I belive that true centrists and and libertarians will fold and not fight. I'd love for you to prove me wrong. I need the hope that comes from you proving me wrong.
Posted by AAbattery444@reddit | Libertarian | View on Reddit | 8 comments
Here is exactly why I think the center will fold rather than fight back:
Massie's defeat wasn't just about winning a district in Kentucky. it was a highly public execution designed to send a message. Trump explicitly treated this as a personal vendetta, even dispatching Pete Hegseth to lead a last minute PR campaign against Massie in the final days. I highly doubt centrists or Center-right politicians and voters will rebel after seeing a 10-point blowout (55% to 45%) against a previously untouchable incumbent. Their instinct is to fall in line to avoid the blast radius.
Secondly, centrists Prioritize Self-Preservation above all else. The outrage that outrage we feel is real, but it's isolated to a principled fringe that actually cares about issues like executive overreach and mass surveillance. Mainstream centrists and institutional Republicans typically prioritize tax policy, deregulation, and political survival over ideological purity. They will rationalize staying in the swamp tent because the alternative is getting politically obliterated by the exact same $30 million war chest that just took out Massie.
Lastly, the MAGA machine has essentially perfected its formula. They combine limitless dark money funding with a hyper-brainwashed loyal as fuck voting base to force absolute compliance. We're seeing wealthy individuals effectively purchase total control over the party apparatus, aggressively weeding out anyone who won't act as a rubber stamp for the executive branch's agenda.
Please, for my own sanity and to give me some semblance of hope, change my fucking mind.
Hutch_is_on@reddit
I work inside of part of Massie's district. He has a fervent following there and around Kentucky as a whole.
The problem is that it was a closed primary.
If independents were allowed to choose which party they wanted to vote in in the primaries, or if it was an open primary, Massie would have won. Gallrein was support by Trump, and Trump has captured the Republican party. 80 percent of Republicans think Trump is doing a good job (while grocery And gas prices rise right in front of their eyes and hit their wallets). The base will vote how Trump tells them.
The independents and libertarians would have voted for Massie if they could have voted in this primary.
Cowrekted@reddit
better do a write in then!!
hokieneer@reddit
Libertarians are not centrists.
Trump is old and is not the future of any party. I see no reason to think the GOP can simply replace the populist candidate and continue as is. Dems couldn't do it with Clinton or Obama. People said the same of Obama's machine as you did of Trump's
AAbattery444@reddit (OP)
You an I both know that. But many centrists register and caucus with Republicans. So what's your solution for that?
Cowrekted@reddit
Feel free to correct me, but I'd imagine the solution to parties absorbing third parties platforms and centrists is to simply be radical yet appealing to people. If you're radical, parties cannot absorb you easily, if you're appealing, parties cant take your voters as easily. Of course this is easier said than done but maybe its possible or something.
MultiPass21@reddit
Libertarians (or anybody else who doesn’t align R or D) don’t owe either party anything. Each party has a duty to win over the moveable middle through policy, reform, budget planning, and other important factors that are worthy of a vote.
This whole “lesser of two evils” thing going on over the last 12+ years isn’t nearly as compelling as the DNC thinks it is.
AAbattery444@reddit (OP)
You're right. Nobody owes a political party a damn thing. A vote is supposed to be earned through policy, systemic reform, fiscal responsibility, and tangible results, not extorted through a game of political chicken.
But when the stakes are always a crisis every two to four years, the promised time to actually push for real reform never comes.
Because both corporate party machines have realized they can rely on polarization to drive turnout, they have largely abandoned trying to persuade the middle with better ideas. Instead, they focus on stripping the other side and pouring billions into negative ad campaigns designed to make the opposition unpalatable. It's created a race to the bottom where the quality of governance keeps declining, because neither side has to be good. They just have to be marginally less terrifying than the alternative.
Nibblesweasel@reddit
Things are going to have to get a lot worse before they get better.
This was the most obvious foreign election interference I've ever seen, and you're correct that it was just to send a message. Unfortunately, while I favor Libertarians over Rinos, I don't think the two party system will end soon. The largest voting demographic that holds an actual impact are boomers, and most don't care about the semantics of Massie if people funded by pro Zionist lobbies blitzkrieg tens of millions of tax dollars to disparge him. They just do what the news outlets tell them to do.
A lot of people are lemmings, as long as food and shelter are provided nothing substantial will change.