«Republicans have run into a ditch. Their base gets high off displays of authoritarianism and religious zealotry, so they’ve taken up an agenda that actively targets fellow Americans, inflicting real harm on communities with race-baiting tactics and onerous health restrictions. And in doing so they continue to alienate the voters they desperately need to win elections in purple states.  How Republicans got here is no mystery; Trump touched the third rail of the Republican base, the people who were so beyond the pale that previous candidates had at least pretended to disavow them. I’m talking about the Richard Spencer types, the racists, the antisemites. After touching this rail, and narrowly eking out a win in 2016, Republicans found themselves dependent on that base for turnout. Now they have gone so far down this road that they find themselves staring down an intractable death ray with crushing defeat—unless, that is, they change the rules to keep minority rule.»

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/04/tennessee-abortion-trump-gop-loves-losing

My one free read at VF, I guess.