Anti-Johnson Crowd is Full of Cowards

 

Not a day goes by when I get a message from a conservative telling me that I must vote for Mitt Romney, not just because a vote for Gary Johnson (or anyone other than Romney or Obama) would be a wasted vote, but that we must vote for the one guy who has a shot of defeating Obama to save our country. That we absolutely cannot vote for anyone other than Romney, because if Obama gets another four years this country will no longer exist. There’s a reason for this.

They’re cowards.

Some examples of the comments I’ve received:

We are on the preverbial roof of a house while the flood waters are rising. The rescue boat is here to help us off the roof and to drier ground. Are you going to say, no I would rather stay on the roof until a helicopter comes because I like helicopters better?

And:

Let me be clear, Romney was not my first, second, third, fourth,or even fifth choice! But I would vote for the town drunk before I voted for Obama. As far as the status quo you say, well I think we have to STOP THE BLEEDING, you may not agree with that approach but the last four years of the wrecking ball smashing away at the economy everyday I believe we need to try a different approach. Such as getting more people back to work so there is more people paying taxes.

The thing is that there is virtually no evidence that Romney is either A) piloting the rescue boat coming to get us, or B) going to do anything to stop the bleeding. The man is very acutely interesting in expanding our military budget, while doing little to reform our bloated entitlements or actually cutting spending beyond the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—which is a good move, but not enough to save us from the black hole we’re spiraling into.

Because of the utter lack of differences between Romney and Obama, I must ask why people are being so forceful in demanding we vote for Romney. The only conclusion I can come to is that they are cowards. They are not being brave or courageous, as they may think they are. Rather, they are being motivated entirely by fear.

Actually, “motivated” is the wrong word. The proper word is “controlled.” They are being controlled by their fear, consumed by it. Instead of being in control of their own destinies, they are so wracked by fear that they are just reacting to it, being virtual slaves to it.

For what it’s worth, it’s understandable and I sympathize. Obama has been a disaster in the White House. The economic recovery can be best described as “anemic,” or a “noncovery.” He’s also been fairly bad on foreign policy, atrocious on civil liberties (NDAA, anyone?), created the monstrosity known as Obamacare, and at every step has either trampled on the Constitution or made it harder for Americans to actually go back to work. His administration has been a wreck.

But does that mean we should vote for Romney?

I don’t know about you, but watching the debate in Denver last week, it was pretty clear that Romney isn’t much different. First off, the man said that he “loves green energy.” That’s become a watchword for “wasteful corporate subsidies” and a synonym for “Solyndra.” Second, he also said he didn’t want to cut education spending. That’s a huge waste in our government, and while not the #1 thing dragging us down (that’s entitlements and military spending, the former Romney will do jack on and the latter he wants to increase), that is something that can definitely be cut. That he doesn’t want to shows he isn’t serious about fixing our problems and is not the savior conservatives want.

But they gloss over all of these flaws to relentlessly push for Romney, a man just eight months ago they hated with a passion. They gloss over the fact that Romney is really just Obama, only with Caucasian skin and a red tie. They gloss over all his statements where he has proven he isn’t a believer in truly limited government.

Instead of taking a principled stand, they cower in the shadow of Obama. So overcome with fear of this one man they have allowed themselves to be duped into voting for what is essentially his “conservative” surrogate. That is not courage. To vote for a man who represents no change from the status quo, except that he is from the opposite party of the incumbent, is nothing more than abject cowardice.

This has to end. Until we as Americans stand up for literal free markets and a truly free society, will we have no solace. We cannot and must not allow fear to dictate our actions. That’s not the America I grew up in, and it’s certainly not the America I want to leave to my eventual children.

I am not a coward. And that is why I—as a private citizen—will not vote Republican this year.