Don Parrish sent the following comments after we posted his article on “The Case for Badnarik“:
Thanks for a very nice editing job on my article. I was pleased with the result. If I had known that John Hospers was writing the case for Bush, I would have mentioned that my first Libertarian vote for President was in 1972 for Dr. Hospers, a man I admire very much. I met him in 1972 at the first Libertarian convention in Denver.
The last time I spoke to him was a few years ago at a TOC summer seminar. I told him that my favorite speech of his to a Libertarian group was entitled “To Keep Time With” in Dallas in 1974. He smiled at me and informed me it was his favorite speech too!! A kind of magic moment!!
Today I read his excellent, impassioned cry of the heart for Bush. It was vintage Hospers. I would love to team up with him on an attack-a-thon on Kerry! It was very appropriate for you to inform the Atlasphere that you could not get a case for Kerry!
If we were having a public discussion, I would point out that Libertarians who agree with Dr. Hospers should follow his advice if they live in a battleground state, but should follow my advice otherwise. He is emphasizing the short term and I, the long term.
Short term thinking can apply in the battleground states, but it is a waste in the majority of states. Libertarians who live, for example, in California, New York, Texas or Illinois should follow my suggestion and vote for Badnarik because there is nothing that will change the outcome in those states. Voting for Badnarik will have the practical effect of signaling President Bush in his second term to move in a more Libertarian direction.