Your other choice would be to reduce the damage for the next real conservative by doing the best we can for them.
Better a finger prick and we leave the football at the 50 yard line for the next conservative rather than take actions that put the ball on the 10 yard line.
Why make the future conservative have to FIRST make up an additional lost 40 yards before they can move us more right where we could have been?
Not voting, voting third party or voting Democrat all gets you Democrats.
Better we get the least liberal electable person in, go after nonconservative Senators and Congressmen in their next primaries and advance that way.
No war hasn’t had setbacks.
Better we regroup back to ten miles inland versus getting kicked off the beaches and having to bloody ourselves from the start again also having to regain the ten miles.
You have to look down the road past your arm regarding the best long term strategy.
NEVER PROTEST VOTE OR VOTE IN A WAY THAT EMPOWERS DEMOCRATS IN THE MAIN ELECTIONS. That is simply called stupid IMO.
The facts contradict your hypothesis. I held my nose and voted for "Moderate" Bush. And now look at the positions of Republican front runners. all to the left of King George II ("See you at the signing") Bush. Why should I do "the best I can" for a party that has abandoned me? You're advocating the old republican motto "Where else are they going to go?" When asked about true conservatism in the past. Well not with your liberal candidates even if they do have an R.
That is simply called stupid IMO.
Simply voting the left wing liberal who happens to have an R behind his name is simply called stupid in MY opinion.