I want to be clear I mean the question I am about to ask you in all honesty. I fucking hate Trump and and I have no desire to vote for another rapist in Biden. How can a no-vote or a third party vote for President NOT be considered a vote for Trump? You are going to support someone either directly or by abstaining. You are going to vote for a sexual predator, no matter what, either directly or by abstaining. As much as I would love to abstain, that is a moral quandary that no one has been able to explain to me. I understand you are also making the argument that Trump and Biden are basically the same, but I can't even begin to entertain that. With Trump we have a guarantee of more evil actions towards minorities and LGBT, and with Biden you are arguing his potential to be evil is just as bad due to his record of holding some terrible fucking views(and again I would love to not have him as a candidate at all). I can't split the difference there...potential is not the same as facts.
Using this logic, an abstain or third party vote in this election is.... also a vote for Biden. However, a vote in this system cannot be for two people for the same position. You can only vote FOR someone, you cannot vote AGAINST someone, not effectively in the presidential election anyway. You'd need something like preferential voting to do that, or another complete restructure of the system. Which, uh, definitely isn't happening by November if Biden cinches the nom, both due to logistics and because both Trump and Biden benefit from the current system.
Full disclosure, I bought into that line of thought in 2016. After Bernie dropped, I panicked. I voted Hillary, warts and all, because "she's better than Trump". It didn't work. We didn't get her. We lost the Supreme Court to the alt-right for ten to twenty years for our trouble. It's clear as day the system doesn't work with "I'm voting
against this person" in mind, but "I'm voting
for this person".
Even that aside, I've seen Biden's record. I'm pansexual. I am neurodivergent- I have general anxiety disorder, depression, and quite possibly (because I was given medication for it but my doctor refused to confirm and just kept asking "is it helping" and I'm unable to seek out a doctor currently) ADHD. I am marginalized by society. And, frankly, as a marginalized person who has listened to the opinions of many marginalized people who I don't share the exact same marginalization with- women, people of color, trans people, and disabled and differently abled individuals- nothing Biden wants to do is better than what Trump would be able to achieve IF we vote downballot. So between a rapist and a rapist, I'm not going to roll my dice with the rapist who some people think might do better in spite of his record. So, either way, it makes no sense for me to vote for him, especially with how I want to show my solidarity with victims AND not enable a rapist in hiding his crimes.
The only flaw in my logic, I guess, is assuming people will not show up at all rather than, you know, turning out to vote downballot. Which is possible. But I'm against that, specifically and loudly against that. Voting is important.
But it's also important to NOT empower rapists.
Like that should be the biggest takeaway - a vote for someone is not a vote against someone else, but a vote to empower them. A vote for Biden empowers him. He is a rapist. You are empowering a rapist by voting for him.