Rauch and Wittes argue that these reasons are nonetheless insufficient for conservatives to abandon the party. Only the Trumpian attack on democratic norms is. I think they’re wrong about that — and therefore end up with an unnecessarily narrow argument, against which Douthat scores some points.

Trump is an outgrowth of today’s radical, norm-shattering Republican Party. In some ways, he took its ideas to their logical extreme without hiding them behind the more polished behavior of, say, Paul Ryan.

There is little reason to believe that would-be Republican reformers — like my friend Ross Douthat — are going to succeed in stopping the craziness until the party loses power. Winning parties don’t tend to reform themselves. Which makes the ultimate Wittes-Rauch conclusion persuasive: “The most-important tasks in U.S. politics right now are to change the Republicans’ trajectory and to deprive them of power in the meantime.”

I recognize that voting against Republicans is as easy for a progressive to suggest as it is hard for a conservative to execute. But here’s my case to conservatives who do believe in facts and democratic norms (and would rather that Miami stay above water): You are politically homeless right now. Your party has become a destructive force. Its victories — which you may understandably celebrate, like a lower corporate tax rate — don’t make up for the damage the party is doing. And the other party obviously remains too left-wing for you.

Your best hope is a sane conservative party. And the only route to a sane conservative party is a string of losses for the current Republican Party.

Conservatives aren’t the only ones who would benefit from a better Republican Party, either. Democrats, and the country, would, too.