Libertarians are Stupid

I confess: I am a libertarian. But the Libertarian Party in WA is prone to all sort of stupidity, and their latest is no different. This time they claim that Mitt Romney should not be on the ballot, because:

1. Only "major party" candidates for President can get on the ballot, unless they have 1,000 signatures (which Romney does not have)
2. A "major party" is defined as a party having a nominee in the last statewide general election in an even-numbered year that received 5% of the vote
3. While Dino Rossi -- the only Republican in a general election statewide race in 2010 -- got 47.64% of the vote, he was not nominated by the Washington State Republican Party

There are, of course, problems with all this. The most glaring is that Dino Rossi was nominated by the WSRP for governor in August, after the primary. It didn't happen at convention, but the law does not specify the method of nomination.

But even if he were not officially nominated, the fact is that Washington State has all along operated with the WSRP as though the WSRP is a major party for 2012. To come back after it is too late, and demand that they file 1,000 signatures -- which they could do in an afternoon, if not in an hour -- is so ridiculous as to be barely worth responding to. The State cannot tell a party its nominee will be on the ballot, thus they have nothing more to do, and then later say they can't be on the ballot. The damage done to democracy with such a move would be terrible.

This is just a bunch of whiny libertarians with an axe to grind over the nonsensical "Top Two" primary. I share their hatred of it, and I've written a lot about how terrible it is. But a frivolous lawsuit won't win anyone to their side.