Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

[martybegan]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

So not even religious beliefs are enough to get people to look past the duopoly?

Right now it's the system we have, and until a 3rd party can show it is more than a vote-sucking spoiler it is the system we will have.

What would show a 3rd party is "more than a vote-sucking spoiler"? The only thing I can think of is a 3rd party presidential candidate getting enough votes to at least take some electoral votes. That won't happen so long as the majority of people won't vote for a 3rd party, making a lovely circular trap to keep the 2 major parties in power (along with all the money and influence they have secured over the years, of course).

Start winning at the town/city/village level, then start winning at the county level, then start winning at the State level, then start sending representatives to the House....

It's not rocket science.

 

[ptbw forever]

The evangelical response to Trump's illegalities and immoral behaviors: "Who cares?"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you ACTUALLY destroy religion. By getting the sheep to gleefully follow you to perdition.

Religion is not destroyed by attacking it. Religion is destroyed by getting the faithful to abandon their principles entirely for worldly gain.

Because that is exactly what happened in European countries.

Oh wait....

It was actually the left that destroyed Christianity in Europe....

A vote for Hillary last time was a vote for the absolute death of Christianity in the US.

 

[martybegan]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

Dirty Donald could fuck all of their wives on pay-per-view and then put them to work in his casinos, and the evangelicals would avert their eyes and still claim he was sent by God.

Vote for Trump Family Values™!

Go up your meds, you TDS suffering hack.

Trump himself has said he can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and you dipshits would still vote for him.

He knows what I know about you. He has nothing but contempt for you. Someone who respected you would not lie to you and spit in your face so constantly as Trump does.

Lol, you equate hyperbole with policy statements and intent.

I grew up in Queens, I understand how his bragging works, I see it every day.

But pillow sniffer elite wanna be's like you don't get it, and that's why he won.

 

[ptbw forever]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

Dirty Donald could fuck all of their wives on pay-per-view and then put them to work in his casinos, and the evangelicals would avert their eyes and still claim he was sent by God.

Vote for Trump Family Values™!

Go up your meds, you TDS suffering hack.

Trump himself has said he can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and you dipshits would still vote for him.

He knows what I know about you. He has nothing but contempt for you. Someone who respected you would not lie to you and spit in your face so constantly as Trump does.

Trump could shoot someone and he would still be better than the Democrats.

That isn’t an indictment of his voters, that is an indictment of the Democrats.

 

[Montrovant]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

They are just following the biblical mandate to pick the lesser of two evils!


Sent from my iPhone using USMessageBoard.com

Sometimes that's the only move.

And when that's the case not making the move is worse.

Perhaps that's true, but it seems to be the case not just sometimes, but every single presidential (and most Congressional) election.

I'm not saying that there are always a bunch of excellent third party presidential candidates. However, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the best the Republicans and Democrats can put forward, I would have thought more people would at least take a serious look at alternatives.

IMO too many people are perfectly comfortable with the two party system. It allows for a very simplified outlook on politics, making things black and white, us vs them. So long as people remain comfortable with that paradigm, with the idea of voting in the lesser of two evils, only someone extremely wealthy, like Ross Perot, will have any chance at all of trying to make a dent on a presidential election, and with the soaring spending in elections, even he might have trouble getting enough promotion done today.

 

[martybegan]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

They are just following the biblical mandate to pick the lesser of two evils!


Sent from my iPhone using USMessageBoard.com

Sometimes that's the only move.

And when that's the case not making the move is worse.

Perhaps that's true, but it seems to be the case not just sometimes, but every single presidential (and most Congressional) election.

I'm not saying that there are always a bunch of excellent third party presidential candidates. However, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the best the Republicans and Democrats can put forward, I would have thought more people would at least take a serious look at alternatives.

IMO too many people are perfectly comfortable with the two party system. It allows for a very simplified outlook on politics, making things black and white, us vs them. So long as people remain comfortable with that paradigm, with the idea of voting in the lesser of two evils, only someone extremely wealthy, like Ross Perot, will have any chance at all of trying to make a dent on a presidential election, and with the soaring spending in elections, even he might have trouble getting enough promotion done today.

