A "win" under such circumstances would be no win at all. I'd rather lose to the devil I know that "win" with a turncoat, a compromiser, or an opportunist.
So Sen. Thompson has dropped out? It's far from being the end of the world. I would likely have voted for him, but only as the least of two evils. Both the Democrat and Republican parties are hopelessly corrupt; no matter which party wins, the big business community, the technocrats, the educational unions, and the federal bureaucracy will still have the real power in our country.
Nothing short of a collapse of the federal government will be required for any real political change to occur; if such a collapse ever happens, however, a lot of innocent people will get hurt, and nobody wants to see that.
Therefore, I do not worry too much about national politics. No matter who is elected, abortion will remain legal, invaders will still pour across our southern border, Muslims will still plot to kill us all, and I'll still have to fill out a federal tax return every year. For these things to change, a change in culture will be required -— a spiritual renaissance, in which the materialist, utilitarian, postmodern Zeitgeist that underlies our society is replaced by the traditional Judeo-Christian culture of pre-Modern times.
That renaissance is the true goal for which we should strive, not some phony, temporary revolution at the polls. If we revive the culture, the politics will take care of themselves. Good culture = good country.
Thanks for the perspective. The things that bedevil us are way beyond politics. I don't get as exercised about the national political scene as I used to (unless of course there's a clear and present threat). The real action isn't at the national level anymore, it's at the local parish.