“Don’t blame me! I voted for Kodos.”

As we near election day, I see my libertarian friends, brothers and sisters all, continue to post the same old tripe comparing Democrats to Republicans and how there is no difference.  Honestly it angers me.

 “The government you have today is the direct result of your choosing the lesser of two evils for years and years…” or something is how one of the more popular sayings go.  It surprises me for individuals so self-described fiercely independent in their thought, that they could come up with something so intellectually dishonest and illogical.

May I counter with:  “In comparing the economy and freedoms you have today to that of 3.75 years ago, is a direct result of YOU making a principled decision to not vote or make a protest vote on a candidate with ZERO chance of actually defeating the greater of two evils.”

Or how about:  “The Constitution of 1787 that you have today that still allows slavery is a direct result of you NOT being a principled delegate to the Constitutional Convention from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, taking your marbles, and going home.”

Is Mitt Romney a perfect candidate?  No.  Does he accurately reflect your political beliefs my libertarian friend?  Of course not.  Will Barrack Obama continue to do what he has done if re-elected?  Of course he will.

The decision to vote or pout on principle is that of absolute laziness.  This is not the time to be principled.  The time to be principled is the time between the election cycles, doing the hard work that only the committed Marxists on the left do.  The time to be principled is when you are taking back the Republican Party from the ground up.  Principles matter when you are taking that local Republican precinct position.  Principles matter when you start backing local State representatives that hold your principled view.  Principles matter when you go to the state convention in off years and put the screws to the establishment GOP that continues to screw up this party.

Principles do NOT matter right now.  The only thing that does matter is what happens on November 6.  Once that is done, then the important work of taking back the Republican party goes on.

“The candidates that you have for primaries are a direct reflection of people being lazy during non-election cycle years, and of abdicating the responsibility of having a stake of ownership within the Republican Party.”

This is a long process.  Slavery wasn’t abolished for almost 80 years after the ratification of the Constitution.  Did the abolitionists sit on their principled duffs and do nothing in between then; only whining about how no-one else was principled in their political actions?  No.  They forced change upon the rest of the sheep, who were content to pay no attention to politics until election time came.

I am reminded of that classic Simpsons episode of 1996 in which Bob Dole and Bill Clinton are taken over in bodily form by the aliens Kronos and Kodos.  Following the election, Homer, from his chains, smugly tells Marge, “Don’t blame me!  I voted for Kodos.”

As our liberties crumble around us in the next four years, I will not be comforted by you telling me glibly, “Don’t blame me, I voted for Johnson/Paul/sat-at-home.”