Very good post.
It's interesting how even what the "right" is has been totally transformed from a fundamental counter to big government, big spending, and over-regulation to a bundle of issues that just a few decades ago wouldn't have even been defined as partisan issues.
Abortion: No reason for this to be partisan. A person can be anti-abortion for moral reasons and still believe in expanding aid to the poor, cutting defense spending, and even the Equal Rights Amendment.
Guns: Same thing. In fact, there actually isn't even much of a difference between how most Dems and GOPs feel about restricting gun sales, allowing private gun ownership, and even registering guns. The GOPs turned this into another scare issue by saying the Dems want to take all your guns so that they can enslave you.
Immigration: Should this be a partisan issue? I don't think so. Neither party is for unlimited open borders. Just as in guns, one party says the other party wants a flood of immigrants to increase their voting base. A real debate on immigration would discuss the value of persons willing to take jobs most citizens don't want and then decide if we're happy with the possible exploitation of migrant farm workers to keep food prices down.
"The right" pretty much doesn't exist anymore. A friend tells of his Dad who grew up in pre-WW2 Boston. Lots of gangs. I'm not sure which way this went, but there was a gang that had been called the Irish Boys. That gang's location became a place where Jewish people lived. Even though the gang was comprised of Jewish boys, they kept the name of the Irish Boys.
So it is with the right. Whatever they were, they no longer are. Sticking with the label of the "right," I believe, keeps the electorate and journalists from addressing the actual paradigm shift.
I've written too long, I suspect. It's just all so horribly interesting.