{"id":578,"date":"2026-05-28T05:06:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:06:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:06:42","slug":"conservative-warns-republicans-are-deep-in-their-jonestown-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578","title":{"rendered":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their ‘Jonestown phase’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Conservative writer Nick Catoggio tells the Dispatch the fallout in the Texas Republican primary has everything to do with the party\u2019s race down to a lowly cult.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump is rejecting his own aides\u2019 data as \u2018fake news\u2019: report<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRegular readers know my theory about why Republican voters are suddenly hellbent on purging incumbents in primaries: They\u2019re in their Jonestown phase,\u201d said Catoggio. \u201cDisappointed in Trump\u2019s economic failures yet psychologically unable to hold him (or themselves) accountable, they\u2019re coping by turning more radically cultish and flogging heretics like [Texas incumbent Sen. John] Cornyn, Thomas Massie, and Bill Cassidy instead. Surely things in America will improve if the president faces even less<\/em> resistance inside the GOP.\u201d<\/p>\n

But \u201cthe truth is that Republican voters preferred Paxton because he\u2019s a bad guy,\u201d argues Catoggio. \u201cTrumpism is a depraved anti-morality that treats sociopathy as a political virtue inasmuch as it\u2019s defined by ruthless amoral determination in pursuing one\u2019s interests. The challenger in this race fit that description to a T. The incumbent, a more dignified figure, plainly did not. They liked Paxton because he\u2019s a bad guy, not in spite of it. Which made it baffling that Cornyn chose to campaign on \u2026 what a bad guy Paxton is.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the last leg of the election, Catoggio says Cornyn was claiming Paxton had \u201cgotten away with so much for so long and not been held accountable for it, but I think he is an embarrassment, his misbehavior. And he\u2019s completely unrepentant. \u2026 It\u2019s just emboldened him to the point of recklessness, and now to the point of self-destructiveness, especially with regard to his own family.\u201d<\/p>\n

But after all that, on the night of his concession, Cornyn said: \u201cI\u2019ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe intends to support a ticket led by someone he spent the last year rightly calling a scumbag?\u201d Catoggio said. \u201c\u2026 Some might find John Cornyn\u2019s affirmation of partisan devotion amid intense humiliation by his party affecting. I find it pitiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Doctor warns new claims on \u2018decaying\u2019 Trump\u2019s health don\u2019t \u2018pass the sniff test\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Cornyn \u201cspent the entire primary insisting that good character should matter, only to immediately decide that it shouldn\u2019t if there\u2019s a Democrat on the other side of the ballot,\u201d said Catoggio. \u201cThat\u2019s 10 years of Republican politics in one soundbite.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, Republicans are now on their way to the November election with Paxton, but Catoggio said Trump at least has charisma, while Paxton \u201cgets you all of the same moral downside with none of the retail upside. He\u2019d be a horrendous advertisement for the party in the Senate, especially once the scandals begin piling up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catoggio said he can also \u201call but guarantee that Paxton, Trump, and Texas\u2019 Republican government will connive to try to overturn the result\u201d if Democratic candidate James Talarico ends up winning a tight race, but that\u2019s what Republican voters \u201care signing up to enable by turning out for Paxton this fall \u2014 another wrenching, country-destroying, self-serving \u2018rigged election\u2019 fairy tale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no bottom to this candidacy or to this party, and it\u2019s long past time for well-meaning people to stop pretending otherwise, even if John Cornyn can\u2019t,\u201d said Catoggio. \u201cYou\u2019re on a ship of Theseus. The lifeboat is waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Quiet acceptance: Scott Jennings confesses Trump is sinking the GOP<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conservative writer Nick Catoggio tells the Dispatch the fallout in the Texas Republican primary has everything to do with the party\u2019s race down to a lowly cult.\u201cRegular readers know my theory about why Republican voters are suddenly hellbent on purging incumbents in primaries: They\u2019re in their Jone…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nConservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conservative writer Nick Catoggio tells the Dispatch the fallout in the Texas Republican primary has everything to do with the party\u2019s race down to a lowly cult.\u201cRegular readers know my theory about why Republican voters are suddenly hellbent on purging incumbents in primaries: They\u2019re in their Jone...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their ‘Jonestown phase’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578\",\"name\":\"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=578#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their ‘Jonestown phase’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America","og_description":"Conservative writer Nick Catoggio tells the Dispatch the fallout in the Texas Republican primary has everything to do with the party\u2019s race down to a lowly cult.\u201cRegular readers know my theory about why Republican voters are suddenly hellbent on purging incumbents in primaries: They\u2019re in their Jone...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their ‘Jonestown phase’","datePublished":"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578"},"wordCount":590,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578","name":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their 'Jonestown phase' - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T05:06:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c32648cb7647d7fa20bb0543f1572df.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=578#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Conservative warns Republicans are deep in their ‘Jonestown phase’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}