"You're throwing your vote away," as it is usually intended, is the stupidest damn thing a person can say, on so many levels that I doubt I could list them all. Yes you are throwing your energy away when you vote 3rd party, but not for the reasons they say; they are throwing their vote away too, for the same reasons. The difference is that they're delusional enough to think that it does anything besides sending a message. One vote never matters. You don't matter to democracy. You're worshipping the wrong idol, and you're even sacrificing your principles for it. I never do.