I'm gonna say something unpopular now

[BWdem4life]

And get thoroughly bashed for it, but I strongly believe it to be true and I never back down in that situation. (That doesn't mean I'll stick around to battle all comers, as I also believe it's pointless to argue with people who have already made up their minds.)

What I'm going to say is due to having just seen the following meme posted on Facebook - I've seen memes like it here and on fb before ad nauseum. Here it is:



My response is as follows:

Every four years the same thing happens: People get all authoritarian and condescending, and try to blame, shame or otherwise coerce people who might consider voting for Democrats into voting for Democrats. It never works, and instead alienates people and makes it even more likely that they'll vote third party. Like it or not, voting is an emotional action and not a logical one. Logically, people who are hoping to stop third party voting would stop posting memes like this. They would instead ignore the phenomenon, which might discourage it due to the lack of attention paid to it. Rather than wasting energy on something so counterproductive, they could instead positively engage possible third-party voters and woo their votes instead of demanding or pleading for their allegiance based solely on having a common dislike for the other main political party.

(I'm not even gonna bother refuting the false -- or at least impossible to prove true -- statements that third party candidates are what cost Gore and HRC their elections.)

Such blockheadedness does not befit Democrats, and certainly doesn't help our cause.