A beaten Democrat party would divide into libertarian and socialist camps.
Then the political fight would be between a mainstream Republican party and those two.
That would be a much better situation for libertarian types than what they have now.
If voting my conscience instead of my fears lets me sleep at night, then that's what I'll do. If voting for a third party candidate splits the "conservative" vote and the Democrat sneaks by, then I've done nothing more than to see to it that the corrupt two-party system continues to hold the reigns of power, just like everybody else who voted for either a Republican or Democrat.
With regard to how I feel about voting for Republicans at this point, I'll paraphrase Jim Carrey's "Riddler" in "Batman and Robin" as "Two Face" prepares to blow out the brains of an unconscious Bruce Wayne:
Don't vote for him: if you do, he won't learn nothin'.