what's crazy about it is the 3rd party/abstainers position is that "well you just don't care about genocide because it doesn't affect you directly" and the pragmatists are like "you have the privilege to let a fascist win because you think it won't affect you" and they're both kinda right.
I'm kind of stuck in a weird limbo because I believe that letting republicans win is demonstrably insanely more harmful to the people that democrats are already harming.
this is where I land as well and it isn't that I don't feel deeply ashamed at the US's stance on Israel/Palestine, but I don't see how abstaining or voting 3rd party tangibly helps anyone or at least I don't feel right casting a vote that I know will actively hurt people just to be morally right.
Some of us actually believe in democracy, not a 2 right-wing party duolopy that has one side screaming at us for daring to vote for who will represent us, and not for a pair of genocidal fascists who kept sending bombs and money to Israel, so they can keep killing brown kids.
The choice was between a party that was funding Israel and showing indifference to domestic issues, and a party that openly detailed plans to decimate the middle east while jailing and deporting immigrants, persecuting lgbt and the poor, and taking away women's rights.
this is the perfect example of the kind of post I was talking about, thank you.
I just wish more “abstainers” voted for 3rd party candidates that condemned Palestinian genocide. Would be easier to point to large numbers of 3rd party voters and say “see?” Than it is to point at a large block of nothing and speculate why low turnout happened this time versus all the other times.
I voted for Stein last election, cause I'm an independent Voter, due to the bs the Democrats get up to. [would be on registry, but there's the American Independent Party in CA, which is different, so eh.]
2024 "I voted for Stein last election" = I didn't vote to stop Trump. If you truly feel 2 parties are 100% equally bad, then I get it. Harris, Trump = zero difference so a vote for Easter bunny doesn't matter. I think you're wrong & that there are some significant differences. Not enough but enough.
I’m an independent myself, which hurts in Florida i find because the primaries are closed to registered party only. I’ve debated registering republican only to go put my thumb on the scale.
Non voters/abstainers are often disregarded in the arguments b/t liberals and conservatives, because they want it to seem like it's a tiny pie of votes the two parties are voting over, while a massive tank of votes sitting behind them is ignored, then complain when their candidate lose.
Hence my lament. Easy to ignore those who stay home, but if that 1/3rd of the eligible voters that didn’t vote show up and cast for 3rd party, i fail to see how the existence of tangible numbers wouldn’t be effective in an argument.
DNC and RNC actively conspire to keep 3rd parties out of the elections, so that they don't have to actually face proper competition. [Currently reg as Democrat, if only for local elections and to participate in bigger ones. CA doesn't have a regular Independent Party]
The abstainers didn't have ballot access Ballot access requires work. What are they doing to RIGHT NOW to change things for the next election? The folks on here think pointing fingers & looking down their nose is activism. Instead it's lazy, pretentious, & horrifying bcuz they KNOW the consequence