I’ll try to show why what you’re saying is not entirely accurate.

Here’s the easy reason. Most people don’t live in swing states. If they vote third party, or if they stay home, it’s not likely to change the result of the election. My vote has never made a difference in the presidential race, not once in my life.

Then we get into the more complicated reasons.

Depending on the candidate, I might feel that they don’t plan on pushing any policies that would make my life better or that I think are important. So why would I vote for them? Of course my motivation would be low.

The strategy of triangulation, where the Democrat candidate moves farther to the right because people don’t have any other choice, we saw that fail already. I hope you haven’t forgotten Hillary Clinton’s loss. I think if Clinton had been left wing instead of a centrist hawk, that she would have gotten more votes and she could have won the election. You can blame her loss on people who voted third party, or people who stayed home, but the reality is that it was a predictable situation. She gambled that they would believe in the wisdom that you’re pushing, and she was wrong.

Some people like to say that every vote is equal. And others rebut that with the comment, “everyone’s equal but only on election day”, and yet others note that the electoral college means we’re not even equal on election day. All of which is to say, as voters, we have more power to impact policy before the election than we do after it. You’re suggesting that we throw that power away. Meh.

Finally, I’m not on either candidate’s side, because neither candidate is on my side. We are all on our own sides, advocating for the things that we think are important or good for us and our community. There’s nothing wrong with saying that you disagree with a candidate on several major issues, even if you think they are generally a solid choice. Many of us strongly value honesty and integrity.

You used the expression “bitch and moan”, which is self-destructive. If you’re complaining that other people are complaining, that means you are “bitching and moaning” too. And you’re not going to get any support with that kind of antagonistic hypocrisy. (I’m not trying to attack you here, simply to point out the kind of attack that your position encourages.)