Should I Be Shaming Third Party Voters? Yeah, I Think I Should.

I’ve been getting a lot of angry pushback today from people suggesting that I am shaming voters of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson. And blaming…

I’ve been getting a lot of angry pushback today from people suggesting that I am shaming voters of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson. And blaming them (and non-voters) for the very likely, rightward post-Kennedy swing of the Supreme Court.

So let me be perfectly clear. That is exactly what I’m saying.

Those lost votes in 3 swing states would have avoiding all of this. Child Separation. Muslim Bans. Endorsing Charlottesville. 9 million losing healthcare. All of it.

Then folks go on to say “How are you helping? We’re all on the same side.”

Yeah just like we were last time. Until you couldn’t put the good of your party or your country over the bruise of a primary loss.

So I posted what I posted to remind people, unequivocally, that votes matter. Protest votes matter. And not voting matters. A lot.

Why does rehashing this matter (or help) some of you ask?

Because inevitably the exact same thing will happen in 2020. Especially with a massive field of candidates.

There is a great likelihood that your preferred primary choice will not win.

And once again, if enough of these bruised and bereft primary voters take their ball home, rather than sucking it up and voting for an imperfect candidate of their own party, you will end up with Muslim Travel bans & children in border cages & the greatest threat to reproductive liberties since the passage of Roe.

Why am I “shaming” people? That’s why.

And rather than becoming defensive. You can admit that there is no wisdom or value in repeating the same mistake twice.

And maybe even acknowledge that an “imperfect” candidate or even a candidate you don’t particularly like is preferable to one that may irrevocably imperil our democratic norms and institutions and our reproductive and marital freedoms.