What's The Point?

That's the question I hear over and over again from my non-libertarian friends with regards to Michael Badnarik's involvement with the Greens in Ohio, requesting a recount.

What's the point? Kerry has conceded.
What's the point? It won't change the outcome.
What's the point? It won't move Badnarik any higher, so it won't bring the Libertarian Party of Ohio (LPO) the automatic ballot access it craves.

The point is, says Badnarik, is to make sure that every vote counts so that people believe in the system. This is an excellent principle, and a fine reason to participate. So who has complained that they feel left out? Not sure. The answer gets vague there, and that's a surprise. You would expect a whole lot of Democrats to be clamoring. But, they're not. Is Badnarik representing any constituency? It seems not. There are a handful of voters on the complaint, along with Badnarik and Green candidate David Cobb.

So Badnarik, who struggled mightily to raise $1,000,000 nationwide is now trying to raise $100,000 for a recount. It would have been far more valuable in my estimation to raise that extra $100,000 before the election, spending it on TV ads. The recount effort would be worthwhile if it were generating good will. It is doing the opposite, and reinforcing the idea that the LP is a bunch of kooks. We aren't even getting good press out of it from friendly sources. WorldNet Daily's article quotes the Green spokesperson, but not a Libertarian, which is typical of the articles.

I had the opportunity to interview Badnarik on the radio 10 days ago. I asked him if the recount effort was being done to support the LPO, who fights some of the toughest ballot hurdles in the country. His answer? "No." It seemed that it hadn't even occurred to him.

That leads me to ask, what's the point?