Why Voting Your Conscience Doesn't Actually Work

I have a difficult message to send. Pretty sure it's gonna make some
people pretty angry at first, but I really hope that it will be read and
considered. I do my best to share any message I have passionately, but
with facts and resources to back it up. I am not forwarding a meme here,
I am speaking from the heart and mind. Thanks in advance for reading.



(Edited to add:
I have been getting some accusations of being a "Hillbot". For one,
that is a childish term and I think we should be more respectful of
people who may not share our political reviews. Secondly, I have been an
ardent, vocal, and active Bernie supporter, volunteering at the local
office, volunteering at the local caucus, and advocate online at every
opportunity. This is not something I take lightly, and I am not a
Clinton apologist by any stretch. So please read with an open mind and
don't decide you know me from a single online post. This is carefully
considered and deeply personal to me on many levels.)

Bernie supporters/disillusioned
Dems who say they are voting third party because they "refuse to vote
against their conscience" are admitting:



a) they don't understand how voting works in America

and/or

b) they honestly feel their personal comfort in knowing they "voted
their conscience" is more important than the greater good of their
fellow citizens.



Newsflash: Trump is far far worse than
Hillary--whatever your personal collection of progressive issues may be, I promise
you Trump has it covered in spades and WORSE:

• War? Worse, including killing innocent women and children, and bragging about being willing to commit war crimes against allies, check.


• LGBTQ issues? Worse, wants to overturn Obergefell/rights to marry, check.


• Income equality? Not even on his radar and wants to gut social programs to boot, check.


• Racial equality? Do I even have to spell it out for you?


• 
  Want a Supreme Court which will represent your values? Justices
  outlive presidencies, friends, and you don't want who the GOP will put
  into the office deciding our law for 10+ years do you?


• Shall we get into his bigoted, women's-rights-hating VP running-mate while we're at it...?

The list goes on.

And because Spoiler Effect* is a real thing, if you don't vote one of
the two major parties, you are actually empowering the candidate you
agree with the least. If you believe as I do that Trump is the worst
danger to America and the planet (yes, not hyperbole from an
environmental and anti-war standpoint), then voting third party is
shooting yourself and your country in the foot.



(*Here is what is
wrong with how voting works in America, and I have linked you in at 5
minutes where you can see why voting third party creates the spoiler
effect and is basically a vote for the worst for your values. https://youtu.be/s7tWHJfhiyo?t=300 )



Voting third party does not "send a message" to the Dems. Believe me,
the two party system is working as intended, and as anyone who saw the
votes split by Perot and Nader in their respective races, it doesn't send any message or change the system to vote third party. I encourage you to read more
about it from FairVote, an organization devoted to changing the system:

http://www.fairvote.org/third-parties-and-the-spoiler-effect-in-the-2012-election



If you really want to change the world, start by holding your nose and
vote Dem--vote strategically, not emotionally; vote the platform, if not the person--to control the blast
radius of this shit show of an election. Trump would be far far worse.
Unconvinced? Read more at this link with some of Trump's Greatest Hits. https://www.facebook.com/notes/shay-moore/stop-trump-the-facts-part-1-war-and-human-rights-violations/10153920359189195



Then turn all your indignant energy (which believe you me, I share with
you!) to changing from the ground up. That means election reform at
your local level, voting for true progressives at every viable
opportunity, pressuring your representatives for election reform,
demanding third party organizations to get their shit together (Green
Party, I'm looking at you and your lack of ANY respectable cohesiveness
across the nation), and many other options that will actually make a
difference.

( http://www.fairvote.com has you covered with ways to get involved.)



Why do you think Bernie, a man who has been in politics longer than
some of us have been alive, has endorsed Hillary/the Democratic nominee?
Because he already knows what every progressive needs to understand:
the GOP nominee is a death sentence for all the values we hold dear.
Bernie has put his energy behind the only other viable alternative at
this time, because he understands how politics work, and he is doing
what he must--what we *all* must--to do the most damage control. He
knows endorsing anyone else or running third party will actually divide
the vote, creating the spoiler effect, and get Trump into office.



If you ever believed in Bernie--his clear heart, his keen mind, and
extensive experience in the real world of politics--you need to listen
to him now. Our future depends on it.





Some links for further reading:

A three part series of Trump's Greatest Hits (ie why we need to keep this monster out at all cost, shared above but worth linking again in case you missed it)



Hillary is Fundamentally Honest & Trustworthy (despite what the rest of the media has been feeding you)



And don't miss this handy chart showing the most truthful and least truthful candidates. You won't be surprised who is the worst, but did you know who's among the best?