They would rather have us go down to defeat and then blame us for it. Going back 50 years to reference the Goldwater loss would be like talking about the failed re-election of Taft in 1964. Silly.
That does present a bit of a problem - the trick is to let them take the tumble and remain on our feet - with a Cruz or Trump in the WH, using the Bully Pulpit to full avail, we might have a chance.
Then again, we have a number who claim to be on our side who are all too willing to "bite the big one" to teach them all a lesson by paving the way for Hillary or Jeb...
God help us.