If they don’t vote strategically then they give the advantage to their opponents. The alternative is to take votes away from a party that doesn’t quite align with you but could win and give them instead to a party that can’t win, resulting in an increased chance of the party that doesn’t align with you at all winning.
It’s a question of whether you want to win somewhat or lose completely. Democracy is compromise; you’re never going to find a candidate that perfectly aligns with your interests.
If you insist that you will only vote for a niche third-party candidate under a system like America’s, then you’ve taken yourself out of the effective voting pool. Now neither of the two candidates who has a chance of winning needs to care about your interests at all.
When you use the opportunity you have to cast a vote that could actually make a difference. Instead you’re standing on the sidelines doing nothing except signal your virtue.
If they don’t vote strategically then they give the advantage to their opponents. The alternative is to take votes away from a party that doesn’t quite align with you but could win and give them instead to a party that can’t win, resulting in an increased chance of the party that doesn’t align with you at all winning.
if I vote for somebody who doesnt align with me I can’t win at all.
It’s a question of whether you want to win somewhat or lose completely. Democracy is compromise; you’re never going to find a candidate that perfectly aligns with your interests.
If you insist that you will only vote for a niche third-party candidate under a system like America’s, then you’ve taken yourself out of the effective voting pool. Now neither of the two candidates who has a chance of winning needs to care about your interests at all.
that’s how I felt since I voted for Obama and he didn’t close gitmo. so I may as well not support them if they don’t care about me.
Because Romney or McCain would have been so much better?
Those were your choices.
I don’t vote for imperialists, so they weren’t choices either
Then as I’ve said elsewhere, you’re effectively not a part of the voting population and your preferences are not reflected in the results.
so when do I stop getting blamed for what everyone else votes for?
When you use the opportunity you have to cast a vote that could actually make a difference. Instead you’re standing on the sidelines doing nothing except signal your virtue.