I fully expect Trump to make it worse.
I didn't realize you thought the US has no power to affect the Israel situation at all.
Interesting.
But let's accept your premise - Absolutely nothing you do can affect US policy on Israel.
There is no difference in any way whatsoever between Biden and Trump.
So therefore, since your vote can't affect that at all, your decision about who to vote for should be made on all their other policies, no?
I do know people like Butler think there is no difference on any policy front in any way between the two parties.
Others disagree.
You slept through Trump's administration concerning Israel, didn't you?
How exactly is Trump going to make it worse than it already is? Israel has no restraints. There is a genocide. What is worse than genocide? More genocide of an ongoing genocide that is not being stopped?
And where did you figure that I thought that the US has no power to affect the Israel situation? My criticism is exactly that. That while the US is in the unique position to influence how things unfold in Israel/Palestine, and perhaps is the only country that can influence how things unfold in Israel/Palestine, they are doing absolutely nothing substantial to help the Palestinian cause.
The differences between Trump and Biden, are either in rhetoric or in something as minor as humanitarian aid or stopping delivery of some bombs under a very narrow criteria, while vetoing everything in the UN and providing support and protection for Israel. These look like differences but are merely talking points. They have absolutely no tangible impact. Heck even a ceasefire is not able to be achieved.
Be it Trump or Biden, the following 2 statements will be true:
a) Israel will receive and continue to receive BILLIONS in military aid.
b) The US will always protect Israel at the UN and the international stage, thereby enabling their brutalization of the Palestinians.
To me, it is a difference, if Biden would vote AGAINST Israel at the UN. Or had Biden not abstained from recognizing Palestinian statehood. Or had Biden not vetoed full membership for Palestine. Would Trump have done anything different?
You are flouting some inconsequential, lip service and gestures as "differences in policy". It means nothing!
Exactly.
So voting as if that isn't true would be stupid, wouldn't it?
No it wouldn't. A voter votes per their conscience. They do not vote, to elect a guy, that is the lesser of two evils, when that guy is going to do nothing for the issue that you hold as most important. Now others, for whom this is not such a big issue may take the approach you are suggesting, but again, they are still voting their conscience. Everybody is always voting their conscience.
Yes.
And that has an effect on the result.
I don't know why you have such a problem understanding that.
Yes. And the effect is that BOTH Trump and Biden, LOST a vote. I don't know why you have a problem admitting that.
Yes.
And the choice there is "I am so Anti-Biden that I am ok with Trump winning."
Because there is no "But I'm not supporting Trump" in the system as it is set up.
Is it doing less to try and get Trump to win than if you voted for Trump directly?
Yes.
But it is still voting in a way to help Trump win, because the only way to not help Trump win if you would otherwise prefer Biden is to vote for Biden.
That's just the math of the system.
Now, you have said that you see no difference between the two so it honestly doesn't matter and there are people who believe that and then the third party vote or staying home is perfectly rational.
They don't care about who wins, so they don't vote to affect the winner.
But anyone who DOES care about who wins in any way is choosing between the two by voting or not voting.
This is your characterization. Not the objective truth.
If the statement "I am so anti-Biden, that I am OK with Trump winning" is true of a 3rd party vote, then so is the statement "I am so anti-Trump that I am OK with Biden winning", because that is what is objectively happening. Both Trump and Biden are losing a vote helping the other. Biden is not entitled a vote by this voter who voted third party.
Because a third party vote, needs to be seen objectively, because there IS a candidate expressing political opinions and not as a spiteful fallback option exercised by the voter.
I mean if you could make the argument that the voter would have voted for Biden, if not for the Israel Palestine issue, then you could make the same argument that a Biden voter would have voted for Trump if not for Trump's positions on race, immigration or what have you. You could pretty much make that argument about any candidate. The truth is that political positions of the candidate, sway votes. You could agree to varying degrees with different candidates, but there are certain issues that will always sway the voter more than the others, one way or another.
This is like saying my vote for Mitzie Hunter in the mayor election, is anti-Chow, but pro-Saunders. No, it is anti-Chow, anti-Saunders, anti-anybodyelsethatran, but pro-Hunter.