I had been rooting for Senator Klobuchar a bit here at NOL over the past couple weeks. Nothing crazy, but I liked what I read. Now, I must eat my words. It turns out the Senator was a government prosecutor before she became a politician, something I did not know.
So, I am glad she’s out of the race. Being a government prosecutor is how most politicians in Washington start their careers. How many people can you put behind bars? How much “crime” can you prevent? If you’re answer is “LOTS” then you’re well on your way to a seat in federal Congress.
I’m not much of a political junkie anymore. I’ve just come to accept that I’m ignorant of far too many things to waste my time in a voting booth, or listening to politicians promise me stuff.
I understand that democracy is the the worst form of government, except for all the others. But I’m ignorant. When I’m old, and bored, I’ll probably get back into politics. I can think of nothing more intellectually stimulating, actually, than participating in political events as a senior citizen. The crowds, the organizational effort, the sense of belonging. I get it now.
The most heartening, encouraging thing I’ve read about the American primaries is that young people are still staying away from the polls. Liberty is alive, well, and aflame.
Notes On Liberty 
If you’re not a political junkie anymore, then what are you?
I’ve voted a couple times. Here’s how it usually goes:
1. Start with the big races with names I know. Make sure I don’t vote for anyone I know to be a crazy idiot, but probably just vote for the libertarian candidate (as long as they aren’t double listed under a column that indicates they’re even crazier or more idiotic than I am). When in doubt, vote against the incumbent.
2. Then I vote for libertarian candidates in other races. Again, anyone double listed as Libertarian/Populist gets skipped.
3. Think to myself “family court judge seems important” then try to figure out based on essentially zero information which candidates are least likely to be terrible.
4. Get overwhelmed and start voting randomly.
5. Remember that I can stop any time I want and leave half of my ballot blank.
It doesn’t help my faith in humanity that I’m still probably in the top half of informed voters. Thank god the lizard people in charge are marginally competent. I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking I might start voting for incumbents instead of against. Of course I should really just stop firing randomly into the crowd, but I’ve got too many family members who want me to vote so I’ll just have to remind myself that my vote isn’t decisive and skip steps 2-4.