Conservatives are caught in Trumpian hell. The QAnon, far-right, Militia Trumpers who control the Republican Party aren’t conservative. Honestly, Republicans discarded conservatism decades ago, but they at least pretended. So conservatives should vote somewhere else.
But that’s a problem. America has become a duopoly; only two parties are allowed. The Democratic and Republican Parties get critical institutional-level support, and third-party candidates get nothing. Nobody outside those parties gets matching federal funding, the news barely mentions them, and they aren’t invited to debates. Even the phrase ‘third-party candidate’ is wrapped in despair and defeat.
Trapped in Trumpian Hell
Conservatives don’t have any real alternatives. It doesn’t matter if the Republican Party is corrupt, or dishonest, or not even conservative. Unless you can vote Democratic – and most conservatives can’t – you hold their nose and vote for whatever slimeball has an “R” after their name. With only two parties, it’s zero-sum: voting for a third-party candidate doesn’t just waste your vote; it’s effectively voting for the other side. The only choice is no choice. I’m deeply sympathetic because it’s the same for everyone. Unless I vote for the winning candidate, my vote doesn’t count, either.
How the Duopoly Works
Here’s my example. Suppose I’m looking at three candidates. One politician is my own personal savior. The second is the dull establishment front-runner, who I don’t love, but I don’t hate. The third option is an unqualified clod, a godawful, conspiracy-believing fringe wingnut. Those are my options. Suppose, instead of the safe mainstream person, I vote for the candidate I love. Then my person loses. I haven’t voted for the mainstream politician. I’ve effectively shifted the totals toward the hateful conspiracy idiot. It’s perverse. Voting my heart is now against my interests. We all know it, too. It’s an ugly compromise: I vote for the least awful person with the best chance of winning. I expect you make the same calculations.
Ranked Choice Voting
But you know what? We could do better if we wanted. I’ve written once or twice about Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV). With RCV, you vote by listing your preferences in order: first choice, second choice, etc.
How It Works
If a candidate gets more than half the first-choice votes, you’re done: they win, same as now. If not, though, it gets interesting. Kick out the bottom candidate with the fewest votes and shift to those voters’ second choice. Count again. Do that until someone gets a simple majority.
Ranked-Choice has a series of benefits. First, no runoff elections, ever. Second, most of us will have voted for the eventual winner. Third, no matter who ends up winning, your vote still counts. Even if your first choice doesn’t win, your vote still helps your second choice win. You didn’t just waste your vote.
Will They Let Us Do That?
Doesn’t matter. We don’t need federal permission. We may not even need state permission. Here’s the RCV status according to Ballotpedia:
As of November 2020, one state (Maine) had implemented RCV at the state level, and one state (Alaska) had adopted but not implemented RCV. Another eight states contained jurisdictions that had implemented RCV at some level. Another five states contained jurisdictions that had adopted but not yet implemented RCV in local elections.
Ranked-Choice Voting, Ballotpedia
If there are still conservative Republicans, they can take back the right-center mantle. In a two-party system, the GOP leaders have to kowtow to their dipwad fringe; they have no other political choice. There can only be one conservative party. They’re trapped in their own Trumpian hell by the same political forces. But if we can free conservative politicians to win elections simply by appealing to more voters, we’re done. If they have the courage, they can stop pretending.
Endgame
As for the new ‘far-right’ base? Let that white-supremacist, pro-corruption, insurrectionist, QAnon led, Blue-Jewish-Space-Laser party of Trump slink back to their off-grid, heavily fortified compounds in Oregon in anticipation of the much-delayed Storm. Their voters will still put them as their first choice, but I’ll bet someone with an “R” will be second or third on the ballots.
America needs to hear conservative voices. Real conservatives need a political party that’s true to their ideals, not the Trumpian Hell minions dancing in the bones of the GOP. But voters looking for smaller government and fiscal restraint need a practical organization, not some false third-party dead end. That can’t happen in our duopoly. Unless we decide to change.
Say it with me: “Save the Conservatives from Trumpian Hell!” Ranked-Choice Voting.
