Dear conservatives, we're not friends, and I don't want to be in the same coalition as you

 So, I saw a conservative who I used to debate asking a group of liberals to sell him on Harris. Having debated this guy a long time ago, like pre Trump, I knew him to be exactly the kind of person I really don't wanna be friends or allies with. He seemed to be open to voting for Harris this time, given he is a constitutionalist who sees Trump as a threat to democracy, but he was conditioning his vote on wanting a moderate. he pointed out how Harris had these "radical views" on healthcare and how her going for medicare for all was a deal breaker, and he wanted reassurance that she wouldn't. 

Now, I'm not welcome in this particular community because I tend to be the kind to shoot my mouth off, and I really hate establishment liberals trying to pressure me to settle for crap, but here's my own honest opinion on this. If Harris is a deal breaker for you, THEN DON'T VOTE FOR HER! Seriously. As someone who DOES want medicare for all, I don't want to be in the same coalition as some right winger who is against nice things. We might both recognize trump as a threat to democracy, but that doesn't make us friends. Look at Mike Pence. That's a guy I disagree with almost all of the time. I'm like the anti him. but you know what? He refused to overturn the results of the election on January 6th, and to say something nice about him for once, I believe he is a true patriot. but that does that make me wanna play paddycakes with him? No! Hell no! And if anything alienates ME from democrats, it's trying so hard to win over these McCain-Romney style conservatives at the cost of their own ideas and principles. Because I left that party for a reason, and I actually did develop a more progressive ideology in leaving, recognizing it wasn't just the brand of conservatism that was wrong, it's all conservatism. At least all american conservatism (remember, centrist libs are the REAL conservatives). As such, I don't want to play paddycakes with these guys. Sure, we might be temporary allies of convenience to defeat the orange one, but we're not friends.

Now, for people wondering is my abrasive attitude is gonna drive this guy back to Trump, no, he said he'd go third party over Trump. And you know what? I'd rather he would. I respect any principled conservative who ditches the Trump train to vote third party. Go on! Go vote for Chase Oliver, or whoever the constitution party is running. I don't care! Just don't vote for Trump. Not voting for Trump is victory enough to me. If you can't swallow your pride to vote for a democrat due to ideological differences, I can respect that, I don't necessarily want your vote if we don't agree on some basic idea of principles or worldview. But you know what? This is why third parties exist. Just as I voted green in 2016 and 2020, third parties are a safety valve for democracy. It shows where the two parties are deficient, and it tells them they need to shape up and get votes.

If you're a conservative who hates Trump, and you vote third party, the message is clear, you are a true conservative and a patriot, and you put country over party by refusing to vote for the orange wanna be dictator. Bravo. And you know what? If every conservative who thought like that did that, Trump would lose, his coalition would shatter, and the GOP would then have to run back to the center toward some sort of normalcy that doesn't involve project 2025 or wanna be tyrants. And then we can both compete for what we want, fairly. You're still contributing to Trump's defeat by not voting for him, so that's enough for me. You don't HAVE to vote for democrats. And quite frankly, I'd rather we win without you voting for us, because I dont want OUR coalition to become dependent on you guys. Because then progressives will never have nice things. 

What I want, is for you to defect from Trump, cost him the election, and then force the GOP to earn your votes back by putting up more sane candidates in the future. That's what i REALLY want here. We shouldnt have to compromise OUR principles to accommodate you guys. You know? We're principled and want things too. We have radically different visions for the country. The only thing we agree on is Trump must go. So you can either vote for us on our terms, without expecting us to change for you, or you can vote for whatever third party gives you joy. Either way, as long as you're not voting for the orange crapstain that's enough in my book.