The problem is 3rd party groups want the quick fix. They figure win the top spot, and their party will trickle down to the lower levels of government.

They don't want to do the hard, and maybe decades long work of building a new party from the ground up.

The only times in our history that 3rd parties have become strong quickly is when an established party disintegrates and the remnants form new parties, that try to counter each other and the existing established party.

 

[whitehall]

What does "religious conservative" mean? Is it different from "ordinary conservatives"? Is it possible to be religious and not be conservative or conservative and not be religious? How can you tell? Can you spot a "religious conservative" walking down the street? Maybe the guy with a couple of kids in tow could be a pro-lifer and thus be labeled a "religious conservative" by people who thrive on labels. Do lefties drive by churches on Sunday to count the religious conservatives? A person's religious convictions are nobody's business but his own but the left seems determined to pin a Star on their clothes so they can be identified as the enemy of the new social order.

 

[caddo kid]

The Evangelicals are no better than anyone else their opinion doesn't prove their piety nor does it improve their political power...It is just another groan from a dying dinosaur..

Remember, the largest evangelical group, the Southern Baptists, were created because of their support of slavery in the South.

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

 

[The Original Tree]

Actually, I think Conservative Christians should all embrace the party that sanctions infanticide, and gay marriage, promotes sloth, envy, sexual promiscuity, reproductive irresponsibility, and greed, abhors traditional marriage and sexuality, and is openly antagonistic to traditional religious institutions, demanding that they accept their perverted world view or lose their tax-exempt status.

Don't you?

They are embracing the Party of racism and misogyny, which promotes anti-family policies, and the transfer of wealth to the 1% at the expense of the poor and the middle class. A party which increases poverty, and which promotes policies making it impossible for workers to care for their family without government support. I'm sure that Jesus, who said it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, who said that the love of money was the root of all evil, and who said that poor shall inherit the earth, would vote for the party of hate, repression and greed - NOT!

Every time Old Lady Posts, All I see is this in my mind.
She just rants and raves with zero respect to facts or truth.

 

[martybegan]

The Evangelicals are no better than anyone else their opinion doesn't prove their piety nor does it improve their political power...It is just another groan from a dying dinosaur..

Remember, the largest evangelical group, the Southern Baptists, were created because of their support of slavery in the South.

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

Well then your behavior is easy to figure out. It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining.

 

[rightwinger]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

Strange bedfellows

 

[caddo kid]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

Dirty Donald could fuck all of their wives on pay-per-view and then put them to work in his casinos, and the evangelicals would avert their eyes and still claim he was sent by God.

Vote for Trump Family Values™!

Trump prolly has fvcked all their wives; they just don't know it, yet.

 

[martybegan]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

Strange bedfellows

Considering the current crop of progressive dems would love to see them eliminated from public life, why are you surprised?

Trump's sins are his own. He isn't telling people to go around boinking supermodels.

 

[caddo kid]

The Evangelicals are no better than anyone else their opinion doesn't prove their piety nor does it improve their political power...It is just another groan from a dying dinosaur..

Remember, the largest evangelical group, the Southern Baptists, were created because of their support of slavery in the South.

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

Well then your behavior is easy to figure out. It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining.

Why would I hate my family & why are you attacking my family?

You sure are a stupid motherfucker.

 

[martybegan]

The Evangelicals are no better than anyone else their opinion doesn't prove their piety nor does it improve their political power...It is just another groan from a dying dinosaur..

Remember, the largest evangelical group, the Southern Baptists, were created because of their support of slavery in the South.

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

Well then your behavior is easy to figure out. It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining.

Why would I hate my family & why are you attacking my family?

You sure are a stupid motherfucker.

Not attacking your family at all.

Question, do you still practice as a southern Baptist?

 

[caddo kid]

Remember, the largest evangelical group, the Southern Baptists, were created because of their support of slavery in the South.

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

Well then your behavior is easy to figure out. It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining.

Why would I hate my family & why are you attacking my family?

