[ernie]

Originally Posted by wittynickname

But the stakes are high in this election, excessively high. I cannot in good conscience throw my vote away and give power to Trump--and more importantly Pence and the Republican party, whose platform is intensely offensive from top to bottom. Trump is a blowhard idiot who doesn't actually know what he's speaking about, but Pence is not. Pence is on par with Cheney in terms of dangers, perhaps not in terms of putting us into another unwinnable war, but certainly with the rights of myself and the people I know (women, people of color, people in the LGBT community) being put at risk.

The GOP longs for the days of the 1950s, and we cannot go back to those days. A throwaway vote prevents that. Hillary is far from perfect, but at least it's not regressing 60 years of history. Trump--and Pence especially--would ensure that the SCOTUS is full of judges that would push us back to those values, limiting the rights of women, of gay people, of trans people, etc. The SCOTUS judges chosen by the next president will shape policy in this country for the next 20+ years. The values of the GOP are appalling to me, and far beyond Trump, I will do anything in my power to keep those people from controlling the future of the country I live in.

Exactly. I've had people try to talk to me about this and that but it boils down o one initial thing that is of paramount importance. If you belong to a party that has as its platform the thought that not everyone's is equal and that it matters what someone does or is in their personal life (provided nothing illegal of course) then there is no point talking further. If you can't get on board with equality the laws you pass aren't going to promote it. That's a problem and you lose my vote (if I could vote. I can't and instead get to nervously wait for people to hopefully do the right thing).