Given the choice between John McCain and Barack Obama, the Democrat clearly represents the lesser evil, if not by much. The closest parallel to this election might be the contest 40 years ago between Richard Nixon and Hubert H. Humphrey—both of them pro-war, government-expanding, anti-civil-liberties Keynesians. Obama, with his not-to-be-believed promises of getting out of Iraq, is a peace candidate in the same way Nixon, with his secret plan to end the Vietnam War, was. McCain certainly has much in common with Humphrey: he too would continue the policies of Lyndon Johnson, which are also the policies of George W. Bush.

Fortunately, we do not have to sail straight into Scylla or Charybdis. Yet the Libertarian and Constitution parties, which should have been able to capitalize on discontent with the GOP this year, if ever, have again shown themselves to be irrelevant or counterproductive. The Libertarians nominated a professional politician and ran a slick campaign—or at least a campaign run by a slickster, Russ Verney—but in the process alienated actual libertarians. (Not only did Barr feud with Ron Paul, Verney sent out a campaign e-mail lauding Bush’s “incredible leadership” after 9/11. Who needs Libertarians like that?) The Constitution Party chose the opposite path, repulsing a takeover attempt by Alan Keyes and remaining true to principle—at the cost of the party’s California ballot line. The lesson is plain: a minor party’s commitment to principle is inversely proportional to its political effectiveness.

Voting symbolically is one thing—that’s what almost all of us do anyway since statistically our votes are not likely to sway the outcome. But organizing symbolically, committing hundreds of thousands of dollars and man-hours to third parties, is a waste of capital and talent that could be put to better use in Republican or Democratic primaries. The difference between Ron Paul’s 1988 Libertarian campaign and his 2008 Republican bid illustrates the point. Forget the minors; take over the majors.

With that in mind, I’m writing in Ron Paul for president and Barry Goldwater Jr. for vice president. Why agonize over whether Barr or Baldwin is the better constitutionalist, when you can cast your ballot for the very best? A vote for Paul is an endorsement of all he has accomplished (and might yet achieve) and a rejection of the often honorable but never effective course of the third parties. 

John Patrick Diggins

Rod Dreher

Francis Fukuyama

Kara Hopkins

Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn

Leonard Liggio

Scott McConnell

Declan McCullagh

Robert A. Pape

Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.

Gerald J. Russello

Steve Sailer

John Schwenkler

Joseph Sobran

Peter Wood