From the article:

“It seems like we’ve been thrown back decades into debates most everyday people think were settled years ago.

In other words, debates and ideas that LOST. That’s the GOP’s base problem, they can’t accept the loss and because many Republicans are from the South, they are comfortable with the “lost cause” idea and that their ideology will ‘rise again” like they “south will rise again” one day.

That’s the crux of the matter.