Wondering Wednesday: Why I Am Voting for a Third-Party Candidate

I read the following on FB today:

I heard a really interesting call-in to NPR the other day. It was from a Bernie supporter talking about why she’s having a hard time supporting Hillary. She said of course she doesn’t want Trump to win, but she’s also angry at her party for putting forward someone who she believes is clearly corrupt and doesn’t represent what she believes the party should stand for. And her concern was if she just sucks it up and votes for Hillary, then isn’t that sending a message to the party leadership that it’s okay to keep putting forward candidates like that? That sure, people will be a little upset, but in the end they’ll toe the line and vote anyway? And while she worries about four years of Trump, she’s more worried about the long-term impact to her own party of toeing the line this time and not standing up against it. I feel the same way about Trump. I’m by no means excited about the prospect of four years of Hillary, let alone the issue of SCOTUS appointees. But I also worry that the impact of toeing the line and “voting the delegate” sends a message that I’d continue to support candidates like Trump in the future if it comes down to it. I’d rather lose and it cause a serious change in the conservative movement long-term than win and continue down what I think is a dangerous road.

I have been a life-long Republican. When I was a kid, my favorite hero was Ronald Reagan. I believe in small government and letting states make the bulk of their decisions. 

I voted for Mitt Romney. I voted for George W. Bush. I have supported Republican candidates in nearly every election.

Until now. I have watched with horror as Donald Trump won state after state. I have been sickened by his screaming rhetoric filled with hatred toward immigrants. I cannot understand how any woman could vote for a man who treats women merely as sexual objects to be used for his pleasure. He has bullied person after person. I have watched him alienate world leaders (with the exception of Putin and what?????) with whom we are allies. I have heard him say intolerable things about Muslims. 

Now, my party is telling me I need to toe the party line and vote for Donald Trump because Hillary Clinton is the worst person ever on the planet. 

On the other side, Hillary Clinton has broken the law more than once, brokered backdoor deals that make me ill. She is firmly entrenched in the pockets of big corporations. I worry about who she will nominate for the Supreme Court.

Both sides keep saying to toe the party line and that voting for a third party is immoral and a wasted vote. But they are wrong. They are scared that people are fed up with the divisiveness that has ripped apart our country. They are scared they are losing power and they are. Both parties have corruption on an intolerable scale. Neither party is truly interested in the welfare of the American people or our country. 

 If I vote for Donald Trump, I am essentially voting for the United States government to completely break apart. It will usher in an era that frighteningly similar to the Hitler regime that nearly broke the world.  

If I vote for Hillary Clinton, I am voting for a person who believes she is above the law, and has the evidence to prove it. I am voting for a person who will nominate judges that have a liberal agenda that doesn't take into account all the needs and values of all members in our society. 

I don't know yet who I will vote for. But I will be voting either third-party or writing in someone. I am not wasting my vote. I am choosing to vote for the right person, not the lesser of two evils, not to vote against someone, but to vote for someone. 

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