Good post, and I essentially agree with your analysis.
I don't view the situation to be all that depressing, as I don't view the Republican Party as an effective advocate for conservatism in the first place. There were a few brief moments when the party showed some promise, such as after the 1980 and 1994 elections. But those times have been few and far between. And the reality is, conservatives have little voice in the affairs of the GOP. The conservative rhetoric is there to be sure, but the conservative results over time have been remarkably absent.
This immigration issue may well show itself to be *the* Waterloo moment for the GOP. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. We should remember, though, that American history has shown that new and better political movements tend to rise from the remnants of their predecessors. It happened when the Whigs faded into obscurity, and it will probably happen again some time in the future.
The key issue in my view is to not allow conservatism's star to be inseparably tied to the fortunes of the GOP. There are other political alternatives and strategies that conservatives can adopt. As one of FR's few Democrats, I obviously have a very different view of what strategies conservatives should be employing.
My point here is not to try to convince conservatives to join the Democratic party. It ain't gonna happen, and I'm not going to waste the bandwidth explaining why being a Democrat has it's practical advantages. My point is that other political alternatives and strategies will present themselves given time.
Have faith, folks. Conservatism isn't dead. It's not even in bad shape. As Rush noted in his monologue today, it's the political paradigms that matter.
Very good post, thanks for the view from a different objective. You probably have days as well that you wonder why you are a Democrat.