Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

or

I don’t want to throw away my vote and steal votes from my go-to team

By Ed Rutledge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCdqcYe0nN4

Libertarians frequently hear, “I like your message, but you don’t have a chance of winning and I don’t want to throw away my vote.” And as recently as just a couple of years ago, I grudgingly would have agreed with this sentiment. But the winds have started to shift, and given the incredibly positive response that both Lex and I have received as we have travelled throughout Illinois, and the enormous amount of dissatisfaction directed at the status quo, Libertarians have a real shot at winning in Illinois.

That said, I am realistic enough to understand what an uphill battle Lex and I face as political outsiders. The Machine / GOP combine, which has run Illinois for the past several decades, has made it extremely difficult to offer voters a legitimate choice on the ballot, let alone for such an outside candidate to win. With this in mind, it is important to step back and define what would constitute a Libertarian victory.

An outright win would obviously qualify, but if Lex and I are able to just get solidly into the double digits, which I believe we will achieve, it will be enough to force the mainstream parties to incorporate Libertarian concepts, such as real fiscal discipline and social tolerance, into their policies. This would be a victory for both the Libertarian Party and for the State of Illinois.

If nothing else, Lex and I intend to win at least 5% of the vote total. This would eliminate going forward the iniquitous ballot access hurdles that Libertarian candidates currently face in Illinois. These ballot access hurdles are among the most onerous in the country, and have been erected by the status quo simply to reduce voter choice by keeping alternative party candidates off of the ballot. Simply winning ballot access for future elections would be an enormous strategic victory for both the Libertarian Party and the Voters of Illinois.

Alright, you may say, there are a variety of ways to gain a victory in this election and a vote for the Libertarians will not be wasted, but I don’t want the Libertarians to steal votes from the (pick a party).

It is important to understand that Libertarians do not steal votes. We could not steal votes if we wanted to. This simple truth is that the status quo parties are losing ground in every election cycle. They are throwing away votes by continually proving themselves to be unprincipled and self-serving. This is why more and more voters are declaring themselves “Independent.”

Libertarians, on the other hand, gain votes only by winning the hearts and minds of voters. We must earn every vote we win, but our message is sound and people are ready to hear it. This is why more and more Independent voters are becoming Libertarians.

Rather than stealing votes from the other parties, Libertarians are simply offering a better product. And voters are beginning to understand this, that the status quo is not working and that the Libertarian message makes sense. Liberty is truly on the march. So while Lex and I can “win without winning,” we have a real opportunity in this election cycle to pull off an outright Win.

The “Wasted Vote Syndrome” is very real, and its primary symptom is a vote for the status quo. Don’t waste your vote. Instead, vote for the government you want, and you just might get it.

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