Thanks all for sharing your insight. I know full well that Browne won't come close to winning. I also know that when forced to choose between Bush and Gore, I pick Bush 100 out of 100 times. I get the impression from this thread, however, that most of us (if not all) agree with the Libertarian ideals more so than Republican or Democrat. And if this thread could be used as a sample of a much larger population (be it all voting Republicans or the general public), I just think it is a tragedy that the majority of people vote out of fear, rather than for a candidate that more accurately represents their ideals. Imagine if everyone were informed and took a stand on election day.
Good point about Governor Ventura. Sure, he did have a big name in his favor (without his name recognition I'm not sure he would have won). But before the election, he was only polling at about 10%, which doesn't qualify him to be in televised debates. Once he managed to somehow work the system and participate in the debates, the entire election took a huge turn. My point is, that in the national elections candidates are not eligible to participate in debates unless they're polling at at least 15%, which excludes third party candidates every election (since Perot). So it's an UNFAIR catch-22: you need to debate in order to gain popularity, but you can't debate until you have a statistical (not mathematical) chance of winning. What are these Republicrats afraid of?! Let the little guys in the debates! But that's another can of worms.
Anyhow, my original intent was simply to spread the Libertarian word to those whom I think would appreciate it (and I think this audience is appropriate). So just learn about it, tell your friends and family, and think about maybe voting your conscience in the next local and state elections, if not the national elections, so that we CAN start from the bottom-up/grass roots. As a major national party, the Whigs ceased to exist only 12 years after a Whig candidate was elected President. It can happen in our lifetime, and wouldn't it be nice if the Libertarians replaced the Democrats as one of the major parties?
Alright, I'll stop dreaming now. It's just frustrating for me to want to be free to keep the money I earn, decide how I want to save for retirement, not have to pay for welfare and failing public school systems (and hundreds of other rediculous programs), carry a gun if I want, and tread lightly on public land. I want and think it's my right to have all these things, but I can't do a damn thing about it. So I guess I vote Republican in the hopes that I get to keep 70% of my paycheck, instead of the 68% that I'd keep if a Democrat is elected.