“Not voting” is all too frequently conflated with “apathy.” It’s true that lots of people don’t vote because they are fundamentally apathetic about politics, but many choose not to vote because they perceive that course as the most rational action to advance their interests. As such, I’ve chosen to label this option “conscious abstention.” I am abstaining because I have fully-formed and reasoned arguments for doing so; you’re free to disagree with them, but please do not deny that I have them on offer.

Number one, there is just no chance in hell that I’d ever vote for the Democrat who was the single most responsible member of her party in enabling the Iraq War, the worst foreign policy catastrophe this country has undertaken since Vietnam, and the consequences of which we are still dealing with literally to this very day. Hate ISIS? You can thank the Iraq War for that problem. (Not entirely, but a large percentage of it is attributable to US folly.) Concerned about Iran’s hegemony in the region? Give thanks for the Iraq invasion. Worried about extremism of various stripes festering throughout the Middle East, spilling over into Europe, and infiltrating the minds of “lone wolves” here in the homeland? That’s more Iraq War blowback. Iraq War 3.0 is going on as we speak, as US troops engage in a combat mission in Mosul, and are sustaining casualties.