Conservatives are always struggling with what to do about these things. We talk about new parties, staying home, etc. I’m an advocate of taking over this party...or at least trying to. We did once before with Ronald Reagan.
So, the single MOST important thing we can do, in my opinion, is to SETTLE on One Conservative Standard Bearer BEFORE the primary season begins next year.
I would vote for Cruz.
Perhaps, he will make a good USSC justice someday.
I would vote for Ted Cruz too but I an concerned that we will never get the chance to do so. You summarize the dilemma well - one one hand we can subsidize the GOP and hope to turn it into a party that supports conservative principles and would support the nomination of a man like Cruz....or we look to form a 3rd party which at best will probably not be able to generate public support and money needed to win elections for at least 10 years.
So if our best chance is to unify behind a Conservative candidate like Cruz and try to gain control over the fund-raising and public relations machinery of the GOP, just how is that actually going to happen? For the most part, the GOP has consolidated its forces over the past 4-7 years, eliminating the Tea Party as a credible devil’s advocate and refusing to move so much as an inch to the right (as this latest cromnibus fiasco proves). I think it is possible for this to change, but I don’t see anything happening that would indicate it will. Instead, we see Cruz throwing raw meat to conservatives which also polarizes the opposition against him, including many in the GOP. It feels great, but how does it help win elections and reverse the course of the nation?