“The principled vote must also account for likely consequences.”
Absolutely. And that includes making a decision to vote in the first place. If I vote for someone, that means that I, no one else, *I* am taking responsibility for that political candidate and what they do once elected. You vote for someone and they turn out to be a squish or a crook, then you have no one to blame but yourself for failing to adequately vet the candidate or taking the moral high road and refusing to vote at all.
I take my share of blame for the current governor of VA who has turned out to be not only a tax hiking RINWAD, but ethically challenged as well. I’m ashamed to say that I voted for him. I’m NOT willing to do a replay. I think it far more morally defensible to refrain from voting than to vote for a candidate because they’re somewhat less repugnant than the other candidate.
Well, many opted not to vote for Romney for similar reasons. But I’d wager Romney is no Cuccinelli.