Will you vote for a third party candidate or vote "neither"?

For those of you living in the US, you've probably come to the realization that both presidential candidates are absolutely terrible. One is a lying, incompetent, unethical, war criminal and the other is a bigoted, thin skinned, irrational, overrated businessman. To any but the most narrow minded and blindly loyal followers, you'd realize the choices are just plain bad. The country is likely screwed.

So are you going to swallow your discontent and vote for one of the candidates just to vote the ticket or are you looking for other alternatives? People saying you just throw your vote away by voting for a third party - but i disagree with that premise. Even if the candidate can't win, if they obtain a substantial number of votes, that sends a message and forces politicians to pay attention to that point of view. Why vote for the lesser of two evils? You're just condoning evil. Why not vote for something you believe in.

If I could I would.

The above statements are simply my opinion. Just in case i get contacted by the Trump legal team.

If I vote I'll vote for Hillary.

Personally I like Clinton so I'll be voting for her. Feel free to join me, or not it's up to you.

Voting for Clinton.

I'll be voting for Hillary Clinton, she is by far the best candidate running, and will do an excellent job in office....she is no less trustworthy than most of the previous presidents, and she is smart, tough, and experienced, which is what we need.

So I'm voting for Hillary because I want her in office, not because she's the lesser of 2 evils. I didn't get sidetracked by all the vitriol millenials like to spew about her, I look at the bottom line....she will make the best president.

If I could, I would be voting for the third party.

I'm voting Trump. He's entertaining.

@sonicare so basically you're saying the two candidates are U.S. politicians? If I voted for the third party based on your logic, than I would have no say for any of my representatives on any level of govt. (local, state, or federal). That is life in this country. Not sure who I'm voting for yet.

Your statement makes no sense. If you vote, then you do have a say for who you want your rep to be.

Clinton.

If I was a US citizen, I would vote for Jill Stein.

• Hillary Clinton would be maintaining the status quo, effectively driving the world into another recession.
• Donald Trump's policies are estimated to cost the US 13 trillion dollars or so.

Jill Stein might not be the most secure candidate. But in a case like this, I would rather take a risk than march to my doom.

That's the fucking dumbest reason I've ever seen someone give for supporting a candidate. '

Anyway, I'm a responsible adult, so I'm voting Clinton. Why anybody who's not a bigot or a hopelessly partisan Republican would want a big baby who knows nothing about policy to be President is beyond me.

The fact that Trump got the Republican nomination is a sign of cultural decline IMO.

While I see why people like the TC don't like Hillary, I have yet to hear a coherent argument about why her platform, which is pretty much a continuation of Obama's, is going to lead to us being "screwed." I mean, the "we are screwed" argument makes some kind of sense when applied to Trump because he's been proposing some absolutely batshit policies. But Hillary's policies are status quo Democratic policy planks. You may not think that's good for the country, but it is hardly going to rain doom upon is. You're confusing "I don't like this person/I think this person is bad and corrupt" with "this person will screw the country." I think the TC's Hillary threads would benefit from less emotion, more objective analysis.

Her foreign policy decisions have been terrible. Her time as secretary of state was unequivocally bad. She has very little understanding about the complex issues in the middle east and is incredibly hawkish for a democrat. Syria, Libya, and the Iran deal all involved her. When put to task, she shifts the responsiblity and takes very little accountability.

Hillary indeed has made some terrible decisions regarding foreign policy and I agree that she's too hawkish, but again, there's a difference between thinking her foreign policy is bad and actually having a legitimate argument as to why her becoming President would doom the country. Also, I don't agree that the Iran deal is a bad decision.

Voting Clinton. My biggest concern is having a dem in office to secure SC spots.

Hillary's track record is why I want her out of politics,

1. She voted in favor of Vietnam 2.0, aka War in Iraq.
2. She has been more or less arming Saudi Arabia. The main supporter of the Salafi and Wahhabi movements.
3. She supported the TPP, PATRIOT Act, and gods knows how many other policies that made the US a worse place.
4. She opposes freedom of speech, and tried (and thankfully failed) to outlaw flag burning. She also made some distrubing comments about violent video games.
5. She is a continuation of Obama, which may seem like a good thing. But, he has done little to stop an impending crash. And by the looks of it, Hillary will do nothing about the impending crash either. We are driving off a cliff, and if we dont steer, we will crash and burn hard.
6. Let us not forget that it was hillary clinton who was responsible for the abysmal healthcare plan, that was such a disaster, it cost the democrats the control of congress.
7. She pulled the "I am a woman" card... several times.

