According to a source, Donald Trump will be “talking about the future of the Republican Party and the conservative movement” at this week’s CPAC conference in Orlando, Florida. It seems the former-occupant-of-the-White-House will be taking time off from his usual weekend of golf to address what some have called “the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world.”

It should be a neat trick, considering how the Republican Party is, well, … dead!

The Republican Party, as we knew it, entered its death throes five years ago when it decided to hitch its fortunes to a narcissistic, two-bit con man. It ceased being a major political party when it passed up the chance (twice!) to rid itself of an incompetent, criminal buffoon through impeachment.

What we have today is the Party of Trump or, as Prince might have put it, “the party formerly known as the GOP.” If there is any doubt, just look at some recent surveys showing Trump’s strength among Republicans.  In a Suffolk University/ USA TODAY poll, by a whopping margin of 46%-27%, Republican voters say they would abandon the GOP and join the Trump party if he decided to create one. Their loyalty is obviously to the man, not to a 167-year-old political organization.

Cindy McCain said the other day that the Republican Party is still up for grabs, predicting that her moderate wing of the GOP could mount a comeback.

“Our side, it’s swung way to the right. It’ll come back. It’ll come back” said McCain.

Sorry, Cindy, but I don’t think so. If there ever was a civil war among Republicans, that war is over.

Moderates like McCain, along with others such as Romney, Collins and Murkowski might want to remain blind to the fact that their beloved party is now the Party of Trump but, when you have an establishment group like CPAC rolling out the red carpet for a man who fomented a violent uprising against the Capitol, who still insists the 2020 election was stolen from him … and CPAC will no doubt cater to Trump’s fantasies … you know the GOP of old is kaput.

If anything, today’s Republican Party, if you still want to call it that, is the party of Green, Boebert, Jordon, Gaetz and the like.

Unlike McCain, I predict old-time conservatives will eventually face the facts (and their consciences), see their party has been irretrievably hijacked by Trump and his band of “wacko birds”, leave the party to declare as independents, or perhaps start a third party.

The Party of Trump seems to be here to stay for the foreseeable future (too late, Mitch … it’s a long way down from that tightrope!).

Photo | cnn.com