And what we knew was going to happen is indeed happening

What Squirrel-Hair hath wrought is exactly what was foreseen by those of us who implored the general Right to keep sight of its basic three pillars, as well as the value of dignified bearing and clarity of thinking.

The general Right did not keep sight of these things, and now we are at our current juncture.

Nicole Hemmer at Politico, observing the phenomenon from the outside, I'm pretty sure, nonetheless nails it, in the course of an article on CPAC disinviting Milo Yiannopoulos:

With Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of Congress, conservatives have more political power today than they have had in a decade. Still, conservatism as a political movement is disintegrating, held together not by a shared commitment to ideas like democratic governance, stability or a distinct moral vision, but rather a desire for power. That makes for a movement whose boundaries are blurred beyond recognition and whose standards are impossible to detect. And that is a problem that no disinvitation can fix. 

Caleb Howe at RedState says that, while the rescinded invitation is not the stuff of America's dinner-table or cocktail-party conversations, it has reverberations that will indeed work their way into those environments:

 The CPAC fiasco is a sign of the times, and that sign says “Fractures Behind and Ahead.” The divisions in the conservative movement matter, and eventually they will affect things that do affect dinner table conversations across America where currently the keynote speakers at CPAC never come up. Where the conference itself is relatively obscure. Because this is only a symptom.

Yes, it can be frustrating reading blogs and social media and seeing people talking and fretting about the splits on “our”side, seeing former allies in opposition, and seeing the Republican party fail to come together (although you should note Trump’s historically high support among Republican voters). It’s tempting to scold people who lament or otherwise highlight the divisions and disharmony, or to blame their observations on insularity or bubbles or a million other things that are really just a way to dismiss the discord as unimportant or trivial, and be done with it. But you’re fooling yourself if you do.

I do like the optimistic tone with which he ends his post:

CPAC showed us all something this week that maybe they didn’t intend. It showed us that the lines haven’t been all the way crossed. They haven’t been entirely redrawn. The populists and the disruptors made their way in, but they didn’t take over. When someone is vile, we can reject them, even over the chorus of internet toughs crying about political correctness.

So even though it’s hard and even though the big break in conservative politics is still there and will still have to be faced, there are bright spots. I know a lot of RedState readers and community members see a bleak landscape when they look out the virtual window into the political world, but civilization remains. 

Just keep telling the truth. Just keep advocating for what is right and what you believe. Don’t be worn down. And don’t retreat. Go to CPAC. Be part of the conservative contingent at the event. It’s maybe not the loudest, maybe doesn’t get the camera time, but the group obviously still matters, and still has a voice. There is a future for the conservative movement.

Take heart. 

But it's going to take clarity and resolve. And the courage to call out former allies whose intake of Kool-Aid have clouded their vision.