https://www.instagram.com/p/BMiY418AQ1H/
Obviously, people are going to vote for who they want. It’s our right as Americans. But Animal Collective want you to consider the case of Ralph Nader before you vote third-party. In a post to their Instagram, the band threw in behind Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and expressed regrets over voting for the consumer advocate and Green Party candidate in 2000.
The band pointed to the oft-repeated theory that votes for Nader helped George Bush win the state of Florida and, ultimately the White House:
“To those who share a similar world view to us but are choosing to stay home or vote for a 3rd party as a protest because you think there is no difference between Clinton and [Donald] Trump, we know how you feel to some extent,” they wrote. “The 2000 election was the first election all four of us could vote, and we had a 3rd party candidate in Ralph Nader saying there was no difference between the two major party candidates. Some of us were taken in by that argument, voted for him, and then watched as Gore lost Florida by a smaller margin than the votes Nader received.”
The post went on to list a bit of the fallout from the 2000 election, namely the low points of Bush’s presidency.
“We then watched our government ignore the Kyoto Protocol, further deregulate financial markets, and start a preemptive war with Iraq (just to name a few things),” they said. “There was a difference then. There is a difference now.”
The AnCo endorsement of Clinton is merely the latest in a long line of musicians stepping up for the Democratic candidate. And it’s also part of a flood of artists attempting to get out the vote on Election Day. While most people have already made up their minds — even Ken Bone! — AnCo’s regretful post certainly should give pause to anyone who is on the fence about voting for the (Reverend) Green Party.
