This is how the Left plays. You have to play their game and hit them back hard.
You make a very important observation. You simply cannot play nice with the Left. They are viscous infighters who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends. They will lie, cheat, steal, and engage in outright extortion to get their way. They have no ethical standards. You summed it up well: “You have to play their game and hit them back hard.”
The reality is that Republicans are weak and the Left does not respect them. Unfortunately the Stupid Party will never figure that out.
No we don’t need to ever be like the jerks on the left. I’d rather be dead than like them... Why would we want to become liars, thugs, and totalitarians? What would we ‘win’ if we became as horrible as they are? Nothing.
That is the left’s game - they want us - and all people - in the gutter of slavery and filth... Anyone who likes to live like that can move to North Korea... or Cuba... hellholes of the Universe... the dreams of every ‘progressive’ thug.