An interesting question is why didn't the third party candidates get a strong following this year given all the hatred towards the popular candidates.
That is a pretty good questions... and I think the passive appearance that you talk about is probably the key. Stein is Green and passive... Johnson is timid and weak appearing... and I think the populace feels we need a strong personality to face the others. Just try to imagine and argument between Putin and Johnson... Johnson would be owned and probably wouldn't even realise when he is being manipulated.
(that paragraph is the best weapon to get me to vote for trump... I am still fighting that off though)
Not voting means you don't endorse any of the candidates. And that's fine.
I agree with you here... I think when I discussed not voting being silly, was those that don't ever vote out of apathy or thinking their tiny vote doesn't matter. That I think is silly.
As a "socialist", Sanders is not conservative enough, is a threat for the free economy market. He had to be silenced. He was an obstacle in the American Way.
This is interesting to me coming from your perspective (admittedly, I don't know you that well). I was a Bernie fan in the beginning, but always felt that I might be too ignorant to know whether or not that is a good idea.
Socialist ideas are tantalizing to me as they just sound like good ideas, buts it's the question of how they shake out in reality that I never know, and I can't ever get a hold of the economics of the situation.
The future I have chosen to see and swallow... I just don't think socialism will work as the ideas of us being a cohesive group is going to go backwords a bit I feel. Which throws me over towards the libertarians...