Tom, the actual conservatives like Wm F Buckley were great pragmatists. His oft-cited rule was NOT to vote for the most conservative candidate in any election ... but rather to vote for the most conservative candidate WHO COULD GET ELECTED. That is how you achieve change. This made perfect sense in an era in which conservatives were out of favor and struggling to gain power.

Today, liberals are in exactly that position, and they would be wise to follow that advice - and many are doing so. Do they LOVE the modern Democratic Party? Hardly - but NO true liberal can win any Republican primary anywhere, and there IS no viable third party in this nation today. Thus, they vote for the most liberal candidate WHO CAN GET ELECTED. Given our two-party system, that winds up being a Democrat by default in almost every case.

As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities.  - Voltaire