That is a misleading statement, with just enough truth in it, to side-track real analysis!
The brutal fact is that we simply cannot trust certain Republican leaders. It is those leaders who are seeing to "purify" (i.e. purge the Republican Party) from any principled men & women, who will not accept a continued pattern of betrayal of/for our most cherished principles.
Senator Cruz, and many of us, who greatly admire him at Free Republic, recognize that this problem has to be faced, or none of us have a future. If the confused--for they are confused--weak kneed--for they are week kneed--Republicans, who only know how to retreat, would simply agree to a truce where we have truly open primaries, where the voters can decide, without the smears & efforts to stifle dissent, many of us would agree to embrace Reagan's llth Commandment.
Certainly we would agree to that, for the purpose that Thomas Sowell seems, at least to imply. But if the Republicans who only know how to retreat intend to persist in their present tactics against the more principled supporters of the Party, we have no choice but to pursue the course that so many here believe to be essential.
Finally, we would suggest that Dr. Sowell look a little more closely at the philosophic approach of those who actually made Hitler's triumph in Germany possible. It was not stalwart defenders of traditional values, like Ted Cruz--no indeed. It was those who knew how to retreat for temporary purposes.
It is an interesting game, citing historic phenomena to current purpose; but you need to tighten your focus, if you would not mislead.
William Flax
I have no problem identifying Ted Cruz with a John Adams or Benjamin Franklin.
Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, on the other hand, I'm trying to be charitable in comparing them to Phillippe Petain. Vidkun Quisling may, in fact, be more accurate.