This is something I am still fighting with. In a European democracy, I would vote for Gary Johnson, for the same reasons. Worst case scenario, nobody would get 50% of the vote, and there would be a second round of national popular vote between the top two candidates.
The man has the character and temperament of a dictator, and some of his followers are small brain authoritarian haters who are not far from the nazis in their white supremacist-like sympathies. That's why every time he reminds decent people of a third-world dictator he doesn't lose points with his own supporters. I am sorry, but trumpism is an extremist intolerant authoritarian political movement. For anybody who loves democracy, this man should not be a choice. It was already clear during the primaries, and now it's crystal.
I am talking about 50% of the electoral vote. If there is a strong third candidate, and nobody reaches 270 electoral votes, the election goes to the House. There is no second round of popular vote.
Wikipedia said:
A 3rd party candidate who's winning even a state = strong enough for me to be dangerous, in case the other two stop just shy of 270. Because that one state can be the difference between president Clinton and president Trump. But even if Gary Johnson didn't win any state, remember Ralph Nader? He didn't even win Florida, he just siphoned away enough votes from Gore, and Bush won. Johnson could do the same thing to Clinton. In any state that doesn't lean heavily Democrat, voting for Johnson is almost like voting for Trump.
Only people who would never vote for either Clinton or Trump, even at the risk of Trump becoming president, should play that Russian roulette.
While you might be right about that, it was the Republican Party who gave him a platform. They should have refused to accept him as candidate, especially after all the hate speech in the primaries, if those were not their values too. They were just afraid to lose votes to his movement, and they will pay dearly, for many years. Decent people won't forget easily. I am an independent who used to lean republican, thoroughly disgusted with them as a party right now.
You are probably right. Unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable finding out what would happen under President Trump. Just look at the security state (and circus) Bush created after 9/11, and he wasn't a Nixon-like intolerant person.
75-80% of what Trump (and his people) have said have been proven to be lies, again and again and again. I stopped bothering to check.
HRC has actually done things for other people. In fact if you're referring to the Clinton foundation, if you believe the "pay to play" talking point/buzzwords, than you have to admit to yourself that it was actually "pay for AIDS drugs, hospitals, schools, etc... for play".
He never had a chance mostly because people don't stand up for him. Saying Johnson to a pollster doesn't mean one has to vote for Johnson. But if enough people did so, he'd have a chance, at least he would make it into the debate. Anyway, it's probably too late.
