It's Time: Conservatives Have to Get Out of the GOP

The Republican Party has become the enemy of conservatives, not their friend or even a reluctant ally.

I’ve given this a lot of thought, but after having been a fan of America’s two-party system for years, that’s no longer the case. This election cycle has proven that conservatives and libertarians have no future in the Republican Party. It’s too easy for the establishment and “populist nationalists” to shut them out. That’s why the overtly progressive Donald Trump won the nomination this year, Mitt Romney won it in 2012, and John McCain won it in 2008.

That’s why I believe that there are only two options left for libcons (as I call libertarians and conservatives and those who mix both):

1. Join the Libertarian Party and take it over.
It’s easier to take over the LP than the GOP because it’s a much smaller party. If you have a few thousand passionate conservative/libertarian activists, they can take it over in a few years. That process will be completed even faster if these activists take money with them, which shouldn’t be impossible considering the fact that there are many rich conservative and libertarian entrepreneurs willing to put their money where their mouth is. Just look at the enormous amounts they donated to SuperPACs supporting Ted Cruz this year.

2. Create a new party and declare war on both Democrats and Republicans.
It’s more difficult to start a new party than it is to take over an existing one, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Ironically, that’s how the Republican Party itself got started. It ended up replacing the Whig Party which had been, until 1861, very influential and successful. Some famous whigs were John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. When this party came to prominence, few would have expected it would go down in burning flames a mere 30 years later. Yet, that’s exactly what happened.

Some may argue that it was easier to create a new party in the 19th century than it is now. Perhaps so. The two major parties are deeply ingrained in the culture, the media, and the power structure. On the other hand, technological developments have made it easier than ever before to create something out of nothing. A small but dedicated group of passionate individuals can do more now than they ever could in human history.

As it is, the two-party system shuts out conservatives completely. I don’t see how my American friends and ideological colleagues can change anything without breaking up the system and turning it into, at least for the time being, a three-party system.