The biggest problem with those who "withhold" their vote in protest is that it doesn't send any sort of clear message. Was the vote withheld by a RINO because the nominee is too conservative, or by a hard conservative who thinks the nominee is too liberal?
Staying home sends no message other than that you stayed home. It doesn't tell anyone why you stayed home. So if your goal is to send a message, no message is being sent.
Please, sir, I'm not sitting at home out of protest. I just quit. That's not a protest. That's recognizing that the political process is irretrievably broken.
/By the way, my daddy was a 30-year Marine, who started his career as an underage grunt at Okinawa.