Be part of the 5% Solution

I've been debating whether to post this, since our blog tends to be Kaylee focused, and at least dealing with us as a family. But we're 4 weeks away from a Presidential election, and I promise this will be my only political post.

Ask yourself two specific questions. First, did your choice for President vote for the $700 billion bailout bill--the bill that will either destroy the value of the US dollar, make the federal government the biggest home owner in the world, or possibly both? If you're voting for either of the major party candidates, the answer is "yes". They didn't just vote for it--they both flew back to DC after months away to vote for the most pork laiden version of it that they could vote for. If it makes your blood boil, then keep reading.

Second question--what's the difference between your candidate and the other one? Forget the baloney about secret Muslims or "McSame" or any of the other party lines. What's really the difference? One is a good public speaker while the other is a war hero? One wants to have the government take over your life in a slightly different way than the other? The differences are almost imperceptable--yet, if you were to judge them based on most of their supporters, you'd think one was evil incarnate and the other was the second coming of Jesus. It just depends on who you talk to as to which one is which.

I think a lot of people feel that a viable third party would shake things up for the better in this country. But we are also (for the most part) not idiots. The last outsider to have a chance of winning the Presidency was Ross Perot, and that was just because he had more money than God. Nobody votes third party because we know that the third party won't win.

What we don't realize is that the goal isn't 270 electoral votes. The goal is to bring legitimacy to a third party. The goal is the 5% Solution.

If a third party gets 5% of the popular vote in November, that party becomes officially recognized by the federal government. The party can participate in the federal funding available to Presidential candidates (that "Check this box to dedicate $3 of your tax" box on your 1040). The party must be included in debates. 5% means that, in the next election, the third party is no longer just some fringe group--it's officially part of the process.

I'm just gonna be straight up--one of these two dolts will be elected next month, and it doesn't matter which one it is. What matters is that, in 2012, we aren't faced with two even bigger dolts. I hear people saying that "If "the other guy" gets elected, this country is going down the tubes." But we all know that if "our" guy gets elected, the country is going down the tubes anyway--maybe just not as fast. And then, in the next election, we choose someone else that might not destroy us as fast as the other guy. We've been doing it for as long as I can remember, and if something doesn't change, we'll be doing it for the rest of my life.

Your vote in this election could mean that we could see real choice in 2012. You could be part of the 5% Solution. Imagine if your vote this year could be pivotal in putting someone onto the ballot in 2012 that not only had a real chance of winning, but would put this country back on the right track.

Check out http://www.bobbarr2008.com/ and consider voting Libertarian next month. You're vote isn't going to get Bob Barr elected. But that doesn't mean it's wasted. You can be part of the 5% Solution. 5% means that, long term, America wins.