Originally Posted by seretogis

Agreed. "Fiscal responsibility" to a Libertarian means the government not taking money from people in order to provide for others. Nationalized healthcare is not fiscally responsible from a Libertarian's point of view, and neither is welfare or publicly funded transportation. Neither Democrats or Republicans, to a Libertarian -- someone who wants government involvement to be at a minimum -- appear to be fiscally responsible, or have been for decades. So, to cast a vote for either would be to cast a vote against our ideology. It is not morally responsible for a Libertarian to vote either Democrat or Republican.

As far as "defensively" voting, the same as I said above applies. The only "defensive" vote a Libertarian in good conscience can cast is for a Libertarian or equally Libertarian-minded candidate. Neo-con Republicans and Democrats do not fit the bill. If you want to rail about Libertarian and Libertarian-minded people "letting Republicans win" by not voting Democrat, you need to start a dime-a-dozen "vote-wasting" thread which seems to always pop up at around this time. In my opinion, voting for the candidate who best fits your ideology is never a wasted vote, even if he has a miniscule chance of winning. If Republicans (or Democrats) want to burn the house down around us, so be it. I and other Libertarian-minded people will be here to help rebuild it with the principles and values that we never sold out.