Don’t worry, I hear you. Politics in America NEED to be changed. But not in 2016. Not when Donald Trump is on the other side of this.
Let’s back up a minute and put some context to this. Some of Bernie Sanders' supporters are upset at the Democratic Party’s nomination of Hillary Clinton. He became popular for his radical far-left politics and courting young voters in a way no previous candidate has. People were upset when Sanders then dropped out and backed Hillary Clinton, who is much less radical in her politics than Sanders. Enter Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein. She has courted those supporters who think Clinton is just as bad Republican nominee, Donald Trump—supporters that previously were all about “Feeling the Bern” and radicalizing American politics. These new third party voters are often young, this being the first election they will be old enough to vote in. They easily get stuck in an ego trap, but we’ll come back to that. Dr. Stein is now the voice for these voters and their want for radicalization and revolution of American politics; however, given her third party status, she’s never going to gain the amount of voters needed to win a majority of the Electoral College.
“But if enough people switch to follow third-party, then she could win!”
That’s a big if. No third-party candidate has ever won the presidency of the United States, the closest person being Teddy Roosevelt in the 1912 election, where he won 88 electoral votes. You also have to take into account that a percentage of the voting public will vote for a candidate solely based on the “D” or “R” next to their name.
“Hillary is a murderer!”
Congratulations. For as much hate as you harbor in your heart for Donald Trump, you’re playing straight into his hands. His campaign is working on you, you almighty saver of American politics. He’s gotten into your head. He doesn’t have to win all of the states, he just needs one more electoral vote than the other candidates—and that is very possible if the vote is split with a third party. All he has to do is trash Clinton’s reputation a little.
“I won’t vote against my morals.”
This is the ego trap I mentioned earlier. An ego trap is where someone gets stuck into one set way of thinking, and it becomes rigid and unwavering despite the fact that the consequences could harm more than help. No one is going to give you a gold star for voting with your conscience. Especially not when the outcome is President Trump. No one is going to care you voted for Stein. Everyone will be too worried about their family, or their friend, or classmate, to give any praise for splitting the vote. Clinton isn’t the squeaky-clean political candidate, everyone knows that. But she is miles better than the alternative.
“You can’t tell me who to vote for!”
You are absolutely right! No one can breathe down your neck at the booth and tell you to vote for a certain candidate. But the U.S. is bipartisan—it has two major parties. Neither are perfect, fair enough. But one of the two will always win, no matter the third party.
“Saying Clinton is the lesser of two evils is fear-mongering!”
You might be right. It is deliberately scaring people. But the thing about fear mongering is the threat is often false. It’s often exorbitant, or over-dramatized. Trump isn’t false, he’s not exorbitant, or over-dramatized. He is a very real threat to a lot of people in the U.S. The difference in evil is also a large gap. We’re risking pissing off nations who already don’t like us very much with Clinton, understood. We’re risking actual people’s real lives with Trump. You’re weighing a paper cut with a collapsed lung, and saying they’re just as bad as each other.
You trusted Bernie Sanders with the nation. He trusts and endorses Hillary Clinton. The world might not be ready for that level of radical politics, but he certainly knows what he’s doing. Trust him; the nation can recover from Hillary. We won’t recover from Trump. 2016 just isn’t the right timing for the revolution, and revolutions are all about timing. Have patience, it will come.
