So, you’re a classical conservative… the type who embraced the policies of Lincoln up through W. but can’t follow Trump and the Trumpublicans into the quicksand mixture of leftist authoritarianism, rampant spending, and racist nationalism.
If you want one certain way of not succeeding, it is this: promote the Democrat.
There’s an important distinction here; I’m not saying that it is a guarantee of failure to support and promote a Democrat. If you find one that you honestly like, one with whom your disagreements are minor enough that you want them as President, by all means, promote them. Any such person is likely to be moderate enough to not actively tear away at the foundations of the country you love. I’m specifically addressing the support of “any Democrat” under the auspices of “We need Trump out, and I’m going to vote for the only people who have a chance at doing it.”
Even if you are looking at the current Democrat slate and deciding that any of them is superior to Trump, that should not equate to signing on with the party.
If there is also no third party candidate or Republican alternative you prefer to any of the Democrats in this election cycle, if you think that in the future there might be one you should not be signing up prematurely as a Democrat partisan adjunct.
The Democrats are attempting to pull together their various contingents under the banner of whoever wins their primary. To this end, they are casting blame upon third parties and working hand-in-glove with the Republicans to keep awareness of any primary challengers to Trump at a minimum. By doing this, they not only remove potential challengers that may eat into their vote count, they negate any need to modify their positions.
Right now, Democrat activists want the candidates to push as hard toward socialism as they can. The concern is that if they do so, they risk alienating too many Americans and will lose what is otherwise an easy race against a personally loathed President who rarely reaches 45% job approval. If they hear independents claiming solidarity with the Democrats no matter what they say, because at least they’re better than Trump, the Democrats lack incentive to moderate their positions. This is a way to raise Bernie’s primary numbers, and a way to push Biden into taking the most extreme positions he feels comfortable supporting.
It’s no longer even the Republicans and the Democrats at that point. It’s the activists vs. the activists, the radicals vs. the radicals. The voices of the moderates in both parties are to be ignored. If someone wants something that neither activist group wants – like lowered spending or diminished central authority – they had best remember that they’re lucky to even be considered a second-class citizen. They need to fall in line.
It also enforces the idea that there can be no viable third party. There can be; it’s not even possible, it’s easy. The numbers are there. The biggest impediment to a strong third party is simple: the perception that there can be no success with one. The individual victories of people ranging from Jesse Ventura to Bernie Sanders don’t matter to those who believe in the binary argument.
From a purely logical standpoint, prior success should indicate that something can happen again. People aren’t always logical. The greater difficulties that a candidate faces without massive media attention are oppressively hard to overcome. That gives potential supporters two options: work harder, or give up. It’s always easier to give up.
If that is the choice people continue to make, even though it’s easier than ever in the age of Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Facebook to promote a candidate, philosophy or idea, then it doesn’t matter how fascistic the Republicans and their nationalists or the Democrats and their Antifa might be. The decision is that there are only two parties, live with it.
Such actions render all the voicing of love of individual liberties moot. It’s actively demanding and pursuing failure.
My suggestion is simple, and in keeping with the entire idea of free elections: educate yourself on the various candidates available. Support your choices as best you can during primary and general election. Force them to remain consistent and encourage them to represent your views, for fear of losing your vote. Only make your final decision when you enter the polling booth, and when you do make that decision, it should be informed.
We are a nation founded on the liberty of the individual. We should not be so ready to hand that key freedom over to anyone, much less a group that does not have our best interests at heart.
