Jonah Goldberg, one of the smugger NeverTrumps, is as bitter and petulant as ever.  And no, it's not because of the undeniable election steal of 2020.  In fact, Goldberg is quite satisfied that Donald Trump might be soon out of office even if the means to do so were most foul.  It's an "ends justify the means" type of thing.  He is complaining that the Republican Party will remain the party of Trump regardless of who is in the White House come January.

Goldberg states this in his latest column.  He begins it with words that more belong in the mouth of a CNN propagandist than an alleged conservative:

Throughout President Trump's capture of the GOP, many Republicans have held fast to the hope that after he leaves office, the party can return to the sunny Reaganism of the ­Before Times. Of course, Trump's bitter-enders have made it clear that they'd be happy to tear down not just the party, but the country itself to avoid having to live in a post-Trump world.

Translation: It is Trump and his supporters who are willing to tear the country down and not the criminals in the FBI, the Department of Justice, the CIA, the Democrat Party, and media who tried by illegal means to overturn the 2016 election.  Nor is it the fault of those who engaged in massive election fraud and ballot-stuffing to seemingly give the election to a hapless Joe Biden.

As to the clear threat posed by leftists of all stripes intent on destroying the American republic, Goldberg is like the three monkeys that hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil.  This former editor of NeverTrump Central, the National Review Online, is content to have the left do his dirty work for him (i.e., slay the Orange Monster from Queens). 

Goldberg seems oblivious to the fact that the issues that propelled Trump into the White House in 2016 still resonate with the American people.  These include immigration control, confronting China, addressing freeloading allies, ditching free trade for fair trade, and avoiding foreign adventures.

Still, Goldberg does note two telling signs for believing that his hope for the GOP reverting to its pre-Trump days is in vain.  First are the polls.  They show that Trump is the heavy favorite of the Republican base for the 2024 nomination.  It's the second reason, however, that vexes Goldberg even more.  It's that Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is fully on board the Trump train.

Goldberg says many in the Republican establishment think those supporting Trump's fighting the election steal suffer from a "temporary fever, a last gasp of Trump's cynical performative nonsense aimed at venting anger and raising money."  Goldberg believes, however, that there's more to it than a "fever," and that's because of Cruz.

As Goldberg sees it, Ted Cruz "has long been a bellwether for the mood of the broader GOP base, which is why he switched from one of Trump's biggest critics to one of his biggest supporters — and why he offered to argue the Texas lawsuit before the Supreme Court."  It's this lawsuit, by the way — a suit that Ted Cruz, a true constitutional scholar, volunteered to argue — that the wordsmith Goldberg calls "idiotic."

The bone stuck in Goldberg's craw is that no politician in recent memory has wrapped himself more in Reagan's legacy than Cruz.  But now the senator from Texas is all in with Trump.  This is a betrayal in Goldberg's eyes.  But is it?

Ronald Reagan was president from 1981 to 1989.  It doesn't seem to have dawned on Goldberg that the circumstances of the 1980s are very different from those facing America today.

Back then, the USSR was a true threat, and China was an economic and military midget.  That's hardly the case today.  Blindly following what Reagan did nearly 30 years ago is not just unwise; it's downright foolish.

Looking at Goldberg's behavior, it's obvious he uses Republican fondness for Ronald Reagan as an excuse to practice his Trump-hate while trying to make himself look respectable.  Peddling that self-serving malarkey exposes Goldberg as nothing but a useful idiot for the left. 

Image: Jonah Goldberg.  YouTube screen grab.