General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm told "If you ever want a balanced SCOTUS, set your values aside and shut up and vote for HRC." [View all]NanceGreggs
(27,814 posts)... on what you read on a political message board, and what you perceive to be being told that you have to set your values aside, shut up, and vote for HRC, that's your problem.
It seems an appropriate time to recall JFK's admonition to "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
What it comes down to in a general election is voting for the (R) or voting for the (D). We can argue all night about how flawed that system is, and how limiting that choice is - but as things stand, that IS the way it is.
A vote for the presidency is not about individual principles; it's about the FACT that either the (D) or the (R) is going to be governing the nation. Those are your choices. So what it comes down to is not whether your personal principles will be compromised or not - it comes down to who, of the two choices given, you want to entrust the nation to. Who, of the two choices given, is the better CHOICE - the (D) or the (R)? THAT is what is at stake here, along with what that choice means in terms of appointing SC justices - among other decisions of import and consequence.
"... what you can do for your country." That is not empty rhetoric - it is based on the reality that your vote should be premised not on what is good for you personally, but what is good for your fellow citizens, for your country as a whole. When you cast a vote for the next POTUS, it is not about YOU - it is about everyone who will live with the consequences of a Republican being elected president rather than a Democratic being elected.
"... forget about your values and your principles."
Maybe you can explain what "values" are at play by voting for a Republican over a Democrat. Maybe you can explain which of your personal "principles" would be served by voting for an (R), or voting third party (i.e. throwing your vote in the garbage), or writing-in Mickey Mouse (i.e. throwing your vote in the garbage while laughing), or not voting at all?
If your "values" and "principles" are all about YOU, and not all about your fellow citizens, you might want to think about that.