I voted

I voted boldly, and ordered today’s bold blend. At my store, today’s bold brew is “Thanksgiving Roast”.

The women behind me asked me if it tasted like turkey. The man behind him said, “first we vote for turkeys, now we have to drink them?”

A larger than normal crowd at Starbucks this morning, but a bit more joviality in line than usual.

Sellout!!!!

Given the cost of only 3 minutes, and the neglected benefits of the coffee reward (not to mention that “I voted today” sticker you get to display to impress your friends with your “dutiful citizen” cred), do you suppose economics may as well give up on any more papers why, despite negative expectations, people bother to vote?

I just voted for the first time over a decade, but there’s no way I’m taking time out of my day to go to Starbucks.

I was going to vote this morning, but the line had 100+ people in it, so I left after 10 minutes waiting.

Strange year to decide to finally vote.

Or maybe Alex was just trying to cancel out Tyler’s vote for Obama?

I voted by mail and am drinking coffee I brewed myself, thank you very much. They don’t give out stickers if you vote by mail, though.

My state is more or less guaranteed to go to Obama, but I did get a sense of satisfaction out of voting against another half-baked proposal to increase the local sales tax.

Try voting in a city, or even a bad city… Takes forever, according to 92.3 FM. I wonder why if there is a prejudice towards poor people for voting…

Since no one else here will say it, Alex, please let me:

Congratulations! You have done the last thing prohibited to you before you became a citizen. For good or ill, you can wait in line and express yourself in a low-cost* environment, just like the rest of us, and have done so.

Welcome!

*To you, that is.

Hmm. What’s your consulting rate, Alex? Coffee costs what, $3? 5% of an hour for $3? You’re selling your soul too cheaply.

“It took me an hour altogether, I got there 45 minutes after polls opened. By the time I left there was no line whatsoever (still only 8:15 AM).”

When I left my polling place in DC around 8:45 AM, the line was almost exactly as long as it had been when I got there. Perhaps I would have saved some pretty good time if I had gotten there before 7 (I only live two blocks from my precinct), but I doubt that the line in my precinct shortened to anything less than an hour until at least 9:30 or 10:00.

If it weren’t for the fact that elections are run by local and state authorities, this kind of disparity in the cost of voting between localities would be considered woefully unacceptable. This is a big part of what has caused me to reconsider the idea of federally-run elections.

“What ever happened to regular old coffee-flavored coffee?”
Come on, now, this observation was drained of all novelty at least 10 years ago. If you want to drink motor oil nobody’s stopping you. If you want to blow $5 on a hot milkshake, nobody’s stopping you(except for maybe your wallet). Most reasonable people have found something that works for them in the middle ground. There is absolutely nothing bad, or necessarily snobbish, about liking quality coffee. Or enjoying any refined taste, for that matter.

I’d rather drink microbrews than mass-marketed pilsners like Budweiser, too, and it’s because I genuinely like the taste of microbrews more.

In many places – though not where I live – Starbucks was the first place to offer decent coffee. For this they should be lauded. They’re also a fairly progressive company and they treat their employees well. I usually patronize independent coffee shops, myself, but I’m glad Starbucks is around.

“The amount of intense, contortive rationalization to justify not voting for Obama in this thread is mind-boggling. And very entertaining”

Not, probably, as amusing as reading those who believe people need “contortive rationalization” to determine they don’t agree with Obama and don’t wish to vote for him. We still have the right to vote for the candidate we choose, comrade. For now.

I suspect Alex voted for Obama because he feels the Republicans are evil warmongers. And I certainly have a lot of sympathy for that position.

However, we are very likely to get wars, anyway, as Russia and Iran feel emboldened to expand their empire with America under a cross between the Carter and Chamberlain administrations, oil prices plummetting, the global economy tanking, and isolationism the new mantra.

I feel we are also likely to get another 9/11, but this time a lot more serious than toppling a couple of buildings. A nuke in lower Manhattan and central DC seems likely.

I really don’t know how to square my anti-war inclinations and beliefs with the fact that the “international community” is in fact a very dangerous jungle where pacifism will get you stomped on. I fear we are about to taste the boot leather, and good. . .

My understanding is you could not bear the possibility that Obama would lose. Well, let’s see whether he improves drug policy — by cutting back on the FDA and protecting free markets for medicines — or harms them by allowing for more FDA regulation and by regulating drug prices. While McCain is no good, Obama and the Democrats are likely to be awful on this.

Bob Murphy,

Prof. Tabarrok has already said he thinks libertarians should vote for Obama, so I’m guessing that’s who he voted for.

