It points to 3 repub “young guns” back then who tried to harness the energy of the Tea Party without losing control. This after Boehner resigned in frustration because he’d miscalculated his ability to control the Tea Party. Paul Ryan was the next to pack it in in frustration. Eric Cantor lost a primary challenge from a Tea Partier (certainly a common theme now). McCarthy is the veteran of those days herding the cats now.

The most notable item in this article, which points to the major problem with this analogy: Mr. McCarthy is prepared to jettison Cheney and her conservative voting record for Stefanik, who voted against Trump’s signature tax bill and opposed his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Pact - she does not have a consistent conservative voting record. Stefanik is now a Trump loyalist and has his backing, which is a more important credential for Trump followers than a conservative voting record.

That’s the tale. The Republican Party is not a party of ideas. Say what you want about the Tea Party (to me, “govt keep your hands off my Medicare” is the greatest indicator of its cluelessness), but it was about ideas and ideals, even if you think they were misguided.

Now, it isn’t a party at all. It’s a “following”, and even to those who privately lament sacking Cheney, keeping Trump’s yapping to a minimum, which means simply appeasing him, his fantasies, and his “following”, is the only path forward they can see.