There is some merit to your first four points. 5 needs substantiation, 6 I just straight up don't agree with, and 7 is nonsense. Who gives a shit if she pulled the "I am a woman" card?

Consderning 5: The growing debt, the power of the banks (Hillary Clinton, opposes the Glass Steagall act iirc). Obama heavily cut the deficit which is a good thing, but according to predictions, the deficit will soon grow again. Which makes me wonder if he just offered band aid, and that is what I fear hillary clinton will do as well, band aid solutions.

While I do agree that point 7 is silly. I did mention it for a reason.

Namely, as a response to equally silly attacks against Donald Trump.

We'll see. I won't vote for Trump or Hillary, I don't want to be responsible for this stupidity.

I get the argument for Hillary, but also know that she's more hawkish and we know she won't change shit ; Donald is a problem but he might at least do something better than her. And yeah, he could make some things worse.

But if you're enthusiastic for, or passionate about Hillary Clinton, there's something wrong with you.

this

Out of curiosity, what's an example of a silly attack against Trump?

Maybe. There's Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. Most likely, I'll vote for Clinton. She has been shady but I agree with her on most issues (yes, you can cite the flipflopping and my response is this: Would you prefer a candidate who doesn't change his/her mind when new facts are presented or someone stubborn enough to stick with the same tired mindset?). She's a liberal but also an opportunist who will appeal to a changing Democratic Party. However, I would like to see more open debates with third party candidates.

That said, voting for any president is pretty much moot unless you have the same party controlling the lower and upper level of governments with the same mindset. I would like to see a Sanders presidency but his policies would be compromised or absolutely rejected with the GOP controlling the house and senate as well as most of the governorship and local offices.

If you want this country to head to the right direction, pay attention and vote in your local and state elections. For those who don't vote, you're an idiot.

I dont mind flip-flopping as much, either, depending on the reason. I have certainly changed my mind on a lot of issues over the years as I've grown. I cant blame a candidate for doing the same.

However, I dont respect candidates that lead from behind. What I mean by that is candidates that support an issue only when popular opinion shifts in its favor. For instance, LGBT rights. Now that the majority of the country is favorable to LGBT rights, you have many candidates who rally around it. While it's nice that they aren't being obstructionist, I dont give them much credit for their stance. It doesnt take much courage or foresight to go along with popular opinion. Those groups could have used a candidate who supported them back when they needed it.

As for people who don't vote being idiots, I disagree. I'd rather people dont vote than vote without knowing what they are voting for. If you want the country to head in the right direction, then read up on the issues and vote for a candidate you truly believe in. Voting the ticket or just voting to vote, is just as harmful as not voting. Think of all the people voting for Trump. Do they really know what they are voting for?

@sonicare: True. Again, Clinton is an opportunist and I'd rather have a candidate flip flopping, even for the most selfish of reasons, than to continue to obstruct an issue because of ignorance and stubbornness.

Yes, knowing the issues is important, you have a point. That said, all voters are ignorant on certain issues. Admittingly, I don't know much about environmental issues to warrant much of an opinion but I care deeply about social issues, foreign policy issues, and sometimes economic issues. Some are vice-versa, some know certain issues better than others, and so on and so forth. My issue is when people who do care about certain issues are either lazy to vote or refuse to vote.

Also, Trump supporters know why they're supporting Trump. They may be ignorant of Trump's abuses of government welfare, but the rhetoric on illegal immigration and Muslims is basically winning them over.

I believe it is undemocratic and disgusting to twist someone's arm to vote for a candidate they despise because technically they have the "right" party name on the ballot. No. Do they ACTUALLY stand for what you want? Do you ACTUALLY think they will fight for your values? If the answer is no, then they do not deserve your vote. The parties themselves have lost sight of their own values in many cases, so a candidate that 1) is only appealing in the loosest sense to you simply because they have "Democrat" or "Republican" tacked in front of their name, and 2) happens to be representing a party that likely pushes many many issues you never supported from the get-go... that candidate does not deserve your vote.

I'm not saying "just burn it down and start over" or "vote for the other team to teach party X a lesson" - but have some damn principles or the system itself never will. Seriously, if we vote for Turd Sandwiches every election simply because of the D or R on their ticket then OF COURSE our government will be full of corrupt people and OF COURSE we will be grumbling every election about how "our" party doesn't do a good job representing us.

