Political Memes

Re-read the part about the cyclical nature of elections vs the one-off nature or the choice in the Trolley Problem.

Elections in a fucked up anti-Democratic power-duopoly electoral system like the one in the US are a lot more like a Cyclical Ultimatum Game between voters and the party supposedly closest to their own principles and very little like a Trolley Problem. A "punish now to get a better choice offered in a later round" strategy is not only viable but often the best choice in a Cyclical Ultimatum Game, i.e. when the side that has to accept or reject the candidate put forward is offered a bad one and they know they will play the same role (i.e. vote) in later rounds, but it is not at all a valid or even possible strategy in a Trolley Problem.

The relentless insistence in framing it as a Trolley Problem and thus as a unique once-in-a-lifetime choice which will result in a forever the same outcome that cannot be changed (yet another way it differs from a Trolley Problem - you can change the choice every 4 years), rather than a situation were punishing those choosing the available candidates in one round can change which candidates they put forward in the next round, is a self-serving piece of propaganda from politicians who don't want voters to punish them for always making available only bad candidates.