I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 as a youngster who'd grown up with Reagan/Bush and wanted 'change'. It was the first time I voted for President, 19 years old and not really into politics.
As I saw Clinton in office, and as I liked him less and less, I decided I must be a Republican, so I became a Limbaugh quoting dittohead. I read and listened to Rush, and came to the conclusion that he really did know 'How Things Ought To Be' more or less. Limbaugh taught me to appreciate free markets, and to view any new government program with skepticism.
That lasted for a while, at least until the Gingrich Republicans swept into the House in '94 and I saw that they were a bunch of jerks in their own right. They showed me that Republicans are OK with new government programs as long as those programs are introduced by Republicans. A lesson that has been driven home with the force of a nuke during the W years.
In the run up to '96 with Clinton vs. Dole as the main event, I stumbled across a third party debate on C-SPAN. There was the Green Candidate, the Constitution Party candidate (Who said a lot of things I liked, but seemed to think that God and Christianity were meant to be a big part of Government), and finally there was the Libertarian Candidate(who said even more things I liked).
The Liberarian Candidate was a man named Harry Browne, and I voted for him in 1996 and in 2000. I read his book Why Government Desn't Work and it said a lot of the things that Limbaugh's book did and a lot more besides. I came around to the Libertarian position and it didn't take a lot of convincing.
I voted Libertarian in 2004 for Micael Badnarik, and while I knew he wouldn't win, at least I felt I'd voted for someone who more or less held most of my political beliefs as opposed to 10-30% percent of them like any given Democrat or Republican. I fact I refuse to vote for any Democrat or Republican in any election at any level if given a third choice. Even if that choice is Green or even Reform.
That could change as we are running up to Election 2008. He is effectively a Libertarian(and ran for President as one in 1988), but has a bit of a Populist streak in him as well. As a Republican member of the House of Representatives he will vote only in favor of bills that he sees as mandated or allowed by the Constitution. Because of this he has a nickname around Washington D.C. He is called Dr. No. His real name is Ron Paul, and he's my guy in 2008. His chances of winning the nomination for the Republicans is extremely slim. He's certainly the only chance the Republicans have of getting my vote in '08.
He's not the world's greatest speaker, and he's not particulary great looking (but he's not a goon like Tommy Thompson or a manifestation of Pure Evil like Sam Brownback either), but he does have an odd charisma and a weird energy that is a little infectious.
Here are some good Ron Paul resources:
Paul's YouTube page - Good way to keep up on his recent media appearances and such.
Paul's Campaign page - Links, articles, positions etc.
