Apparently, a vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Donald Trump, and thus, the downfall of western civilization. I’ve pondered this. By voting for a principled progressive, I open the door to bronzed tyranny. It’s a pickle.
One of my few heroes, Ralph Nader, has been vilified for unleashing all of the Bushite horrors in 2000. He “stole” votes from Gore. Those were his votes, until that jerk consumer advocate made off with them like a thief in the night.
This “pragmatic” view is subtly coercive: abide by an artificial choice or accept that choice’s grosser offering. If you choose not to take the rock or the hard place, be ready for a rock to the head.
Hillary Clinton is a more hawkish Obama minus the charm. There’s nothing in her record to indicate she’ll “fight for the middle class” or get us out of the disastrous wars her and her friends got us into. It’s all sterile sloganeering. Her best selling point is she’s not Donald Trump.
But who is Donald Trump? Bozo? Sexist pig? Charlatan? Check, check, check. His grotesque boorishness sends shivers down many a centrist spine. Could this be our president? Among the right thinking people his possible coronation provokes not so much worry as existential angst.
Gun to my head, I’d pick Hillary, out of a dull need for familiarity and fear of the Trumpion unknown. But, do I see a moral difference? An ethical difference? No. None. Trump’s malevolence has thus far extended to huckster scams and frivolous lawsuits; Hillary’s has lead to the disintegration of the Middle East. Libya is a failed state rife with Isis. So is Iraq. What do you think caused all of the refugees Trump demonizes? Then again, her opponent is Trump.
But, is there a gun to my head? Is a vote for Jill Stein a self righteous invitation for Trump? If so, I guess I never really had a choice.
