Third party voting hurts you

I don't want to suppress anyone's right-to-vote. But, third party voting only hurts your chances of getting the political result you want.

Examples: 1912, Teddy Roosevelt, right-leaning Bull Moose Party, caused Wilson's (Democrat) win over Taft (Republican); 1924. LaFollete, left-leaning Progressive Party, caused Coolidge's (Republican) win over Davis (Democrat); 1968, Wallace, right-leaning American Independent, caused Nixon's (Republican) win over Humphrey (Democrat); 1992, Perot, right-leaning Independent, caused Clinton's (Democrat) win over G. H. W. Bush (Republican) and in 2000, Nader, left leaning Green Party, caused G. W. Bush's win (Republican) over Gore (Democrat).

Your third party vote may make you feel morally superior in the short-run. But, do you feel good about damaging your country, not to mention your own objectives, in the long-run?

Third party, feel-good voting is OK when the candidate choice is hardly more than a flip of the coin. But, this is a national identity-defining election.

If that isn't sufficiently convincing of the inadvisability of your third party vote, please recognize this is far less a presidential election than a Supreme Court election. The next president will appoint as many as four new Supreme Court members.

If you help elect the candidate who holds the opposite of your views, you can kiss good bye to your hopes and dreams for the next 25 years and beyond. This isn't the time to shoot yourself in the foot for the sake of your ideals.

This story was originally published August 14, 2016 at 4:54 AM with the headline "Third party voting hurts you."