Despite everything, if you're in the US, you should still vote
(lemmy.blahaj.zone)
When given a choice between a millitary industrial neoliberal with a rainbow voting base and a fascist who is one elon musk golf session away from banning HRT, the best option is certainly not to refuse to play out of protest
Except it is wasted because there is literally zero chance a 3rd party candidate will win the presidency. If we’re talking lower offices, then maybe, but if you’re not voting Harris then you are directly assisting Trump.
There is value in showing third parties are growing more popular. It's the first step that needs to happen for a third party candidate to become truely viable.
And yet, if there was ever a time where that isn't worth it, it's when fascists have a high chance of winning. Trump is not a right wing liberal; he wants to destroy the liberal world order that America controls just so no one can threaten his dictatorial power at home.
That may seem like it could benefit leftists elsewhere, but he wants to go to war with neighbors and bully other countries even harder than the liberal empire did. Where the American empire leaves, the Russian empire will take its place. All the while, an old man with no desire to leave a lasting legacy for his family or country is in control of the most powerful war machine on earth.
The first step that needs to happen is building up a third party through local politics, not ignoring politics for 3 years and 11 months and then suddenly expecting a third party to become viable.
"If you don't agree with me 100% you must be against me."
Oddly enough the same thing "3rd party" voters complain about Democrats doing.
Also, for people who want to succeed it's odd I only hear about "3rd party" in October every 4 years. I'm sure in January you'll still be talking about the importance of building a 3rd party right?
Edit: I don't know why your post got removed, maybe you were banned for something else, but for the record: I'm not a Democrat, but I'm a realist. I would love for there to be a viable 3rd party, but that's not going to happen in the next 2 weeks and allowing Donald Trump to become elected is going to actively make that less likely. Considering what happened on Jan 6th with minimal consequences, if Donald Trump gets elected you might even lose the option of a 2nd party.