Back in 2018 I wrote about how this is exactly what people like Matt Lewis would do. mediamatters.org/washington-pos…
And another article that makes this same point mediamatters.org/laura-ingraham… 
“Nominate the moderate if you want to get our votes,” say the Never Trump crew. “Okay!” say the Dems.
The argument Lewis makes is that unless the Dems ran someone to the far right on abortion, he won’t be able to bring himself to vote for that candidate.
Pushing Dems to the right is the goal of “Never Trump” types (yes, including your Lincoln Project favorites.)
Pushing Dems to the right is the goal of “Never Trump” types (yes, including your Lincoln Project favorites.)
Lewis also does the annoying thing where he treats casting a ballot as part of his personality. The whole “Oh, I just can’t bring myself to vote for X” attitude is completely divorced from the reality that elections are more than just #branding opportunities for voters.
The 160k people who’ve died from a mostly preventable pandemic (so far!) aren’t comforted by the fact that some people took a stand against the two party system and wrote in “Thomas Jefferson” or whatever in 2016. Because they’re dead.
Here’s the reality: come January 20, one of two people will be president, Trump or Biden. People have the option of voting for one of those two and trying to have an effect on the outcome of the election, or they can vote for someone else knowing it doesn’t impact the outcome.
To say “I’m not voting for either” is to say that, at best, you’re indifferent to the election outcome. And that’s fine, but just own it. You’re not “Never Trump” if you choose not to vote for the one person with an actual chance to defeat him; you’re “whatever” Trump.
But to address his entire argument: if he actually wants to reduce the number of abortions happening in the US, he should vote for Democrats. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true.
The most effective way to reduce the number of abortions is to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies. The most effective way to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies is to support comprehensive sex ed programs and access to contraceptives.
The abortion rate has been decreasing over time, and during the Obama administration, it reached pre-Roe v Wade levels.
cbsnews.com/news/us-aborti…
cbsnews.com/news/us-aborti…
And again, that’s just if that’s the particular argument you want to make, the particular outcome you desire, etc. People like Matt Lewis are disingenuous political hucksters, though.
