I judged people in 2016 for voting for Jill Stein. There was no real prominent independent in 2020. Sorry, Kanye. For 2024, however, I'd be seriously tempted to support Cornel West. Pragmatism has been my preferred option to date, but has it served me well? Democrats most certainly did not fight GOP morons has hard as they should have. Biden is STILL talking about "reaching across the aisle"... does he never learn?
Obviously the grotesque face of Donald Trump looms large, and quickly sends me running back to Biden/Harris... but where will that leave us long-term? A third party alternative is strongly needed. Will we EVER get there?
Was Susan Sarandon right all along?
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
Trump is still catastrophically bad in a way that Biden isn't. Biden is bad in a very conventional way, and we've obviously survived that before.
I'm a pragmatic voter as well. I live in Maryland, decidedly not a swing state, and I voted for third-party candidates prior to 2016 for various reasons, but since then I've decided that the best use of my vote is to oppose Trump by voting for his direct opponent. I'm sure it will be the same next year.
As long as you don't live in a swing state, though, I totally respect voting for the candidate who best represents your values. If you live in an even vaguely swingy state, though, Biden is the only choice.
The problem with the pragmatism mentality is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If all the people who didn't think an independent could win actually voted for one, maybe they could. Heavy sigh. It's not a pretty picture out there.
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
If you oppose US weaponry being used in gaza, by all means, write your congressman, and write your newspaper, but voting for someone that would ensure MORE WEAPONRY will be used by MORE COUNTRIES to bomb MORE CIVILIANS has to be the most self-defeating and mind-numbingly wrong response. A vote for Cornel West in any remotely competitive state is a vote for Donald Trump, whose policies on Gaza are measurably worse than Joe Biden's. And West should be ashamed (as Stein should be, but isnt) for elevating his ego over the good of country/world