How could you lose conservative votes by voting for and electing conservatives?
For instance, let's say JD Hayworth challenges McCain in the primary. We should make sure JD wins, because he is a big improvement over McCain and a more reliably conservative.
The only way conservatives can win elections is getting true conservative candidates to win in the Primaries. If there are not enough conservatives to do this, then we are just a minority and cannot win anything anyway.
But voting third party will always guarantee defeat.
What I meant was that the party machine must fear losing conservative votes (to either staying-at-home or third party) in order for them to support conservative candidates.
For instance, let's say JD Hayworth challenges McCain in the primary. We should make sure JD wins, because he is a big improvement over McCain and a more reliably conservative.
OK. I'm not really familiar with Hayworth, but I'll assume for discussion's sake that he is acceptably conservative. What are Arizona conservatives supposed to do in the general election if they fail in the primary and McCain gets the nomination? There are four options: stay home, vote McCain, vote Democrat, vote 3rd party. Which of these is most likely to further the goal of "taking back the party"?
But what do you do if McLame “fixes” the primary and wins it? Do you blindly vote for that (R) again and again and again? No, the SYSTEM is too rotten to save. And the RINO establishment is NOT going to give up without a MAJOR fight, in which they have tremendous resources. The whole structure needs tearing out and replacing. Sad to say, I think too many of you Pubbies are just baying at the moon. Especially if you REALLY think that party is any more worth saving than the Rat party.