Any among your list who are sincere conservatives will find their hopes dashed or their directions twisted by the dark side.
This isn’t “defeatist”; it is pragmatic.
Realists recognize that the GOP is a tool used by the aristocracy to keep the direction of march always leftward.
You are correct. The GOP has been moving in the leftward direction for quite some time. Gradually, but always leftward so that today the “rank and file” really is the GOP-E. There are not so many RINO’s; rather CINO’s (Conservative In Name Only)!