Had a "discussion" on Facebook with a Jill Stein supporter earlier today.

[cab67]

There was no talking sense Into him. Would a multi-party parliamentary system be better than what we have? I don't know; maybe. But we have the system we have. A third-party candidate will not win, and in this particular case, the wasted votes would otherwise go to the Democratic candidate.

Voting for a third-party candidate is an extremely selfish act, especially when Orange Julius Skeezer stands a real chance of winning.

It was like arguing with a red-hatter. Or arguing with a rock.

I just can't wrap my head around the view that Joe Biden and Moses Pray's cranky old uncle are insufficiently different. Some of these people give every indication of being able to read and write. Surely, they can see that no Democrat would have appointed a justice to the Supreme Court who would have voted to overturn Roe v Wade? Surely, they see that the ACA, despite its imperfections, is better than what we had before, and that people would suffer if it's ever repealed? Surely, they see that although Biden can (and should) take a harder line with Netanyahu, he's at least not interested in helping Putin conquer Ukraine? Surely they know the difference between someone not acting fast enough on climate change and someone who doesn't think climate is actually changing?

The only way I'll find a candidate who reflects my values perfectly is if I run for office myself. And I'd rather French-kiss a Humboldt squid than do that. Like most adults, I've come to peace with the fact that in the US system, our parties are the coalitions made by multiple parties in other countries, and that I have to put the common good ahead of my disagreements.

I don't get it. We all have our values and opinions, but no one should put their own ideological purity above the well-being of the whole damn world.