You sure are a stupid motherfucker.

Not attacking your family at all.

Question, do you still practice as a southern Baptist?

When YOU state, "It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining" that is a comment about the job my parent's did raising one of their progeny.

Don't discuss my family here you fvcking jackass.

Why are you too fvcking stupid to pull your head outta your ass?

 

[Montrovant]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Voting for a thrice-married, twice divorced man known for extramarital affairs, cavorting with Playboy models, vulgar talk, and an itchy Twitter trigger finger — to say nothing of the accusations of racism and sexual harassment or worse against Trump — certainly opens socially conservative Christians up to charges of hypocrisy. It also arguably makes it harder to reach other Americans, including young people, with their religious missions, or work with fellow Christians in communities of color.

But these consequences pale in comparison to voting for a party that stands opposed to the issues nearest to conservative Christians' hearts. As conservative Christian commentator Erick Erickson put it, the Democratic Party "offers me no home and is deeply hostile to people of faith. The president has shown himself to not share my faith convictions any more than the other side, but the president has shown he is willing to defend my faith convictions and is supportive of them."


Erickson didn't vote for Trump in 2016, but announced earlier this month that he plans to do so in 2020. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee was one of the most steadfast "Never Trump" social conservatives. He too has said he will endorse Trump in 2020.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

They are just following the biblical mandate to pick the lesser of two evils!


Sent from my iPhone using USMessageBoard.com

Sometimes that's the only move.

And when that's the case not making the move is worse.

Perhaps that's true, but it seems to be the case not just sometimes, but every single presidential (and most Congressional) election.

I'm not saying that there are always a bunch of excellent third party presidential candidates. However, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the best the Republicans and Democrats can put forward, I would have thought more people would at least take a serious look at alternatives.

IMO too many people are perfectly comfortable with the two party system. It allows for a very simplified outlook on politics, making things black and white, us vs them. So long as people remain comfortable with that paradigm, with the idea of voting in the lesser of two evils, only someone extremely wealthy, like Ross Perot, will have any chance at all of trying to make a dent on a presidential election, and with the soaring spending in elections, even he might have trouble getting enough promotion done today.

The problem is 3rd party groups want the quick fix. They figure win the top spot, and their party will trickle down to the lower levels of government.

They don't want to do the hard, and maybe decades long work of building a new party from the ground up.

The only times in our history that 3rd parties have become strong quickly is when an established party disintegrates and the remnants form new parties, that try to counter each other and the existing established party.

To some degree that's true, and I've long thought that third parties should do just as you say, try to build from the local level up.

However, there are some factors which might make that difficult. First, I think that most people only vote in presidential elections. That's directly related to the second factor, which is that national and particularly presidential elections get a lot more media attention and promotion. There are often a lot of local elections that people don't even know about unless they keep themselves abreast of local politics. As an example, the 2018 midterms supposedly had the highest voter turnout in 50 years for a midterm, and it still didn't reach the level of participation that a presidential election does. Because of this, even if a third party were to gain some ground in local elections, it might not translate into state or national elections. That doesn't mean the attempt shouldn't be made! A third, and hugely important factor, is money. Money obviously plays a huge role in political campaigns, and the Democrats and Republicans are able to generate much more than independents and have far better frameworks in place. There are exceptions, and the long dominance of the two big parties can lead to them being so sure of their place that an independent candidate can surprise them, but it's still an issue.

I would like to see the sort of party disintegration you talked about a bit more frequently, if we aren't going to get any viable third or fourth parties. 150+ years seems too long for only 2 parties to be in control of politics.

 

[Montrovant]

Actually, I think Conservative Christians should all embrace the party that sanctions infanticide, and gay marriage, promotes sloth, envy, sexual promiscuity, reproductive irresponsibility, and greed, abhors traditional marriage and sexuality, and is openly antagonistic to traditional religious institutions, demanding that they accept their perverted world view or lose their tax-exempt status.

Don't you?

