With the Republican Party locked out of power in Washington, there has been a lot of discussion about what will emerge from the ashes. Despite constant sparring among conservatives, liberals are trying to push the idea that there is actually no civil war within the party.

From Mother Jones to CNN, the left-wing commentariat has decided that the party is Donald Trump’s now, and they’re most likely doing so to will a useful lie into existence. After all, if the GOP belongs to the former president for good, then the media no longer has to pretend to aim for impartiality. So what if Sen. Ben Sasse and Rep. Liz Cheney reflect Trump in neither ideology nor morality? Better off to claim they don’t matter because the party is rotten to the core.