I made that comment to @INVAR, and his position seems to be somewhat different from yours. He argues that we already have gone over the edge. If that is true, then a nascent, startup conservative third party will have zero chance of ever becoming anything in that environment. He essentially envisions a total collapse, and whatever conventional political parties exist now won't even be around when/if we merge from the other side.
You -- I assume -- envision a post Hillary 2020 or 2024 as something that still would be sufficiently democratic to permit a staunch conservative party to exist and thrive. While I personally don't agree with that, it at least presents a practical rationale for voting third party right now.
@ Maj. Bill Martin
I am counting on the GOP, if they want to have any power when the dust settles, either fighting against Hillary and leaving enough of a remnant of the Republic for elections, or just moving their collective tent over into the Democrat Camp.
If the latter, that will vacate the Constitutionalist (and former "Conservative", although the term will be completely meaningless) and Religious Right Landscape, a void which a Third Party could fill.
Whether that would be enough to have any political stroke, I don't know, but I have little doubt there will be buyers remorse if Trump is elected, and resistance to Cankles, at least from the electorate. If either try another "assault weapons" ban, I expect serious civil disobedience.
I can't help but notice the Constitution Party gets short shrift from the media, with the Greens (extreme Left) and the Libertarians (a bit of a muddle imho, but not totalitarian) getting all the Third Party press. While the Constitution Party is fifth in the party lineup, the party isn't brand new, the platform has been established, and it is enough of a threat that there have been some interesting claims made about the party, in particular by a libertarian writer. Those claims are false, and present Darrell Castle as a "9/11 troofer" (he wants the 28 pages of the 9/11 report on Saudi involvement released so we get the full story), as a "Holy Roller" (nope, though he is a churchgoer), "ambulance chaser" (He is a personal injury attorney, but there are valid personal injury cases.), and "birther" (just no).
I guess there is more than one team out there playing by Alinsky Rules, and the dominant third party to come out of this election could do well enough to get on the debate and funding radar, so the Libertarians are trying hard to be king of that hill. That means the scrum for third party votes is especially competitive this time around.
Yes, all of the above postulates that enough of America as we knew it will survive the first four years, whoever gets elected, and maybe even eight. A lot of the 'fundamental transforming' has been done, and people already have lowered expectations. When lawlessness becomes a matter of officially sanctioned cronyism, the Rule of Law is on life support, and the Constitution is too.
If it is all over but the formalities and post-game follies, well, at least the effort will have been made, and at some point those of us who are able move on to the last 'box', the ballot box, soapbox, etc. having failed. If that is the case, better have some dirt to plant in, some food in the pantry, a way to cook, and some tangible assets you can trade, all off the books, (and some 'real money') . Perhaps we can consolidate surviving States into viable trade units and go on from there, perhaps not. One thing is certain, though, neither path is going to resemble the America of my childhood, perhaps ever again.