They are embracing the Party of racism and misogyny, which promotes anti-family policies, and the transfer of wealth to the 1% at the expense of the poor and the middle class. A party which increases poverty, and which promotes policies making it impossible for workers to care for their family without government support. I'm sure that Jesus, who said it is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, who said that the love of money was the root of all evil, and who said that poor shall inherit the earth, would vote for the party of hate, repression and greed - NOT!

Every time Old Lady Posts, All I see is this in my mind.
She just rants and raves with zero respect to facts or truth.

Why would you quote Dragonlady if you are complaining about OldLady posting?

 

[martybegan]

I was raised Southern Baptist they are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs..

I also was raised in the SBC then in my early 20s I went over to the COC.

They are all pretty far out there, IMO.

Well then your behavior is easy to figure out. It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining.

Why would I hate my family & why are you attacking my family?

You sure are a stupid motherfucker.

Not attacking your family at all.

Question, do you still practice as a southern Baptist?

When YOU state, "It's all "I hate my upbringing" whining" that is a comment about the job my parent's did raising one of their progeny.

Don't discuss my family here you fvcking jackass.

Why are you too fvcking stupid to pull your head outta your ass?

You brought up how you were raised, you called the churches "loopy", I am merely making an observation.

Typically people who leave a certain group, be it religion, political leaning, smokers, meat eaters, etc tend to have poor views of those who remain. This is particularly true of those raised in the group and leave, be it due to issues with the group, or more personal ones, i.e. issues with their parents. or a combination.

 

[martybegan]

They may not approve of his life, but unlike the democrats, he will not go after what is important in THEIR lives. Democrats offer nothing to Evangelicals except more attacks on their beliefs and lives.

Religious conservatives will never abandon Trump

They are just following the biblical mandate to pick the lesser of two evils!


Sent from my iPhone using USMessageBoard.com

Sometimes that's the only move.

And when that's the case not making the move is worse.

Perhaps that's true, but it seems to be the case not just sometimes, but every single presidential (and most Congressional) election.

I'm not saying that there are always a bunch of excellent third party presidential candidates. However, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the best the Republicans and Democrats can put forward, I would have thought more people would at least take a serious look at alternatives.

IMO too many people are perfectly comfortable with the two party system. It allows for a very simplified outlook on politics, making things black and white, us vs them. So long as people remain comfortable with that paradigm, with the idea of voting in the lesser of two evils, only someone extremely wealthy, like Ross Perot, will have any chance at all of trying to make a dent on a presidential election, and with the soaring spending in elections, even he might have trouble getting enough promotion done today.

The problem is 3rd party groups want the quick fix. They figure win the top spot, and their party will trickle down to the lower levels of government.

They don't want to do the hard, and maybe decades long work of building a new party from the ground up.

The only times in our history that 3rd parties have become strong quickly is when an established party disintegrates and the remnants form new parties, that try to counter each other and the existing established party.

To some degree that's true, and I've long thought that third parties should do just as you say, try to build from the local level up.

However, there are some factors which might make that difficult. First, I think that most people only vote in presidential elections. That's directly related to the second factor, which is that national and particularly presidential elections get a lot more media attention and promotion. There are often a lot of local elections that people don't even know about unless they keep themselves abreast of local politics. As an example, the 2018 midterms supposedly had the highest voter turnout in 50 years for a midterm, and it still didn't reach the level of participation that a presidential election does. Because of this, even if a third party were to gain some ground in local elections, it might not translate into state or national elections. That doesn't mean the attempt shouldn't be made! A third, and hugely important factor, is money. Money obviously plays a huge role in political campaigns, and the Democrats and Republicans are able to generate much more than independents and have far better frameworks in place. There are exceptions, and the long dominance of the two big parties can lead to them being so sure of their place that an independent candidate can surprise them, but it's still an issue.

I would like to see the sort of party disintegration you talked about a bit more frequently, if we aren't going to get any viable third or fourth parties. 150+ years seems too long for only 2 parties to be in control of politics.

The mechanics of presidential elections lean towards less parties, not more. The addition of a 3rd party similar to one of the existing ones usually leads to the party NOT similar to the other two winning.

Ground up is the only viable option barring a party disintegration.