Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), and Ed Royce (R-Calif.) (Screenshot)

(CNSNews.com) - A group of Republicans who have decided not to run for re-election told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the Republican Party has changed, and not for the better.



Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) complained about the GOP’s narrowing focus and the perception that the Republicans must pledge loyalty to the president instead of to GOP principles.





Flake, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, said when he switched from the House to the Senate, he envisioned he would serve two terms, but found himself “out of step” with the Republican Party.



“And it makes it very difficult to have the positions that I have and, you know, win re-election in a Republican primary,” Flake said. He said he hasn’t changed “that much” but “the party has changed considerably.”



Royce said he always considered the Republican Party to be “a big tent party” with room “for a lot of different viewpoints.” He said part of the answer is for the party to look at “what we can do to change the fact that no longer do we really have the types of friendships across the aisle that we once had.”



When asked whether “the tent is as big as it used to be,” Dent said, “No, I don't, actually. I think what's happening in Congress is the political center is collapsing, but that's not true across the country. What I found is that we have become enormously polarized here in Congress, and that polarization has led to a paralysis. I mean the very simple, basic tasks of governing, just keeping the government open.”



Ros-Lehtinen complained that “very few women” are running for office on the Republican ticket. “Far greater numbers of women are identifying themselves as being in the Democratic Party. Minorities that have always been traditionally a group that we should really be going after.



“I don't see that we really have a recruiting program that's active to get minorities involved in our party,” she said. “So the growth of our party, it seems to be very limited in the specific group, whereas the demographics of our great country is changing greatly.



“And when you look ahead, what's our future going to be? Are we going to end up a marginalized party? I think that we need to look toward the future, and we need to have the policies that attract millennials, women, and minorities. I don't see that,” said Ros-Lehtinen.



Dent pointed to what he called “a fundamental political realignment,” adding that the Democrats have gone “full Bernie,” because Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) “has more or less taken over their party, even though he didn't win the nomination.”



Trump has taken over the Republican Party, and the “political ground is shifting under our feet,” Dent said. “Nobody knows quite how it will settle. In our party, a lot of members have adjusted their politics to suit the president. You know, it's really about loyalty to the man more than it is about any set of given principles or ideals, and I think that's what's really changed.”



Flake agreed with Dent and with Ros-Lehtinen about where the GOP is going “and the danger.”



“If you look, every four years, every presidential election cycle, we are, as country two percent less white. You know, voters of color, it's changing that way, and I don't think that we've made enough of an effort, as Republicans, to appeal across the broader electorate,” Flake said.



“And then with young people as well. Given some of the position and the behavior that the president has exhibited, I think it makes it very difficult for young people to identify with the Republican Party. I think they've been walking away from the party in general. I think they're at a dead sprint right now, and we've got to change that,” he added.



Ros-Lehtinen said the GOP doesn’t need to change its principles, it needs to change what it stands for.



“But like Charlie said, not every vote is a loyalty vote, whether you're for or against the president, and that's how it's framed all the time. You've got to be a loyal soldier. I don't think people feel as comfortable -- the moderate Republicans feel as comfortable with this kind of tone,” she said.



Ros-Lehtinen said the GOP used to be more accepting of politicians with a moderate position, “and now it’s getting harder.”



“It starts at the top,” Dent said. “I agree with that. Candidates matter, and we have a responsibility to do our bit, but at the top, you know, when the president makes incendiary comments on Hispanics, Muslims, women, you know, the Charlottesville situation and others, you know, I think it narrows our appeal.”



Dent said the party must be “much broader” in its thinking and show “that the welcome mat is actually out and that we want everybody in.”



“It's like Charlie said, it's become kind of a loyalty test to the man rather than to principles, and then the problem is, if you, as a candidate, or as an elected official, align yourself to a person rather than principle, then you're wedded to that person, wherever he or she goes, and that's dangerous,” Flake said.



“And you've got the Freedom Caucus, this group of conservatives, telling the speaker of the House, your leadership position is at risk if you stray too far from where we want to be on immigration,” CBS host Nancy Cordes said.



“You know, I've never supported these types of tactics. Trying to sack your own quarterback is not a strategy, frankly, that usually when you're working as a team is going to lead to success, right? Threats usually don't lead to success” in terms of getting legislation into effect, Royce said.



When asked whether Congress has lost its ability to solve big problems like immigration, mass violence, and opioids, Flake said, “You know, it would be hard to argue that we haven't.”



Flake noted that there’s a 60 vote requirement in the Senate for most legislation.



“We've had a hard time coming together. There are things that we should, on the gun issue, obviously the bump stocks, no fly, no buy, those kind of things. There's broad consensus in the country certainly, and there should be, and I hope that we can move legislation like that. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to,” Flake said.



Ros-Lehtinen also complained that the president’s position on issues like immigration and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) changes from day to day.



“But on immigration, you look at the president's position on what he says on Monday may be different than what I says on Wednesday, and would be different on Friday. So it's very hard, I think, for leaders on DACA, on Dreamers, like Jeff Flake, to figure out a way forward. It's schizophrenic what's coming out of the White House in terms of policy on immigration and dreamers,” she said.