Mark Schoeff Jr.: Post Trump Republicans

WASHINGTON
– The most damaging consequence of the Republican Party’s nomination of
Donald Trump for president is that it denied that role to Texas Sen.
Ted Cruz. It’s not that Cruz would have beaten Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton. But if Cruz had been the GOP standard bearer,
it would have answered a question that will vex the party for the next
four years. After Trump falls to Clinton, social
conservatives will say to party leadership, such as it is: You did it
again. You nominated someone who is not a true believer, and the party
paid the price at the polls. Beginning on Nov. 9, they will
argue that it’s their turn in 2020. They will lift up Cruz, or maybe
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to lead the party into the battle to deny
Clinton a second term. If it hadn’t been for Trump, this
fundamental question about the Republican Party could have been answered
this year: Is it most effective when it situates itself on the
far-right of the political spectrum or when it occupies the
center-right?
Source: Howey Politics