It s become increasingly common among Republicans to desperately cling to the premise that the Democratic Party is just as screwed up as the GOP. It s a convenient idea. After all, if you re staring down the barrel of a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz nomination, the only way you can get out of bed in the morning is if you believe the Democrats have it just as bad.But while the Democratic primary has seen its fair share of infighting and controversy (as any close primary between two strong candidates should!), the idea that the rug will magically be pulled out from under Democrats, handing a presidential victory to a guy like Trump is laughably off-base. And while it s fine to cling to a desperate wish to stave off a complete mental breakdown over the death of your political party, the problem really begins when Republicans start actually believing that fiction.It has led to some seriously delusional thinking, complete with stunning leaps of logic and heaping doses of wishful thinking. Even  serious  political operatives, like the RNC s spokesman Sean Spicer, seem to have taken a big swig of the anti-Hillary Kool-Aid and are spinning the idea that Clinton is just days away from being  arrested. RNC spox Spicer: Dem convention controversy may supplant GOP's if Clinton gets indicted and "underground movement" gives Biden nomination  John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 1, 2016To which, MSNBC s Chris Hayes has a dose of cold, hard reality for him.While we're writing fan fic, what if instead of fighting Batman and Superman got married? https://t.co/GPkHozQ9Yq  Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 1, 2016Sorry if this stings a little, but there is no changing the facts: Hillary Clinton isn t going to just magically wind up in jail over largely-manufactured  controversies  like Benghazi and her emails. This is Republican fan fiction. If she gets the nomination, she will be in it to win it and facing a Republican Party that is tearing itself apart. The 300th Benghazi hearing isn t going to suddenly bring her down.On the flip side, Trump, the Republican front-runner, is almost universally loathed by most demographics. A recent poll found that even half of all white men  white men!  say they despise him. His attacks on women, minorities, and common decency have led to some political reporters to make pretty bold predictions about how a Trump vs. Clinton general election would go. It ain t pretty.Here's what the map might look like in an election held today. Trump's Rust Belt strength would help him keep MO, IN pic.twitter.com/OYueYvWFpG  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) March 24, 2016And the Republican Party s dirty little secret? Polls suggest Ted Cruz wouldn t do much better. Shhh!So to paraphrase the late, less-than-great Marco Rubio campaign, let s dispel with this fiction that Republicans will overcome their trainwreck primary and win by default when Hillary Clinton goes to jail. With acceptance comes the ability to change. If Republicans want to compete at the national level, they need to cut off the gangrenous rot at the center of their political platform and get with the times. This was the very last wild swing to win an election by pandering exclusively to the worst predilections of old white men and it s becoming obvious that the approach no longer works. Adapt or die, but don t live in a fantasy world.Featured image via Frontpage Mag screengrab 