Voting ReDeux

In reply to David and Rod's responses regarding my voting question I appreciate their very thoughtful responses to what I believe libertarians and folks vaguely familiar with public choice theory too often dismiss as"irrational."

My own reasons for not voting since 1992 were largely practical. Living in the District of Columbia until 2001 meant that any act of political participation legitimized a system I saw as blatantly illegal - taxation without representation. Since the District is overwhelming Democratic my vote truly would have been a colossal waste of my time. I didn't vote in local elections here in Indy last year because I was not able to for health reasons on election day. Hopefully this year that won't be the case.

However I have no problem with people voting for just the reasons Rod and David articulated. Like any intelligent political scientist I used to teach Downs to my undergraduates at GU to try to at least get them to see why lots of folks rationally choose not to vote. Regarding vote choice, I think Rod made the straightforward case for libertarians not supporting Bush, but I will argue, once the Democratic front runner is set, that it's a bit more complicated then that. However I lean towards his assessment of the Bush presidency as one that has certainly been a huge disappointment for fans of liberty.