’t just fall into right or left or Republican or Democrat.  There is a grid of at least 4 distinct options defined by social issues and economic issues.  There are numerous websites and political quizzes that explain these 2 axes in much greater depth and can give you an idea of which party best aligns with your beliefs. Check out the World’s Smallest Political Quiz or the Political Compass for 2 examples. (Click on each one to take the quizzes!)

Obviously, I am a Libertarian.  (Thus the name of the blog.) Once I understood that, I felt much better about the way I was voting.  When I used to vote Republican, I always felt like I was compromising on social issues in order to vote for the person who agreed with me on economic issues.  Generally speaking, I do not have to make that concession any more.  I don’t always like the Libertarian candidate.  Not every member of a political party agrees on all issues.  That’s fine, but this way I can find candidates that I agree with on more issues than before. Should the political spectrum be mapped around 3 or more axes? Perhaps.  There are numerous issues out there to consider, but this model makes sense to me.  I switched and found something better for me. Are you ready to try something else?

Many people claim that voting for a third party or for an independent is like throwing away your vote.  There are numerous reasons why I don’t buy into that idea. I’ll write more about that concept later this week, but in the meantime, this article provides a good discussion of the main points.

As always, these are my opinions.  I do not claim to speak for all libertarians.  In this blog, I do not claim to speak for anyone but myself.  I’d like to know what you think.  Are you unhappy with your political party? Did you take the quizzes? Were you surprised by the results? Are you willing to consider changing parties? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below or suggest a topic for a future post. Remember that I believe that everybody is entitled to their opinions, so I ask that all comments remain polite and respectful.  If you enjoyed what I had to say please give this post a like. (Even if you don’t necessarily agree.) If you want to see future posts, please be sure to subscribe to receive updates by email.