They only thing I would say and here is the problem. Voting third party guarantees a Democrat will win. I wish I had a way to make a third party more viable, but I don’t not a conservative. Ross Perot got close, but he’s not conservative either.
This only true under the present paradigm. What must happen is Conservatives must be able to attract voters from the Democrat side of the aisle like Reagan did. This is where the Libertarian Party has some degree of attraction, as it combines the small government philosophy of the conservatives with the liberal social policy of the Democrats. Rand Paul is not treated very well around here, but he may be onto something with the formula that could be successful in building a coalition party.
Voting third party guarantees a Democrat will winThat threat has become a nice example of intellectual laziness. I can't say as I blame you, it is "low hanging fruit" and the political right is sloppy-drunk with intellectual laziness.
But it presumes those exploring the possibility of a third or replacement party expect a third-party to win it all instantly. I don't know anyone who expects that.
Why can't we have candidates, registered as republicans, who vote as a bloc of conservatives and caucus tightly together? Sort of like other congressional voting blocs (latino, black, women, whatever). Conservatives are (supposedly) minorities too!
Why can't that conservative voting bloc grow over the election seasons until it reached critical mass and public familiarity *AND THEN* declare a new party? Could that new party and the GOP caucus together for the vast majority of things against the Dems? Why does the gradual replacement of the GOP (a thoroughly tainted brand) seem to be so difficult to most folks? It does not have to be as sudden as flipping a light switch.
I'm just an average idiot and I can think of possibilities like that. There are a bunch of folks far smarter than I that could most assuredly develop even better, sound, reasonable, practicable strategies.
The point being, more and more folks don't see much difference between a RINO winning and a Dem winning. If that is their perception, then saying "voting third party guarantees a dem win" is no longer a threat or at worst, a very minimal threat. If conservatives are serious, they should start striking while the iron is hot. They have a lot of MSM sniping to overcome and start building brand recognition.
Plus, repeating that threat is just following the masses and not truly thinking about realistic, plausible possibilities. And here lately on the GOP side of reality, it is a fair bet that if you follow the masses, the "m" becomes silent (see also: Boehner, McConnell, Graham, et al).