Well, Norm, this is the reason we have a Congress with a couple of warriors for Liberty and a host of 'centrists' and Liberals.
The "He's our Liberal" or our "lesser evil" argument has been winning elections for too long.
There is a comforting convenience in electing the status quo, people have the same somethings to bitch about, the same things to get angry about, like that ache in a knee or elbow in the morning, those problems, those chains are an old friend.
Your comment triggered a scripture to my mind:
"One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying there and realized he had already been there a long time. “Do you want to be healed?” He asked." - John 5:5-6One would think that a crippled invalid of 38 years would have no need of such a question to be asked, but the truth is that human nature often PREFERS to remain in what people are comfortable with, even heinous disease and debilitating injuries, rather than risk something different that would require them to act and be responsible.
I cannot tell yo the number of folks that I know that prefer to be in a state of enslavement, to an addiction - to poverty - to abuse… because it is within their comfort zone and they feel they can better manage misery than the frightening aspect of being completely free in the wilderness of the unknown risk.
Same is true with those who remain in an apostate church or group. Even though it is clear the foundational principles that they assumed would forever be present in their organization are no longer welcome - many remain in the false hope they can somehow influence the organization go back to what they once were, or they throw up their hands and tell themselves to remain loyal because God will work it all out for them.
And without fail - I have watched such congregations and groups come to nothing - or remain a shadow of what they were with declining presence and influence, while those that left to start new endeavors that champion what they cherish - grow and thrive, even though it is slow and sometimes depressing at first.
Slaves on the plantation will not risk liberty, even though they know they are hated and punished for who they are. So they will continue to serve their masters, and suffer abuse and being discarded because they bought the lie that there is no life for them off of the plantation.