Bob Corker, canceled. Jeff Flake, canceled. John Kasich, canceled. Paul Ryan, canceled. John Boehner, canceled. Mitt Romney, canceled. George W. Bush, canceled. Jeff Sessions, canceled. Others -- Cruz, Rubio, etc. -- have avoided cancellation only thru craven self-abasement. 1/11

Truth is, no one practices "cancel culture" more maniacally than the GOP, a fact that goes a long way toward explaining its current woes. Only the GOP, for example, could come up with the concept of RINO, or Republican in Name Only. What is that but a way to cancel people? 2/11

There is no Democratic analogue, no DINO. Only the Republicans have evolved such a mania for group loyalty, enforced by a right-wing media that functions as an internal ideological police, eagerly sniffing out and exiling anyone suspected of disloyalty to the group. 3/11

This "cancel culture" within the GOP existed long before Trump came on the scene, and can be traced back to at least Newt Gingrich and his implacable emphasis on politics as "us vs. them," on ensuring that all Republicans toe the party line or face cancellation. 4/11

And for a long time it worked. By cultivating intense loyalty to the group, and tolerating no dissent, an essentially minority party like the GOP has exerted political power well above its popular support. (In 30 years, just one GOP prez nominee has won the popular vote.) 5/11

However, as inventiveness & curiosity were punished, the party lost any ability to adapt. As new challenges arose, new approaches did not. It became trapped in the language and policies of the '50s, repeating the same refrains because no one dared to risk advocating change. 6/11

Today, you can't acknowledge climate change as real and remain Republican. You can't notice vast and growing income inequality. You can't say access to health care is a human right. You can't say tax cuts don't pay for themselves. You can't confront the world as it is. 7/11

And then of course came Trump, with his own personal obsession with absolute loyalty. By brute force of personality, he has repurposed party loyalty as loyalty to himself, and it has been stunning to see how meekly and quietly the party has accepted it. 8/11

Even now, with the country and party both in deep trouble, few if any dare to speak up, to admit that the emperor has no clothes and is pretty much a lunatic too. The fear of cancellation, of ouster from the club, is greater than fear of where the country is headed. 9/11

That's remarkable, but I've also found that for many Republican faithful, ouster from the club is not just loss of political influence. It is loss of social standing, of church, of friendship, of community, of identity, of business opportunity, even of family. That's a lot. 10/11

Because cancellation is more or less permanent. If the GOP does suffer major damage this fall, it's not going to reopen its doors to welcome those it pushed aside. Even if they were right, they were also traitors. So, for many, better to stay silent and take what comes. 11/11