You have it right.
The letter after the name means jack anymore.
The only reason political parties still exist is to give voters the illusion of choice.
A pol is either loyal to our former republic or to Deep State.
And the vast majority of our pols, at every level of government, have shown they are loyal to Deep State.
Loyalty to the Republic leads directly to party ostracism, endless MSM disdain, denial of committee assignments, and relegation to fringe status. Not surprising there are few takers among those who go to DC thinking they can "do some good."
Best a real small-R "republican" can hope for these days is to become a popular gadfly - the next Ron Paul.