Did Libertarians Help Elect Democrat Maria Cantwell to the Senate?

The big pre-election speculation was that Green Party candidate Ralph Nader would siphon off enough votes from Al Gore to elect George W. Bush, and that certainly seems to be the case in Florida. If Gore had captured only a small fraction of Nader voters in Florida, the campaigning wouldn’t still be going on.

But there’s another close race in Washington State. Democrat Maria Cantwell beat incumbent Republican Senator Slade Gorton by a mere 1,953 votes out of 2.3 million cast. The Libertarian Party candidate, Jeff Jared, received 65,000 votes — 32 times the margin of Cantwell’s victory.

Washington state’s Republican Party chairman, Don Benton told the Tacoma News Tribune, “In effect, in several races, what Libertarian candidates have done is elect someone who is opposed to everything they stand for. Libertarians and those who may feel motivated to vote Libertarian need to really look at the big picture.”

Chris Caputo, treasurer of the Washington Libertarian Party, suggests its just not that simple. He notes that Jared emphasized his support of hemp legalization — a stand that probably stripped away some Democratic voters from Cantwell’s total. Not to mention the fact that in many respects, Republicans are just as opposed to what libertarians stand for as Democrats are.

But it is a legitimate question — should libertarians worry that their vote for a Libertarian Party candidate or other third party candidate might help elect the more statist candidate? I have no idea. Personally, I didn’t see enough difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush to persuade me not to vote for Harry Browne, even though he wasn’t my ideal candidate either. On the other hand, in two close state races I did vote for a Republican and a Democrat (both of whom lost — I’m proud to say I have yet to vote for a candidate who actually won his or her race) because that candidate’s opponent was significantly worse.

What libertarians shouldn’t do is fool themselves into believing that electoral politics are an effective way to build a movement. This is the position the Left keeps deluding itself into. Ralph Nader and the Green Party think they’re building a movement, but their small electoral success is actually going to be a hindrance in much the way that Ross Perot’s success was a hindrance to the Reform Party (in both cases, the votes were more for the individual rather than for the general principles of the party). When the Libertarian Party notes that it set a record for a third party by garnering 1.6 million votes in Congressional elections, my response is so what?

It certainly demonstrates that the Libertarian Party has some very dedicated individuals working in its state parties, but it doesn’t exactly get us any closer to transforming the United States into a libertarian paradise. This wouldn’t be so bad if the Libertarian Party was frank about the reality — most Americans aren’t even close to voting or supporting the Party. Even those who score in the libertarian area of the World’s Smallest Political Quiz are more likely to vote for a non-Libertarian Party candidate according to a Rasmussen poll.

In the long run Benton might not be too far off the mark in that the best way libertarians might have an impact is through efforts that drive the Republican Party further into the free market camp.

Source:

Libertarians tip balance in Washington state. Beth Silver, Tacoma News Tribune, November 24, 2000.

One thought on “Did Libertarians Help Elect Democrat Maria Cantwell to the Senate?”

Leave a Reply