Why do people refuse to vote for "the lesser of two evils"?

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First of all, if you call a candidate "the lesser of two evils", are you not saying that one is better (even if only by a little bit)? So why would you not vote for them anyway? It seems to me it's because people don't want to feel responsible for a bad president being elected, which is not a logical reason. Plus, if you really don't want to vote for either, you can at least vote for a third party candidate that agrees more with your views. I don't understand why somebody would just not use their vote. Not saying that it's wrong or anything, but I would just like to know if there is a better reason behind it.

It is understandable when you have candidates like Clinton and Trump. I'm not sure what I'll do yet if it comes down to the two of them. If I do vote for one I think it will be Trump. He's ridiculous and I disagree with a lot of his ideas, but at least he speaks his mind and will get things done (even if I disagree with those things). Clinton has always seemed very shifty to me. All she does is follow the popular opinion, and makes vague statements like, "Something needs to be done about [insert issue here]." Something? Or crap like, "I was there on 9/11!" Who cares? I want to hear what you will do for the country, not a bunch of empty rhetoric. At least I know what Trump wants to do, even if he is crazy.

That being said, I don't know if I will vote for Trump or some third party candidate, but I still want to use my vote. It doesn't make sense to me to just not use it, even if I don't like the options. You're never going to have a candidate that perfectly agrees with you on every issue.

Trust me: you don't want Trump as President. He's a loose cannon. I don't trust him near the nuclear button.

He's clownish. He says REALLY stupid things---like the prisoners of war were to blamed for being captured!! !! ! What kind of a man says that?

I'm not too thrilled with Clinton either--but at least she knows what she's talking about.

Considering Trump has filed for corporate bankruptcy four times, he'll probably treat your economy in the same fashion.

There's not actually a nuclear button though. I understand it's not literal but I just don't think that's a good argument. The president can't just declare war left and right and have absolute power.

I don't want him as president at all, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying, I'm almost inclined to pick him over Hillary if it comes to it, just because with Trump at least I know what I'm getting. Hillary is a puppet of the polls and of the big corporations that support her campaign with millions of dollars. She voted for the invasion of Iraq and was against gay marriage because those were the popular ideas at that time, and then changed her mind as soon as the majority opinion shifted. And I'm sure those aren't the only things, but everything she says is so ambiguous and empty that it's impossible to tell what her real opinions are (that is, if she even does have her own ideas).

Trump is more honest, Carson is more honest, pretty much every candidate is more honest than Hillary. I want Bernie Sanders for president way more than any of these candidates, but I especially don't want Hillary in office. I don't see why anyone would pick her over someone like Bernie Sanders. I think it's mainly because she just gets way more media coverage, is probably a better public speaker, her name is well-known, and she's a woman. And people just aren't rational enough to realize that none of those things really matter that much.

I'll be voting Sanders in the primary and it looks like he'll win my state. If he doesn't get it, I'll be once again voting 3rd party. I never vote for someone who I don't believe in.

Frankly, I think the 'Less of 2 evils' argument is an excuse for tribalism. They hate the other party so much they're willing to elect Satan himself to avoid them winning. It's just childish.

If anyone is curious, here's a good website about figuring out who you agree with and on what. I need to retake the test, but I agreed mostly with Sanders by, I think, 97%. Second was Jill Stein.

Yes, Trump spews insane crap all the time and I don't like him; I never said I liked him. But I think I would still rather him be president than Hillary. She is dishonest, she is controlled by the big corporations that support her with millions of dollars, and when she speaks all I ever hear is accusations, empty rhetoric and ambiguous statements about "solving" problems with no real solutions proposed. She is flimsy and makes decisions based on which way the wind is blowing. I would rather have someone who stands on principle, even if I disagree with some of those principles, because at least I know what I'm getting.

And besides, this is not the point of my post. I'm giving Trump and Hillary as an example, because many people have stated they dislike both, and I'm asking why someone would say, "I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils." Why would you do that? I've seen many people say they would not vote if it was between the two. So vote for who you think is at least a little better, or vote for a third party candidate. You're not making a difference by not voting, other than possibly allowing the greater of two evils into office by your lack of willingness to do anything.

The feeling I get from those people is that they are thinking, "Look at me, I have such a progressive and novel way of thinking, so I'm just not going to vote because I can see through all the BS, unlike anyone else." It's your choice to vote or not, of course, but I just think it just reflects laziness and a desire to escape responsibility, so you can just sit at your computer and endlessly criticize the country you've done absolutely nothing for.

I wouldn't have minded McCain as President.

Basically, it's part of the job description of a politician to be dishonest in some fashion.

I'd rather have someone who is knowledgeable and knows the ins and outs of the world, rather than some clown who's not going to be diplomatic, and will say crap to other world leaders.

If Trump gets elected, I would think we're going the decadent way of the Romans.

Of course, there is no nuclear button literally! But he seems like the kind of guy who would nuke Afghanistan because he wants to get rid of Muslims. The guy scares me.

i'm a bernie person, but i would vote for clinton over any republican. even bernie says she's way better than any of them. i wish she weren't so hawkish and so cozied up with wall street, but she'll increase the minimum wage (not as much as bernie), which none of the republicans will do. she also will stand up for women's rights, while trump is a downright misogynist.

Trump is Bozo the Clown. Remember Bozo?

The Clinton's are literal criminals who both belong in prison 10x over

BILL CLINTON IS A SERIAL RAPIST, HILLARY COVERED IT UP AND TOLD ALL THE WOMEN BILL VICTIMIZED TO SHUT THEIR MOUTH IF THEY KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR THEM

they are the embodiment of evil and all that is wrong with politics in the United States, corrupt to their core

nobody can be worse than Hillary, nobody

the whole argument of democrat vs republican, this candidate vs that candidate, distracts the nation from questioning the entire system because everyone is so focused on smaller details, not saying those smaller details aren't important for citizens to vote for, but we are put in a very powerless situation as we get to decide the lesser of two evils. that said i think it's stupid not to play into the system and use your vote for said smaller details, but keep in mind the bigger picture too.

If you are okay with McCain but afraid of Trump then you are pretty clueless about what McCain stands for. McCain stands for each and EVERY military engagement overt and covert that has ever been discussed over the last 30 years, Trump for all his bluster was still against the Iraq War and is the only one besides Rand Paul that doesn't literally want to start World War III with Russia. Hillary isn't any different, Obama has been an awful foreign policy president and we need to get off the collision course with Russia or else our future will be very very bleak if we continue to ally ourselves with backstabbers and terrorist sympathizers like Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Turkey has no business being in NATO, NATO has no purpose in the 21st century other than as a tool of American hegemony. Our fooling around in the middle east has killed more people than al-Qaeda or ISIS ever have or could even hope to, we kill on an industrial scale yet we can't look ourselves in the mirror ever? McCain is the worst senator, a literal fascist, a bloodthirsty mentally ill old man.

what is your evidence for this claim?

that's why i'm for bernie's political revolution.

Juanita Broadderick and we could go down the list of women from there

There is as much evidence of this as there is Bill Cosby, by today's standards Bill Clinton is a disgusting sexual predator and it is great shame on this nation ever electing such a low life piece of scum and his climber enabling power hungry wife. We knew about these Cosby allegations years ago but we didn't care about rape like we do now, the same thing applies to Slick Willy. Back then we called these women skanks and said they were asking for it, that they were lucky to be with such a powerful man like Bill Clinton, sick stuff.

I'll vote Trump if he's still in at that point, for the lulz.