I can’t count the number of times this year that I was told my vote for Gary Johnson would really be a vote for Obama. You’ve heard this logic before. Everybody has. It’s inherently faulty logic.
The thought process is that since either the Republican or Democrat candidate will likely win the election, a vote for someone else is a waste. And since I’d never support Obama, then if I don’t vote for Romney (the only one who had a chance at beating Obama), then my vote supports Obama because it wasn’t cast for the guy who could have beat him.
But here’s the problem: that logic assumes that I would have been willing to support Romney if Johnson has not been running. If it were a race between just Obama and Romney – with no third party option – I would have abstained.
I made the decision a few years back to never vote for a candidate I couldn’t support. The lesser of evils is, indeed, still evil. There was far too much about Romney that I couldn’t support, so I voted against Romney and Obama.
But that doesn’t stop the accusations, and, since the Republicans lost, it’s the Libertarians’ fault. Or, more specifically, those dang Ron Paul people. The truth, however, is that Romney lost on his own. My friend Jamie sent me this breakdown of the votes in some key states:
Ohio
Obama: 50.11%
Romney: 48.22%
Johnson: 0.91%
Romney + Johnson = 49.13%
No Spoiler in Ohio.
Florida
Obama: 49.85%
Romney: 49.29%
Johnson: 0.52%
Romney + Johnson = 49.81%
Close, but still no spoiler in Florida.
Virginia
Obama: 50.75%
Romney: 47.83%
Johnson: 0.82%
Romney + Johnson: 48.65%
No Spoiler in Virginia.
Colorado
Obama: 51.07%
Romney: 46.64%
Johnson: 1.32%
Romney + Johnson = 47.96%
No Spoiler in Colorado.
Wisconsin
Obama: 52.73%
Romney: 46.15%
Johnson: 0.66%
Romney + Johnson = 46.81%
No Spoiler in Wisconsin
New Hampshire
Obama: 52.07%
Romney: 46.66%
Johnson: 1.17%
Romney + Johnson = 47.83%
No Spoiler in New Hampshire.
Not one of the swing states’ outcomes was determined by a spoiler. Romney didn’t get the votes he needed because Romney was a sub par candidate. Keep that in mind next time you hear a libertarian being accused of voting for Obama.
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