Conservative delusion
To be honest, I've never seen the show
Kinda nullifies the rest of your post, doesn't it? Lack of knowledge is most painfully evident when you state that you're "not overly confident in Robert's ability to identify Alan Alda's character as a "moderate" Republican". That's a shame, because if you'd seen how Alda developed the character over half a dozen episodes, I think you'd appreciate it. Vinnic staked out a moderate position on reproductive rights, and refused to pretend to be devoutly religious to pander to the RRR; and had to deal with the fallout. Alda ends up creating a character with principles and the courage to stand up for them. To administer the coup de grace to your paranoia, Vinic made progress on the high road; the writers didn't succumb to the temptation to either have Vinnic go down in flames in the face of his party's extremism, or to give in and pander for votes. Despite all those realworld handicaps, it's still a horse race, and it seems like there's a good chance that Vinnic will win and the series will have to be renamed The Right Wing.
Is it a Liberal fantasy to imagine a Republican Presidential candidate who's rational and reasonable, and possesses principles and courage? If you say so, Tom. You might be right.