What happens to the GOP if Cruz turns out to be Goldwater 2.0?

[Virginiá]

I think it will trigger a sincere effort to keep extremists away from the top of the primaries, even if it means destroying them early on. Cruz is a creepy, hard-right religious nutjob and I think a massive loss at his hands wouldn't cause the GOP to moderate it's overall platform but rather just try and return to more Romney-esque candidates. I do think it'll help put out this "we weren't conservative enough" theory of losing, though. Republicans' good chances of winning back both Congressional chambers in 2018 won't exactly make them humble, either.

I think the real moderation will come from a loss in 2020, which could very well happen if Democrats win 2016. Democrats had to waltz to the center after a string of defeats (and 1 barely-won election - 1976), and the GOP is no different. They are simply on the wrong side of issues Millennials care about and by 2020, those voters will make up almost half the electorate. Republicans won't have a choice in the matter, if they want to win.

Though, they will have to work on getting the primary voters to accept this reality. If they keep voting for people like Cruz, well, then that's that.