These people work for us. It's our job to hire them. FORCE the government to actually represent you by voting for people who.... actually represent you.

Might you lose some elections by taking this approach? Yes. Sometimes. Sometimes "your guy" will win too. And you know what? If your principles are sound and things are worse under the other candidate on those years when "you" lost, then the next time people with your principles come up for election then you'll have a better shot at winning.

I'm saying a vote for a third party is a throwaway vote. You disagree. Voting for a third party gives no say in who represents me. It just "makes a statement".

Clinton

The silliest of them all, is when people mock the size of private parts. But that only really came from other republicans.

But people making a big fuss about some insulting comments he made. People attacking trump because he made negative comments on someone's wife,l and other unprofessoinal behaviour. Attacking him for supposed misogyny and bigotry. Just like Trump's comments on the wife were unprofessional, the pulling of the woman card is unprofessional as well.

If one really wants to make an ad hominem against Trump, why not focus on the 3500 lawsuits that are related to him?

When they really should be focusing on policy substance. Like the fact that he would raise the US debt by trillions of dollars, according to studies.

A responsible adult wouldn't vote for a criminal to be president. Hillary belongs in the big house not the white house.

Jill Stein.

Not voting for a well known criminal or a con man wild card.

Hillary would just continue this.

What does that make Trump?

And his 3500 lawsuits. Of which around 50% are people suing him, for various things including fraud. Hillary Clinton may be a criminal, but compared to Trump, her criminal history is very small.

Her criminal history has put the country at risk. If her last name wasn't Clinton she would be locked away for life.

Voting for Trump he will keep every one guessing and will give our enemies pause.

You're seriously voting for somebody BECAUSE they're unstable?

Yes you do that you vote for a liar.

For those thinking voting Hillary.

Would love to vote for a third party and think it could be a possibility that they'd win, but the US is just not ready.

What's worse, a vote given to a third party is a vote for the Republican party; republican voters do not betray their party, they'd vote for Hitler if he was the only candidate running for the GOP.

So no, I won't. Would love to see Jill Stein or someone else up there, but I will vote for Clinton (or, god willing, Sanders)

Once again, there is no good reason to vote for Trump, only the wrong reasons.

It's not a perfect system, and Clinton or Sanders or Stein or whoever else is not great either, but anything is better than Trump.

Anything.

Hillary is unstable and unfit.

-Character

-Email Scandal.

-Regime Changer

-War monger.

If anyone is crazy enough of starting a war with Russia its Hillary and shes enough crazy send boots on the ground to take out Assad.

You have being warned.

I would take chances with Trump or Sander then the witch Hillary

That's the thing, though; you don't take chances with Hilary. She is a known variable; voting for her will be the closest thing to another 4/8 years of Obama, and that went really really well. She is a hawk, though, and I imagine that we will continue to stay at war if she is president.

Trump and Sanders are both unknowns, so if you are concerned about "chances" or "risks", the last thing you should do is vote for those two.

Clinton is the safe bet, believe it or not.

I'm voting for the wall.

Clinton is safe bet if you want a Mutual Destruction with Russia.

You really believe that someone like Trump is more stable than Clinton?

Other than taking money from Saudis, Trump's international experience is extremely limited, and managing a handful of companies is quite a bit easier than managing the most powerful fighting force in the world.

Clinton has over a decade of international experience ranging from serving as a first lady, a diplomat, secretary of state, and more. If you want peace, at least where it counts, Clinton is who to vote for. If you want to antagonize the rest of the world, a world we live in and need to get by in, vote Trump; he is sure to piss pretty much everyone off. Except North Korea, apparently he and Kim Jong-Un have a lot in common.

I mean, I get it: I don't like Clinton, either. As a person. But that's not a good reason not to vote for her. Vote for Trump, and all the good will we have built, our recovered reputation for the past eight years, will be gone. We will be back to the W. Bush days, where Americans are despised.

Fam, voting Trump will pretty much ensure the fleeing of treasury bond holders = economy goes into the toilet.

Trump 2016 and again in 2020.

I'm going to get one of the "Make America Great Again" hats soon.

Trump is a brilliant individual who is thinking of America not themselves. Clinton should be in prison right now as far as Sanders look no further than the state of any socialist country to see what America would look like. As far as Clinton's experience look at5 everything she touched turned to crap. She will not protect the country and our enemies know exactly what she will do in any situation, Nothing!