Many times during my time in the legislature, we would get legislation to where we thought we had the votes and at the last minute a RINO would vote with the RATS and sink the legislation. The frustration is intense BUT still, when one stops being angry and examines the reality of the situation, we still needed that RINO to keep us in the majority. We need every Republican we can get--no matter how conservative or how liberal. The strategy should be to gradually replace a RINO in a primary (or vacancy) whenever possible but still, ALWAYS vote STRAIGHT Republican in the general--ALWAYS.
All the frustration in the world doesn’t change math. And the math always says third parties just hand power to your worst enemies. It is no more complicated to understand than 2+2. But the base of both parties is constantly trying to get to a new party that will represent their views.
Every political party is a coalition of disparate groups who conspire together to get 51% of the vote and then fight each other for what to with the power.
Any other vision is at best...charming.