Now the current nominee, apparently, doesn't even feel the need to pay lip services to the conservative base and the Republican party is once again the minority party.
Asking this disaffected conservative base to work hard for a new set of "conservatives" leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many conservatives who view the situation "fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Certainly taking your marbles and going home is not a winning strategy, but playing with a person who steals your marbles is equally fruitless.
My personal view is that conservatives have made a big mistake in viewing their road to success as being loyal supporters of the Republican party. That results in conservatives being taken for granted at best.
We need to follow the left's example. They have successfully moved the Democrat party to the left from the outside with numerous special interest groups such as the ACLU, Greenpeace, AARP, and a multitude of others. These groups have been quite successful in setting policy for the Democratic party and the country.
But you still haven’t tackled the key question: Why would a person, once in office, compromise his conservative principles (or “principles” if you prefer) for the sake of political expediency?
He wouldn’t, if conservative ideas were widely understood by the populace as the best ideas for the country.