So, to come full circle to the point you made which I quoted above, this can't be described as anything but a cult.
No argument here. For something really scary, (although we often just gawk or make fun of all but the most blasphemous) check this thread out
http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,209817.0.html Many of us early on made reference to such luminaries as Jones, Manson, and the fellow whose people were waiting for a ride on the UFO behind the Comet...It's worse than that in some ways, although it hasn't gone homicidal (yet?).
Like you, I suffered the disorienting realization on another site that suddenly I was surrounded by people I did not agree with, who were often hostile, who I had thought were of like mind. It is a strange place I have been before, long ago and far away, only then in a physical sense, not just online. A few test disagreements showed me that my presence was not welcome, and exit, stage left.
Thankfully, I had been sent what is now referred to as a 'lifeline', an invite to come test the waters here, and I was already looking for a forum more to my liking when I got that invite. I'm glad you found this site.
I think you'll like it here. Many of us are refugees/zotted/or part of the Exodus from FR, who had the temerity to support our candidate of choice, commonly (but not limited to) Cruz, or question the rampant cognitive dissonance we saw.
I think the GOP just blew it (with the help of agitators on twitter, Facebook, and a host of other online people) and lost their chance to be a major force in the future. Their only hope now is to co-opt the fraction of the Left which is not completely in the bag for Marxism, and between the FSA and shameless Communists, that may not be enough to put them over the top. Even if it does, they will be running well to the Left of Hubert Humphrey and JFK, the once quintessential Democrats.
I think if conservatism is to have a political future in America, short of a bloodbath (which I do not espouse), we have to pick the political party closest to our beliefs and work our collective hindparts off to build it into a force to be reckoned with.
I'll put in a shameless plug for the Constitution Party here, but what works best for you is what works best for you.