As I begin, I’m well aware that few minds will be challenged. After all, that’s the state of politics in today’s America. Reality suggests that instead of asking and answering serious questions — including of ourselves — we tend to read and watch only political “news” and commentary with which we already agree.

Within days of the disappointing midterm results — including Herschel Walker’s loss to Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate run-off election on Tuesday — one narrative suggested that given the losses suffered by Republicans endorsed by Donald Trump and the strong re-election victory by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, so-called party “insiders” will work to clear the path for a DeSantis presidential nomination in 2024.

A second narrative suggests that because all previous efforts —  dating back to 2015 — by GOP party leaders to derail Trump have failed, the MAGA Republicans will step into the breach and not only propel the former president to the 2024 nomination but to victory in the election, as well. And one thing is certain: If Trump is to be denied the nomination, he will not go quietly.

So, after the Devil went down to Georgia and “stole” the run-off election, the battle lines have hardened.

As the Republican Party stands at a crossroads, honest questions must be answered honestly, while the silly name-calling and blame game must be cast aside; that is, if the GOP is to not only win the White House in 2024 but also recapture the Senate and build a stronger majority in the House. Otherwise, the Republicans — and more importantly, conservatism — will again fall victim to Einstein’s observation: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insane.

Pertinent questions abound. Among them:

Can a majority of GOP voters accept the notion that blaming the other side (including within the party) doesn’t exempt their own side from culpability — if valid?

Can a strong majority of Republicans vote for a candidate with whom they don’t agree 100 percent of the time but who has the best opportunity to beat a Democrat with whom they agree zero percent?

Can a majority of Republicans look beyond the 2024 primaries to the presidential election, which is an entirely different ballgame with more moving parts, including independent voters and “light blue” Democrats disgusted with the radical agenda of Joe Biden, and realize that the Republican candidate must win a sizable percentage of each?

Can the Republican Party learn to play the Democrats’ Election Season game vs. the traditional Election Day game, and beat the Democrats at their own game?

Finally, as I asked in the headline, is the MAGA brand dead? Meaning does it do more damage to future Republican election efforts than good?

Note that I said MAGA brand — not the goal of “making America great, again.”

Every conservative in America should first and foremost desperately seek — after what will have been four years of disasters intentionally created by the Biden administration and the Democrat Party — the restoration of pre-Biden America, then build from there. That said, has the MAGA brand, regardless of the reason(s), become anathema to too many Republican and independent voters?

The critical point is obvious — or should be:

Republicans must first win before they can stop the madness of the radical left. Again, per Einstein’s definition of insanity, if serious questions with serious answers are not asked and objectively answered, and substantive changes aren’t made, the GOP will continue to lose elections.

The Bottom Line

It’s not that difficult to understand: A broad coalition of Americans who vote Republican, vs. any number of labels one chooses to slap on this faction of the GOP or that faction, must suit up and show up in greater numbers than those who show up and vote Democrat. That, or we can carp until the proverbial cows come home about Democrat “cheating” — while continuing to lose.

And if we think voting laws should be changed? We must first win elections and gain control across the board.

Otherwise, we can always have a chat with Einstein.