It's not only a problem when democrats do it. It's a problem when democrats begin doing it as well.

Look man, I'm not from your country, but it's clear this is the same thing that's been happening now all throughout Europe. Where there are usually more than two choices, so we can't even claim lack of choice as the reason. Let me try to explain.

Old parties have been around the block so many times, everyone knows how morally corrupt they are. "Lesser of two evils" is not something younger voters want to go for. They want a party that represents them, and none of the old ones want to represent them. They just want the power, but not to speak the will of the voters. And while some are obviously bad choices (like your Republicans), the leftist voters are especially mad at those parties that have been masquerading as socialist or left-leaning. Because they promised and didn't deliver. Just like your Democrats.

So now all throughout Europe there are newly established far-right parties getting a bunch of votes, on the basis of "nobody else is keeping their word, or representing me as a voter, so I might as well try these new guys". Trump won his first election on that platform, and he'll win the second election on the same grounds.

But this isn't a problem with the voters. For example, Germany now has this exact situation. Who do you think most voted for the new far-right party? The eastern part of Germany. The poorest part, with the fewest job opportunities, with the lowest incomes, the highest frequence in homelessness, the least educated etc. And who's to fucking blame for an entire class of people being disenfranchised over several decades? The voters?

Nah, man. The only ones who made this bed are the parties who created today's environment. Usually we sleep in it, but every now and then people get tired of getting fucked, and they force a change, even if it may be a bad one. And sometimes, that is enough - the knowledge that even if you lose, at least the people who have been actively hurting you also don't get to win. They lose as well, they sleep in the same bed as you for a change. At least this one fucking time.

I won't deny that it's a destructive mentality and that it may lead to long-term negative effects that are hard to undo. But this has moved past a reasonable situation for some. Desperation kicks in, and the need for revenge is strong. When you work 2-3 jobs to feed your kids, when you can't sleep at night because you don't know if tomorrow you're gonna be evicted while you're at work, when you can't afford basic necessities... Fuck it, man. You get it. Sometimes you just desperately want things to change and you don't care if the world burns in the process, because your world has been burning for god knows how many years, and nobody seemed to care so far. And at that point, you're especially pissed at those who pretended they cared.