There comes a time when you have to stand up for what is right and that’s what I’m going to do on November 6.

This summer my hopes for a liberty and Constitution minded president died as the GOP played a dirty game of delegate rules changes on Ron Paul.

It was like they were saying, “We know you’re beating us philosophically and we are scared out of our minds so we’re going to change the rules so we can win all the marbles.”

They literally stormed off with their bats and balls and refused to play by the established rules.

During all this time, even back to the primary debates, debates where again Dr. Paul was all but ignored by the GOP and the press, I was watching the burgeoning campaign of a man by the name of Gary Johnson.

You may not know Johnson because no one sponsoring the debates wants him on the podium. The GOP and Democratic Party don’t want him on the podium because I believe they are scared of the truth and they want you to believe there are only two parties from which to make your decision. They certainly didn’t want to hear the truth from Paul so they swatted him away like an irritating fly. They’re doing the same thing with Johnson.

Johnson is a two-term governor of New Mexico running on the Libertarian ticket and he’s the man I’m supporting.

Johnson is a self-made man, paying for college by working as a handyman and turning that business into one of the largest construction companies in the state of New Mexico. That says plenty right there, it says a lot about the American dream and what you do to achieve it.

People ask me why I’m squandering my vote. I’m not squandering my vote because if I voted any other way I would be voting against what I believe is right and I can’t do that.

I’m in founding fathers mode right now and have been ever since 2008 and beyond. It’s time for a change and I think even the members of both mainstream parties know that but are scared to stand up for what is right and will settle on voting for the lesser of two evils.

Many of my Republican friends admit they’re voting for the lesser of two evils and patronize me by admitting they know it’s time for other solutions but their main goal is to get President Obama out of office first.

What that says to me is they don’t really want to take a stand for liberty and the Constitution and are content to continue electing the status quo to office year after year after year.

My reason for voting for Johnson is quite simple: We are all Libertarians. Some of us know we are and some don’t or are afraid to admit it.

The Libertarian platform is about as close as you can get to what our founding fathers intended this country to be.

Look at New Hampshire and the Free State Project for an idea on what a liberty and Constitution based government would look like.

As I’ve said plenty of times, government is not your friend and shouldn’t be your babysitter. Government shouldn’t tell us how big our sodas have to be or who we choose as our life partners.

I can’t stand seeing troops come back in body bags from the Middle East and I believe our continued intervention over there is anything but healthy.

I’m certainly glad some of my Republican friends weren’t standing at Ellis Island when my grandfather came over from Albania or they would have driven him back with pitchforks and torches in hand.

Johnson believes there should be a pathway to citizenship instead of shutting down borders. Immigrants built this country and the free market system they essentially created is crumbling as American jobs go overseas.

On issues like abortion and the legalization of marijuana, wouldn’t it be nice for states to decide rather than a bloated federal government telling us what we can and can’t do?

That’s been the problem — we’ve just allowed the federal government to decide what’s right and wrong for us and we’ve let the media and politicians tell us that if you don’t vote Republican or Democrat you are squandering your vote. Believe me, the only wasted vote is the one not cast and you only waste it if your vote is not based on studying the issues.

I’m personally tired of voting for the lesser of two evils because at some point we’re going to pay the price for it and in many ways I believe we already are.

Some people probably call my choice sour grapes because Paul didn’t make it. That’s got nothing to do with it. I have studied the issues and know what I believe.

We just can’t keep grazing happily in the field without consequences and pretend this country has no problems.

That’s why I’ll take the liberty candidate to carry on the legacy of a man whose dream for a free country died in a game of dirty pool — Lance Martin