Electiorist lib here with a question that has never made sense to me.
In every election going back to Clinton in 1992 the libertarian right wing has siphoned more presidential votes off the GOP than any marginal left vote. Howie Hawkins had what, less than 500k votes total in the 2020 election? I'm sure La Riva had a lot fewer, as she wasn't on the ballot in most states.
Meanwhile, the last time I checked if you give around 2/3 of Jo Jorgenson's votes to Trump he wins Pennsylvania. So what's the deal? I get that the GOP likes to cosplay as ancaps and all, but why don't they ever demonize third parties for the sake of "unity" in the same way that libs go after moderately left third parties-- probably doing it in a gloating fashion even as we speak now?
They would have to acknowledge them to hate on them. They do not represent an existential threat and can be sagely ignored.
However, no one liked the DNC. If there was any alternative people would flock to it. If that damn breaks they are done.
They don't really have to, since they aren't trying to be a "big tent" like the Democrats. They have their voting base, they spoon-feed them talking points, and they turn out to vote; end of story. Fringe loonies like Jorgenson voters don't really factor into it, since they aren't True Believers. The GOP usually focus harder on suppression efforts than on outreach, and with them sweeping state legislatures, 2022 is going to be a doozy. I also don't really get the impression that they (as in the party leadership) really gave a shit whether Trump won reelection or not.
Complaining about voters not voting for you because they voted for somebody else is [edited for content] loser talk .
So think about any stereotype of a conservative or Republican party voter you've ever heard of. Strong, confident, assertive, principled (doesn't have to be true in fact this is stereotypes we're talking about), person with a swastika flag in their bedroom, attends prosperity gospel mega churches, "Guns and GAWD!, etc".
Now think about how you would sound to that type of person, if you started complaining about how you didn't win your political race, because you think you were "owed" the votes that went to another person on the ballot. From where I'm sitting, that's some real "beta male" vibes.
Now you can say, "Fraud, Incompetence, Front Runner Shenanigans," because that directs blame towards a system that everybody hates or an actual worthwhile opponent. There's a fine line between "loser, beta, cuck" and "decrying a dishonest system that cost the honest their victory", but its there.