Who's On Third?

By Sam Burnham
@C_SamBurnham​

To say this election cycle has been bizarre is an understatement.

Right now, every political pundit and journalist in America is still reeling from the outcome of the primaries. The Democrats are still technically fighting it out. The Republicans have all but nominated Donald Trump.

This post is not intended to be an endorsement. But I would like to call attention to a third option. It's an option that has never been quite this viable before. Gary Johnson is working towards the Libertarian nomination. He received my official endorsement in 2012. As long as he gets the nomination he'll get my vote again. But I'd like to really explain why.

The front runners, when you really break them down, are really not options for me. Neither have a true philosophy or creed. They say whatever gets votes. Especially with Clinton, there is no detectable truth in any of the words. Her dishonesty has wiped away any chance she could have had to have my ear. Trump is a man who has historically bought politicians to do his bidding. This time he just decided to cut out the middleman. These two options are not an option.

Bernie Sanders is a socialist and that is not reconcilable with any of my political philosophies.

So I stop and look at Johnson. When I err on the side of liberty, then Johnson is my choice. If you have been following Bernie, you'll be interested in Johnson's stances on marriage, mass incarceration, the War on Drugs. And while these stances are not exactly congruent with traditional Conservatism, he is allowing the liberty to choose our way of life. We can freely, by force of conscience, choose right, even if wrong is legal.

While Bernie supporters may not go for Johnson's tax cuts, spending cuts, or his opposition to government growth that earned him the name "Governor Veto", conservatives will no doubt find in them a breath of fresh air.

Johnson offers a bridge - a place where Never Trump and Never Hillary can find just a little common ground. He offers us a chance to compromise.

There are those who will say that a third party cannot win, that it is impossible. It was impossible to rally all thirteen colonies around independence. It was impossible for a fledgling nation to defeat the British Empire in a war. It was impossible for a republic to survive. It was impossible to defeat the Fascist threat in Europe. It was impossible to put a man on the moon. It was impossible to stare down the Soviet Union. Impossible is America's wheelhouse. It's our home run pitch. Impossible is what we do. We always have.

So here is my endorsement. My endorsement in on the American people. Don't look at the candidates with disgust and sit this one out. Don't vote for a bad candidate just because they are "not as bad" as the other. Vote for someone. Take a stand.

Your vote is your God-given right. It is acknowledged by the Constitution, defended by the blood of patriots, and is the embodiment of your sacred honor. Your vote is everything this nation stands for. Don't neglect it and don't use it flippantly. Wield it like a weapon of revolution...because that is what it is.