And that's the truth. In a couple of elections I spent some time trying to get progressives, etc., from throwing away their vote on Nader or whatever. Some focus on purity, others are just angry. I do three step voting. First step, which way do I want the country to go? Second step, what are the issues? Which way there? Third step, which is priority? Well the third step usually goes back to the first step - does the country need to go right or left?

I agree, but that's a very transactional way of viewing voting. And I think it's inconsistent with the more ideological, "expression of values" way that a non-trivial number of progressives (especially young and activist progressives) view voting. If a candidate doesn't "deserve" their vote, they won't give the candidate their vote - even if giving that candidate their vote is the best choice for the issues they care about. It's also a little inconsistent with the way Democrats have framed their oppo positioning against Trump in the last two elections, where GOP support for Trump (after he won the nomination) was cast as a moral failing among Republicans rather than a completely rational choice for folks who want the country to go more to the right (or at least not as far to the left) as a Democratic President would take it.