By Michael Steele, MSNBC Opinion Columnist

Addressing a reunion of Civil War soldiers in 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant predicted that the dividing line in the nation’s next great conflict “will not be Mason’s or Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”

A century and a half later, a once proud Republican Party is convulsing with conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election while desperately trying to recast the insurrection of Jan. 6 as nothing more than a tourist event.

• Returning to the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln could have been describing the work that lies ahead for Rep. Liz Cheney and other Republicans fighting for the soul of Republicanism when he said, “We will make converts day by day; we will grow strong by the violence and injustice of our adversaries. And, unless truth be a mockery and justice a hollow lie, we will be in the majority after a while.”

If history is any indication, this will not end well.

From the day Trump descended that escalator to declare his presidential ambitions, many Republicans have been engaged in a grotesque and perverted dance with the devil. From the likes of Sens. Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz to Josh Hawley and now the tag team of disgraced Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, my party has descended further into madness. And as the events of Jan. 6 remind us, such madness never leads to anything good.

This is not the party of the working class — they voted for Biden — but it is more and more becoming the party of angry white nationalist and faux patriots.

Defeating ambition and ignorance with patriotism and intelligence will require us to follow Lincoln’s advice to engage one another and our nation around core principles for a successful American democracy like pluralism and civic responsibility; or the rule of law and Constitutional order, so as to make converts to truth and justice day by day, neighbor by neighbor, conversation by conversation. Yeah, we have some work to do; otherwise, this does not end well — for any of us.

[msnbc.com]