Due to the way our political system is set up, the 2 parties wanted to stifle competition, so they created a system where a competing party has to work on private funding till it can get 5% of the popular vote in a prior election. When it does that, then it can apply for public funding in the next election. (public funding is taken from a 30 dollar checkmark on a tax form, i beleive. it doesnt raise your taxes by 30 dollars, it just diverts 30 dollars that would have gone to uncle Sam to the various presidential campaign war chests. or at least those that qualify for public funding. the libertarian party couldnt possibly compete using private funding the whole way, so they need public funding to field a decent campaign. help them get public funding, and eventually we'll start to see REAL ALTERNATIVES to the politicians we love to hate.
Dont think of it as wasting your vote. you're investing in the future of a potential 3rd party.
Unless, of course, libertarians will object to public funding on principle. now that i think about it, i'm not entirely sure what would happen. Libertarians.. they're a tricksy bunch
