Libertarians express lack of choices in presidential race

Tuesday night’s debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney might have helped some undecided voters weigh their options. It might have strengthened other voters in their party choice.

Yet not everyone is torn or committed to one of the sides. Some have skipped the pair altogether.

At a meeting of the Young Americans for Liberty Monday night, 14 students sat in Ballantine Hall trying to figure out campaign slogans for a mock candidate of their creation, Obamney.

“Either way, they win.”

“Change we can’t believe in.”

“The illusion of choice.”

The composite candidate is meant to poke fun at the policies and leadership of Obama and Romney. To the group, it also represents a broken system, one without choice.

Chris Spangle has been the executive director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana for the last four years. He said he doesn’t see much difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates or the outcome of their policies.

“I really don’t care if a Republican or Democrat is in office,” Spangle said. “I don’t look at rhetoric. I look at results. If you look at what our government has done, you can’t say that either party has done a good job.”

The Libertarian Party fulfills the role of a third choice, an alternative to the two-party system, what Spangle called an “irrational system.”

Jillian Miers, executive director of Young Americans for Liberty, identifies as a Libertarian.

She said it has been a struggle for her to defend her beliefs while many say she throws away her vote and should instead choose between the lesser of two evils.

“Even strangers tell me, ‘You’re wasting your vote,’” Miers said. “That’s a weird thing, having people that you don’t know telling you that the philosophy you hold is a waste of time.”

Young Americans for Liberty isn’t a Libertarian organization, but a sizable number of members tend to lean that way, Miers said.

Either way, the two main parties aren’t cutting it for most members, though some will ultimately vote for Obama or Romney.

“Deep down, we know there’s a realism that the Libertarian Party isn’t going to win the election, but we know it’s making gains,” Miers said. “We have a say, as well.”

Libertarian Gary Johnson is seeking the office of U.S. president. He’s polled in the mid-low single digits nationally.

In the Indiana Senate race, Libertarian Andrew Horning drew 7 percent in a mid-September Howey-DePauw survey.

A more recent October poll by Rasmussen Reports ignored Horning altogether on its questionnaire.

Spangle said Libertarians are on the ballot in many races in the state, a change from years past.

Johnson will be on the ballot in most states, including Indiana.

But viewers of the presidential debate didn’t see Johnson at the debate, nor will they at any nationally televised presidential debate this year.

“I think the debate and especially the media coverage after the debates is just a spectacle in that they don’t really contribute to anyone’s understanding of the candidates’ plan for policies,” Miers said. “I think the debates are mostly just theater in that they are attempting to show people the personality of the candidates.”