

One the one hand I get what you are saying. On the other hand people absolutely remember Newt Gingrich and Mitch McConnell. Republicans who were counter to Democratic presidents.
I would hazard a guess that people like Henry Kissinger, Ollie North, and Arthur Laffer won’t be forgotten any time soon either.
It’s almost one step further to be honest; by tying politics to religion they have both tapped people’s blind faith and essentially equated not being a conservative to being a sinner.
I’ve heard things like “I am voting for [candidate] because they are a good Christian” all my life growing up in the southernish US.