Notwithstanding the existence of four distinct patterns of thought within its big tent–the four factions–today’s GOP is mostly united around a man, not an idea; its purpose is to give unconditional support to Donald Trump, no matter how capricious or despotic he might be. This has the advantage of avoiding allegations of hypocrisy. Trump can toggle wildly among the factions without creating the appearance of inconsistency and thereby keep them all reasonably satisfied, because it’s all about him, not an ideology.
Can J.D. do the same? Probably not, because he will be bound by the statements in his book–his equivalent of Xi Jinping thought. In the long run, he will find that writing “Communion” was a big tactical mistake.