Not voting (in your election)

Political parties aren't families or sports teams, and people aren't traitors for leaving if there's a failure of ethics and/or accountability. The attitude that you vote with a particular brand no matter what is how the USA has ended up with a two-party system and unpopular candidates. Democracy is supposed to be rule by the people via elected officials that actually represent them.

Both major parties are getting really nervous about losing support, and as a result they're getting very aggressive. Republicans have their RINO label (Republican In Name Only) to shame people, and now that attitude is appearing on the other side in response to Democrat fears about the next election. I REALLY don't want to see Trump re-elected - I don't think he should even be allowed to run given his recent insurrectionist/criminal activities. But I also don't want any politician to be so comfortable that they feel they can do whatever they want and keep power.

Excellent article and I'll be looking out for other pieces from Savage in the future. It's right to the fucking point, too, with no extra fluff.

you vote for Cornel West, you’re helping Trump become president. That’s it. And you can say “Oh well it’s Joe Biden’s fault . . .” No, no, it’s your decision. You get to decide whether you want to help Donald Trump become president or you don’t.

There's so much wrong to unpack with this quote from the podcast.

First, yeah, it is Biden's fault, for not being a better candidate. I don't hold his age or speech impediment against him, but hells yeah his racism is a turnoff.

Second, failing to provide a barrier between the man and the White House isn't the same as helping him get there. That's blatant manipulation, an attempt to paint principled voters (and non-voters) as guilty of someone else's crime.

And most repugnant is the final line of the quote. "You decide if you want to help..." Yeah, well, I'm decided not to help any racists get to the Oval Office, thanks. I don't vote for evil, lesser or greater. I couldn't live with responsibility for putting Biden there any more than his predecessor. If you want a vote, you've got to be better than just the least-bad candidate, you've got to actually be a good one, or at the very least one who might be good if I'm feeling like a gamble.

According to the United States Election Project, more than 40 percent of eligible voters didn’t vote at all in 2016 — a figure that completely dwarfs the less than 6 percent who backed a third party.

Savage already talked about the failure to persuade voters to vote for a Democrat rather than just against a Republican. But I just want to highlight the bareassed ridiculousness of thinking that voters who have and voted for a preferred candidate are a better target for propaganda than voters who saw nothing they wanted and stayed home. Who's more likely to buy a cold drink on a hot day, someone with a water bottle in her hand or someone without?

And the reason for this ridiculousness is that the attempts to castigate third-party voters and abstainees are based in tribalism, not in a genuine attempt to seek converts. It's an abandonment of rational self-interest in favor of creating an outgroup to scapegoat for election losses.

They'll shame you with their downvotes. It's very effective.

EDIT: Your downvotes will change things.

No worse enemy of the left than the left