Third Parties in the Age of the RINO

     Many—particularly those who stand to benefit the most from the current two party system—would have you believe that voting third party is essentially a vote for the worst candidate in the race. In essence, they claim that refusing to vote for an unacceptable candidate and support “the lesser of two evils” only benefits the greater evil. If true, this would mean that no conscientious person could ever vote third party. Fortunately, it isn't true.

     Those who argue in this way lack understanding of historical context. Although the two dominant parties today are the Republicans and Democrats, that has not always been the case. The Whig party preceded the Republican Party and a pair of third parties (the Liberty Party and the Republican Party) were partly responsible for its demise, and before that still other parties rose and fell. Although times have changed since then, it is still possible to reshape the political landscape through a third party—even if that party doesn't achieve stunning success at the polls.

     Change can be achieved through a third party in several ways. First, and most obviously, it can become wildly successful and take the place of the major party it is most similar to. This is the outcome most people think of when they think about third parties, and when they correctly recognize that, short of a miracle of God, that will never happen it often dampens enthusiasm for third parties. Although this is the dream of most third parties, it isn't their sole purpose. A third party can also influence the major party it is most similar to by forcing that major party to assimilate its voters in order to win. To bring in that group of voters the major party will, hopefully, have to adopt some of the ideas of the smaller party. In the event that the major party is unwilling to change the third party still has a chance at change. If the major party has left behind many of its voters it may be possible to pull away enough of those voters to hamstring the wayward party enough to either get its attention or to make room for another major party, one that hopefully will represent more effectively the interests of its members.

     A third party becomes necessary when one of the major parties has grown detached from its members and refuses to hear their voice. Today, that state is most evident in the Republican Party. The Republican Party has spent decades trampling and insulting conservatives while still pretending to be the voice of conservatives. In primary after primary a moderate, who may or may not make a pretense of conservatism, is nominated and because this moderate presents no clear contrast with the Democrat the well meaning efforts of the overwhelmingly conservative Republican base who faithfully troop to the polls to “hold their noses” and vote are usually met with failure. At the same time, those few true conservatives who are elected are left hanging by the party establishment and painted as radicals, not only by Democrats but also by moderate Republicans.

     Further, the Republican Party has shown itself very unwilling to change. In the latest primary cycle Mitt Romney, an ultra-rich candidate backed by the elitist wing of the party, appears poised to win the nomination despite incredibly determined opposition from more than half of the party. Romney, who had previously supported abortion, homosexual marriage, and many other liberal talking points, backed by overwhelming money and the endorsements of numerous Republican leaders, was able to run over conservative opposition.

     The situation would be disconcerting even if it had been going on for merely a few election cycles, but in reality it has gone on for even longer. Even Ronald Reagan (incidentally, the last Republican to win in a landslide—so much for moderates and liberals appealing to the center), who Republican leaders now emulate to an almost humorous degree, faced strong opposition from the liberal wing of the party. In fact, even before then conservatives were pushed aside in favor of liberal and moderate Republicans. Since then, starting with George H. W. Bush, a moderate who ran as a conservative, no true conservative has been nominated for president. In Congress the situation is similar with moderates and sunshine conservatives dominating the Republican contingent. As might be expected, conservative causes have not been advanced. On the issue of abortion, something that more than fifty percent of Americans believe is immoral, no progress has been made. On economic issues, which many so-called conservatives claim are their chief concern, the Republicans have been little better than Democrats. The economy is in shambles and the United States has run up a debt that likely will never be paid and will be an increasingly heavy burden for our children and grandchildren. The role of the national government has expanded steadily whichever party has the presidency and a majority in Congress, to the point where the country today would be almost unrecognizable to the framers of the Constitution. Moreover, that document has been ignored and twisted for so long that many have no idea what it says, let alone how its authors intended it to be interpreted. The country has for far too long lacked a political party with the courage and conviction to stand up to the creeping advance of liberalism.

     Many would have you believe that if a conservative votes third party it is the same as if he voted for the Democrat. Republican apologists predict dire consequences if a Democrat is allowed to take office, ranging from the end of free elections to the end of the country entirely (so far several Democrats have been elected and those results have, as of yet, failed to materialize). In reality, it is the Republicans who refuse to take a stand who dooming the country to irrelevancy and eventual decline. The path the country is on is unsustainable—even from a solely economic standpoint, eventually we will simply have more debt than we can handle, and non-economic areas don't look much more promising—and both parties have shown no desire to change that trajectory. It will do no good to sit on our hands and wait for the Republican Party to change of its own accord. A conservative third party gives ground on which to stand against what has become a greedy, soulless, unprincipled party. It is up to us to make a stand now and to try to reform it or to replace it with a party that truly holds to conservative principles and has the courage to stand on those principles. At the present moment the best way to achieve that end is support a third party. Only time will tell whether that party will serve merely as a shot across the bows of a Republican Party that has lost touch with its base or whether it will replace it to become the next major party. Whatever happens, we can rest easy in the knowledge that we have done our best and we have, finally, stood our ground.

For a new birth of freedom!