TOI correspondent from Washington: For Republican politicians in Donald Trump’s America, there are now only two career paths: obedience or obituary.On Tuesday night in Texas, political undertakers came for Senator John Cornyn – a four-time Republican heavyweight, former Senate Whip, longtime conservative stalwart and co-chair of the Senate India Caucus – who was steamrolled in the GOP primary (an internal party election) by Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.Cornyn’s main crime was not ideological impurity. In terms of policy, he was quite conservative, and he voted 99 percent for Trump’s priorities, as he reported. But in today’s Republican Party, without full devotion to Trump, conservatism is as relevant as a rotary telephone.The Texas massacre occurred barely a week after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy – one of the Republicans who voted to convict Trump after January 6 – was politically strangled by another Trump-backed challenger in Louisiana. The message to Republicans across the country is now so clear it could be printed on MAGA products: Get over Trump and prepare for retirement.Trump’s grip on the Republican base remains so strong that senators, governors, congressmen, Cabinet members and even judges now behave like medieval courtiers checking the king’s mood before speaking. Washington Republicans once worried about alienating suburban moderates or independent voters. Today they worry about 2M Truth social posts calling them “weak”, “loyal” or, at worst, “RINO scum”.” Just ask Liz Cheney, once a member of Republican royalty as the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. After opposing Trump and joining the January 6 Committee, she became politically extinct in 2022. Or Jeff Flake, who fled the Senate rather than face a MAGA firing squad. Or Adam Kinzinger, who became so radioactive inside the GOP that retirement began to seem healthier than remaining in Congress. Even those who once criticized Trump now speak about him with the forced enthusiasm of hostages reading prepared statements.So the modern Republican survival kit includes three essentials: a red tie, a border-security soundbite, muscular support for war or peace depending on the mood, and lips permanently attached to Trump’s back.Cornyn learned this too late. Despite months of carefully establishing himself as a loyal Trump ally, the senator could not escape his established image. Record spending ($90 million) ($120 million) in the most expensive primary election in American history did not help matters against a vengeful president. Paxton, meanwhile, gave Republican voters what they wanted: perpetual outrage, culture-war aggression, and a dedication to Trumpian grievance politics. The legal scandals, impeachment drama, fraud allegations, and ethical clouds hanging over Paxton did not matter. In the MAGA era, impeachments often serve as resume enhancements. The result was not merely a primary defeat. This was another political execution carried out as a warning to others.All this is unfolding even as Trump’s national approval ratings continue to decline amid voter unease over inflation, immigration chaos, a tariff war and constant political fighting. Yet inside the Republican primaries, none of that matters. Trump remains less a politician and more a tribal identity marker. To oppose him is to risk ostracism. Which explains the increasingly bizarre split-screen nature of American politics.Nationally, Republicans are privately worried that Trump’s poor polling numbers could drag candidates down in November. Publicly, however, they compete to praise his golf swing, his stamina, his truthful social posts, and even his disastrous war on Iran. At the same time, Trump’s allies in several states are making aggressive new efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the midterms — an effort that critics say is designed to score an electoral victory despite weakening broad support.The party’s operating philosophy can now be summarized in one sentence: You shall have no other God before Donald Trump. And if you do, there’s always a prime waiting around the corner.