How do we Libertarians most effectively allocate our limited resources? Suppose you have $100 to contribute to aiding the cause of liberty. How should you spend that $100? One obvious answer is to donate it to the Libertarian Party – at the national, state or local level. Another is to contribute to the campaigns of Libertarian candidates you particularly favor. All of those options make sense.
Here’s one that doesn’t: contributing to the campaign of a Republican candidate who’s a sure loser, and will spend more than $100 for each vote he’s likely to receive.
Peter Schiff is a libertarian-leaning Republican who is in a three-way race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. He received the support of only 3% of the delegates at the CT GOP state convention, and recent polls show him at 7%-13%. About 200,000 people are expected to vote in the GOP primary, which means that Schiff will receive 14,000 to 26,000 votes. He has currently raised about $3.3 million, so even if he gets 26,000 votes, he will have spent $127 per vote.
So, whatcha gonna do with that $100? Use it to support the Libertarian Party and its candidates, or buy a bit less than one vote for a losing candidate of another party? In my book, the answer is obvious.
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Update 8/11 – Final totals are not yet certain, but Schiff received approximately 28,000 votes out of 125,000 cast, at a cost of $110-$120/vote. The winner, Linda McMahon, spent more than $300 for each vote she received!
