Obama: If You Vote Third Party, You're Supporting Trump–And That Means You're Ruining My Legacy

Matt Vespa | September 28, 2016 4:30 PM

The vote shaming isn’t ending with President Obama. He said to black voters at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gala this month that if they don’t vote, he would take it as a personal insult for everything that he’s done for us over the past eight, miserable years. For Democrats, votes are viewed as an entitlement program. Obama has been unusually aggressive this cycle as he prepares to help Clinton by dragging her across the finish line. As Donald Trump has come within striking distance of Clinton, the president has decided to turn his involvement with the Clinton campaign into a rescue mission.

Other Clinton supporters, like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), also went commented on Clinton’s struggles to gain the edge over Trump, blaming third party candidates for siphoning off Democratic support for the former first lady. Now, Obama has decided to follow suit (via The Hill):

President Obama on Wednesday ratcheted up Democrats' attacks on third-party candidates, arguing anything other than a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for Donald Trump.

“If you don’t vote, that’s a vote for Trump. If you vote for a third-party candidate who's got no chance to win, that’s a vote for Trump,” Obama said during a radio interview with Steve Harvey.

Democrats have worried about Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein drawing votes away from Clinton, the Democratic nominee, especially among younger voters.

[…]

"My legacy is on the ballot. All the work we've done over the last eight years is on the ballot," he said.

Again, are these red flags that Democrats a) know they have a turnout problem since a core constituency—young people—are utterly unenthused by Clinton’s candidacy; and b) never thought this race would be this close? By the map, we seem to be having an electorate that resembles more 2004 than 2008, 2012, which bodes well for Republicans. Trump looks like he can win Nevada and Colorado, in which case if he wins Florida and Ohio, he’s elected president. That’s with him losing Virginia and Pennsylvania. So, yeah, I guess I can see why Democrats, including Obama, are trying to shame their own members into voting for Clinton, even though some core groups of their party base can’t seem to stand her. That’s not their fault—and these people don’t owe Clinton anything if they think she sucks, or is an old, sick decrepit liar.