I believe this line of reasoning is a sincere one. I think these Democrats really do want to see a healthier, more future-oriented GOP, even if it means their side wins fewer elections. I don’t think Axe et al. are engaged in a clever false-flag operation to hoodwink conservatives by giving them terrible advice. But it’s also the case that the functioning Republican Party these Democrats envision would “function” by being more open to pursuing Democratic policy goals. There would be less gridlock because a more moderate GOP would be more willing to compromise. We would have two parties that agreed in principle on the need for federal legislation to tackle such issues as health care, climate change, and immigration, but differed on how to achieve those goals and found a way to meet in the middle. To the extent that conservatives don’t agree with Democratic policy goals to begin with, they’re correct to see “fixing gridlock” as code for “making it easier for Democrats to get what they want politically.”

Fortunately for Republicans, they don’t have to listen to Democrats. There are plenty of voices within the party who earnestly want it to win more elections and have ideas for taking it in a new direction. Too often, though, would-be reformers who call themselves Republicans are also accused internally of not having the party’s best interests at heart — of hating conservatives and merely wanting to cozy up to liberal coastal elites, for example. It’s that kind of purifying, disqualifying impulse — the idea that anyone who isn’t a rigid ideologue is a “Republican In Name Only” — that’s served to progressively narrow the GOP coalition in recent years, turning the onetime big tent into an ever-smaller bunker. So fine, don’t take political advice from David Axelrod. But maybe Republicans should pay a little more heed to people like David Frum.