If I might make so bold, I believe his broader point is that the party needs to stand strong and minimize such defections.
Thank you - that is exactly my broader point. It is the party's responsibility to attract the voters.
I think you're both right to an extent. People will still vote their pocketbooks and the economy because they are practical, more so than people who vote on social issues, and not out of allegiance in either case. It's only the die-hard political junkies who feel allegiance to a party, be it rat or GOP, so I think Jeff is partially wrong on that issue, although there would be some who stay home if there was no third party. The same thing happens to the rats with the envirowhackos voting Green. And I think you are right about the broader point the other poster was trying to make, because there's definitely some truth to that, especially when it comes to social conservatives.