About This Blog

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the greatest economist of my time. His greatest works can be accessed here at no charge.

Mises believed that property, freedom and peace are and should be the hallmarks of a satisfying and prosperous society. I agree. Mises proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prospect for general and individual prosperity is maximized, indeed, is only possible, if the principle of private property reigns supreme. What's yours is yours. What's mine is mine. When the line between yours and mine is smudged, the door to conflict opens. Without freedom (individual liberty of action) the principle of private property is neutered and the free market, which is the child of property and freedom and the mother of prosperity and satisfaction, cannot exist. Peace is the goal of a prosperous and satisfying society of free individuals, not peace which is purchased by submission to the enemies of property and freedom, but peace which results from the unyielding defense of these principles against all who challenge them.

In this blog I measure American society against the metrics of property, freedom and peace.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Response to: "Should Conservatives Vote for Obama if Romney Gets the Nomination?"

The Country Thinker has written a very thoughtful piece about the 2012 election which is posted at Political Realities. Titled "Should Conservatives Vote for Obama if Romney Gets the Nomination," the Country Thinker essentially argues that there is not a dime's worth of difference between Obama and Romney, that the next President will be blamed for the coming economic collapse, that it would be better for libertarians/conservatives to form a third party, vote for Obama and let him (or Romney) take the rap for the coming fiscal nightmare and that electing Romney would be like electing another George Bush resulting in a backlash against the Republicans and a new era of progressivism.

I responded to the Country Thinker by posting the following comment at Political Realities:


And what of the Congress?

Hopefully, the 2010 trend will continue and voters will send more Tea Party Republicans like Rand Paul and Steve Southerland to Congress. Hopefully, both houses will become more conservative as a result. If this happens, it will be very difficult for Mitt Romney to contradict his campaign rhetoric and pull a “George Bush.”

Moreover, the fiscal health of the United States is huge, but there is more at stake, such as the Supreme Court. Even Bush managed to appoint John Roberts and Sam Alito. They are certainly preferable to Obama leftists Sotomayor and Kagan. I’d rather have Romney appointing Justices than Obama.

Lastly, a third party might not only serve to elect Obama, it might also serve to keep some Tea Party candidates out of Congress, denying Republican control of both houses.

I say vote Republican both locally and nationally. Worry about reforming the party’s internal politics after the fact. I’m confident the Tea Party/Conservative wing of the party will eventually displace the establishment types.

I'll vote against Romney in the primaries. However, for the reasons above, I'll support Romney, if he's the Republican nominee, and the Republicans in the general election.

We can hope for, but we cannot count on, conservative Republican control of both houses of Congress. Indeed, such will be an uphill battle. Therefore, we must acknowledge the truth: another four years of Obama in the White House will do untold harm to the principles of property, freedom and peace in this great nation.

2 comments:

LD Jackson said...

Thanks for linking to Ted's post on Political Realities. I appreciate you taking the time to formulate a response.

I haven't made my mind up what I will do if someone other than Ron Paul wins the nomination. You and Ted both make very good points in your argument for either decision.

Presently, I am leaning in favor of voting for Romney against Obama. I base my thinking on a post I wrote several weeks ago about the importance of the congressional elections.

If enough real conservatives are voted into Congress, there is a good chance they could influence Romney, or any other less than conservative President, to toe the conservative line.

http://www.ldjackson.net/news-politics/the-importance-of-the-2012-congressional-elections/

Sherman Broder said...

I read your post you linked. Good stuff.

Let's hope Ron Paul's recent rise in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls, which you reference in your most recent blog post, makes the matter of voting for Romney academic.

If not, I know I could never vote for Obama, even for Machiavellian reasons. Before the 2008 election I anticipated Obama's victory. I rationalized it, thinking that perhaps four years of a near-socialist administration would teach Americans a lesson they needed to learn.

However, here we are almost four years later and not only am I unsure that Americans have learned that lesson, but I am also aghast at all the deep rooted damage to the US that Obama and company have managed to cause in four years, damage I never anticipated, like ObamaCare and two leftist Supreme Court justices.

Playing politics rarely works out as expected.