Another source of this “You have to vote for Hillary Clinton” bullshit is William Hamby in a string of public posts on Facebook. You’d think he was James Carville on speed.
A comment on one of his own posts a couple of hours ago for instance:
William Hamby In 2000, 3% of American voters took a vote from Al Gore and gave it to Ralph Nader. Because Al Gore, who would have solar panels on the White House and carbon emissions cut by a third, wasn’t progressive enough.
George W. Bush was “appointed” based on a difference of several hundred votes. Those left defectors elected George Bush. End of story. Noble goals mean shit in politics. Voters must think long term.
No, we didn’t “take” a vote from Al Gore. It wasn’t Al Gore’s vote! Nobody owns all the votes. The Democratic party doesn’t own the votes of all people to the left of the Republicans. Nobody stole a vote from Al Gore and gave it to Ralph Nader, because that’s not the arrangement.
I said that and more, and got an even more frankly coercive response:
[Y]ou’re not wrong that 2000 was a clusterfuck and there’s not a 100% guarantee that the defector Left vote would have given Gore the presidency. It was an election so crooked the UN would have been called in anywhere else.
But you’re wrong that you’re free to vote third party. There is a 0% chance that your third party will win. Zero. That is absolutely certain. There is some possibility greater than zero that defector votes like yours will cost the Democrats the presidency. If that happens, the SCOTUS will be locked conservative for 30 years.
Even if you’re in a deep red or deep blue state, you still have a moral obligation to vote Democrat. National numbers matter. They create either a strong mandate or a weak one.
I’m wrong that I’m free to vote third party!!
No, I’m really not. I am free to vote third party. I’m free to vote whatever party; I’m free to vote for a write-in. The fact that X thinks it’s wrong and reckless and bordering on criminal does not make me not free to do it anyway, so it’s simply not in any sense true that I’m wrong that I’m free to vote third party.
And there was an earlier post shouting at those naughty people who don’t vote for the Democratic presidential candidate:
Christ, I am tired of seeing all this “I won’t vote for Hillary” bullshit. So fucking tired of it.
YOU are responsible for 8 years of Bush. You are responsible for the Democratic Party leaning centrist. Don’t you realize that the Republicans get the entirety of their fringe right vote, and the Democrats don’t get the fringe left? Has it occurred to you that’s one of the reasons Republicans keep winning? Don’t you realize that the Democrats court the middle because you asshole fringe left voters can’t be counted on to vote? Nothing is ever far left enough for you, and they know it, so they don’t even try.
The state of the country is directly because of you. Because of your inability to think long term instead of voting your fucking idealist conscience.
Oddly enough, I don’t find this persuasive.