Some of those mentioned in the article as forming the leadership of this new movement have largely embarrassed themselves in the last year as their shrill rejection of Trump caused them to disparage interest in any issue but their anger at the president.

The best example of this is Evan McMullin. He may have presented himself as a credible and principled conservative alternative to Trump during the course of his quixotic minor party candidacy for the presidency in 2016. But since then, he seems to have abandoned conservatism in favor of a bitter vendetta against the president.

The same applies to Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin, another figure mentioned in the Times article. Her anti-Trump stance is consistent but it has caused her to flip-flop on every conceivable issue from climate change to taxes to Iran and even the status of Jerusalem simply in order to consistently oppose Trump. In her case, her lack of shame at the shocking inconsistency of her views has robbed this prolific writer of a shred of credibility. But it has gained her the applause of new friends on the left and a warm welcome on cable news networks where her attacks on Trump give her more attention and respect than she received when she was opposing Barack Obama with the same fervor.

But the main point these people whom we have no choice but to refer to as former conservatives miss is that in our political system the choice is still binary.