*sycophants*

I supported Kerry in 2004 because of the Republican dominance of Congress, but now supporting McCain in 2008 for similar reasons is the result of “rationalization.”

Great.

Libertarians will regret voting for Obama 2008 even more than they regret having voted for Bush 2000.

Really Blackadder, is that what he really said? Or was he making a rhetorical case for such a vote?

I suppose it’s possible that Prof. Tabarrok was just being rhetorical, but the post doesn’t read that way to me. This post, also, would suggest that Prof. Tabarrok probably voted for Obama.

I’m not sure how thinking this makes me a “stupid right-wing syncophant[sic]“. Is this just a phrase you use to close all your comments? A kind of latter-day “Cathago Delenda Est” perhaps?

Not voting is simply not pulling your weight. It’s therefore really odd to be outwardly proud about it. It makes the most sense tell everyone you are voting, even if you’re not. I mean, do you want to convince other people not to pull their weight?

Sycophantism: It is so because the meter said it and made it so. Meter is the new yardstick upon which all are measured.

Even though Alex’s post was titled “Why Libertarians Should Vote for Obama” that is no reason to think that Libertarians, of which he claims to be one, would actually vote for Obama.

Yah, liberal, we can see how you grew out of libertarianism.

Nineteen doods dropped the towers with box cutters. The sad thing is, for all the overreaction, they could do it again, just as easily. The problem is systemic. Anyone who thinks “Bush dropped the ball” is a twit. Of course Bush has been as worthless as teets on a boarhog. The Dems have been just as worthless as the Republicans on this, maybe moreso. The only person with something to lose who went on the limb with the right take was Ron Paul. Libertarian.

Alex is shaken out of principled non-voting to cast his ballot for…Barr.

A.) That doesn’t seem like a reason to elect someone to office and
Which is good, because that’s not why he’s being elected. It is something that will provide real benefits, though. And anyway, plenty of people have certainly made it known that they’ll vote for McCain because he’s white. Just the other day I saw a sticker on a car where the letters “NOBAMA” were arranged in place of the stars on a confederate flag.

B.) The violent racist legacies of the rest of the world would make the average American Southerner blush.

The rest of the world is a giant fan of violent racism – as long as it’s not in America.
I’m aware of this, but this only bolsters the argument that a black american president. Our allies take cues from us at times – I read an article where europeans were amazed at the prospect that we would have a black president and a little ashamed that no european country could claim to have reached a similar milestone. Our strategic enemies also use our moves symbolically to justify their own actions. Russia claimed the right to attack Georgia(though this whole issue has been covered very poorly in the western press, but that’s another issue) based on our invasion of Iraq. Bush claimed the right to use tactical nukes, and guess what? Russia’s stated response to the use of precision-guided American conventional weaponry is now to use tactical nukes themselves.

Which is good, because that’s not why he’s being elected.

Then why bring it up? I’ve had countless white people breathlessly explain that this is a major reason they’re voting for him. I’m not originally American and I can’t understand why 1.)America is so focused on everyone else’s racial preferences and 2.)why they think electing a black guy is going to erase past racism. Bizarre.

a little ashamed that no european country could claim to have reached a similar milestone.

First, they need to reach the milestone of not openly hating anyone not of their tribe – Americans of all stripes, other Europeans, members of their former colonies, etc. They have a long way to go before they consider electing anyone dissimilar. First, they have to be able to have tea with them. Baby steps.

Russia claimed the right to attack Georgia(though this whole issue has been covered very poorly in the western press, but that’s another issue) based on our invasion of Iraq.

Oh well, by all means then let’s stop doing anything at all. Russia is my country of origin and I’m very well aware that Russia used to blame capitalism for everything that went wrong in Russia (which was everything). Perhaps we should quit capitalism too (oh crap – too late. That’s a done deal). It is the pure arrogance of the United States to think that all other countries are following its lead. Other countries and other people in other countries are self interested and act on their own. They can always find an excuse to justify their behaviour. Don’t be a sucker and assume that if only the U.S. behaved primly, the rest of the world will follow like cattle.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Bush has done more hang the socialist albatross around America’s neck than anyone since Hoover. But electing a Marxist president to rule with a socialist congress is not going to make this better. I can’t believe more libertarians (I think you’re more that type of liberal, no?) wouldn’t want to split the two branches of government to create gridlock. Personally, I can’t stand Obama (I don’t like any politicians, really), but if the congress were expected to go to the Republicans, I would have voted for him. I can’t understand why people think that both branches in the hands of one party is better than both branches in the hands of the other.

I’m pretty sure I know why Alex voted:

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/026714.php