The major themes of the Libertarian Party are freedom and individual rights. So, when reluctant Trump supporters try to shut down Libertarian supporters, they are doing a lot of damage to the public discourse and political will. Frightening voters who plan on voting Libertarian, and keeping the Libertarian Party vote totals down, will mean that in December, we will have less freedom and individual rights -- no matter if Trump or Clinton become the final victor.
The consequence of a large Green Party vote is mostly going to be to lobby the next government for people-centered causes like a better environment, social and economic justice, and peace. By trying to drown out the Green Party message, and keep down the Green Party vote, stubborn major-party supporters are making it so that in December, whoever has won this election can turn his or her back on the people, the environment, and the goal of ending war.
So, dear, determined, major-party voters: If you could release your fear about what will happen this election cycle, you could use this time to do productive organizing for the candidate who you think should win. If you could let go of the feeling that we are in a sinking ship and must grab at each other and compete with each other, you could look around for effective ways to bail water or find a flotation device.
As political campaigns get ready for election day, they often use codes and charts to identify which people they come into contact with who are the most likely to vote, and the most likely to vote for their candidate. These likely voters are golden. They must be nurtured and reminded to vote on election day. People who are not likely to vote, or are not likely to ever change their mind and vote for the campaign's candidate, are put in an ignore pile. Contacting the ignore pile is not an effective strategy.
Savvy campaign workers will not waste time and energy courting people in the ignore pile for votes. Reluctant Clinton supporters should take a lesson from winning and strategic campaigns. They should realize that they have very little chance of convincing Green Party supporters to vote for the Democratic ticket. So, they should put the Green Party supporters in the "ignore" pile and move on to the likely-to-vote-for-your-candidate people.
In fact, recent history has shown the success of this strategy of positive attention. During the Al Gore campaign, the Democrats were viciously focused on suppressing the Nader vote. Then, Gore lost the election, including losing in his home state. Barack Obama won. And, he did it largely by applying new strategies for on-line organizing and massive get-out-the-vote strategies. Obama's campaign focused less attention on squashing the Green Party and its candidates. And, Obama won.
Hillary Clinton, herself, seems to be ready to embrace this more-positive strategy. Clinton was recently in the news for trying to motivate undocumented dreamers to do voter outreach. And, Clinton has appeared in Philadelphia as part of a voter-registration drive.
If you are determined that Hillary Clinton must be the lesser-evil choice for this election, please consider using your time and energy to: Register likely Democratic Party voters. Get out the vote of the people you agree with. Make suggestions to your candidate about how to better present their ideas. Lobby your party and/or candidate for a better platform or issues list.
But don't hurt yourself, your idealistic third-party friends, and the future, by fighting with people who have overcome their fears, found their center, and chosen a path to try to help the country and the world.
I am supporting Jill Stein for President. Go ahead, if you must, and vote for Hillary Clinton. And, if you want her to win, get out there and do some positive, proactive, campaign work.
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