For all practical purposes, the votes of “useless” third parties are not really counted. In liberal VA in 2013, for instance, it’s rarely mentioned that a liberal third-party candidate kept the winner from taking an outright majority. All we remember is that the “conservative” Republican lost.
I know you are correct and that they will minimize it publicly. But if comparable numbers keep showing up to the polls and a growing percentage reject these BFF parties, at some point they will have to take notice. At this point I feel -no- obligation to the Republicans. At local levels, I will continue to vote Republican more often than not, but I am looking for reasons to vote against BOTH the D’s and R’s.