Has the GOP establishment done enough yet to prove they will happily accept defeat --- indeed, promote it ---- for the majority of Republican voters to believe it? The establishment WILL get what it wants, one way or the other. "Uniparty" is more than clever, it's reality.
From time to time, a Briefer will post how upset he or she still is over how successful the establishment was in crushing the Tea Party. What does anyone truly think is going on with MAGA? They will accept total defeat in 2024 if MAGA ends with it.
Any Republican thrown against Trump will be approved by McConnell and Ryan. The candidate will sign on the dotted line in return for what McConnell/Ryan can provide: Congressional support, battles defined by and won in the media, and money ---- buckets and buckets of money.
The Repubican candidate given the mantle "can win" against Trump by the GOP establishment will be the surrogate for Mitch McConnell.
We need to stop jumping from emotional cue to emotional cue like trained seals and focus on our actual choice: Mitch McConnell or Donald Trump. Assuming R's win in 2024, which of these two do we prefer sits behind the Resolute desk?