The first thing these old line Republican patriots absolutely must do is admit to themselves that for many years they turned a deaf ear

It looks like some of them have twigged. Read Stuart Stevens book It Was All a Lie. None of it is news to me, a non-conservative, outside watching the Republican party pick up — or manufacture (e.g. ‘right to life’) social issues in order to persuade their rank and file to vote, essentially, against their own interests. I started puzzling this out back when Vermont was staunchly Republican (why are these farmers voting for someone who will harm their interests?).

All that said, I certainly hope they’re successful in either rebuilding the Republican party as one of conservatives of good will towards the country — or manage to create their own. There are conservatives in this country, and they should have a voice.

I too am concerned with what happens with all those Trump cultists. If they form their own party, it will become more obvious that the point of the Electoral College is to negate minority votes state by state (I think we’re of an age, so you remember Birch Bayh and his attempt to remove the EC in ‘70? That failed, IMO because of racism: some Southerners in the Senate (Helms?) saw negating minority Black votes as a good thing, and filibustered the thing to death). So ‘interesting times’ coming up, for sure — but we might get lucky and manage to change to a popular presidential vote. I’d love to see it become ranked choice, but I’m sure that’s a bridge too far.

BTW, I took the liberty of editing ‘death ear’ to ‘deaf ear’. Apologies if you did actually intend ‘death’.