Back when the Tea Party was generally considered a haven for right-wingers, it can be reasonably suggested Glenn Beck was its conductor.

First on radio, then on CNN and later Fox News, Beck was a ratings king and a lightning rod for all things conservative. He used a rhetorical blow torch in his endless criticism of President Barack Obama, warning his followers the Obama Administration would systematically lead to the demise of the U.S. Constitution, which of course was part of a larger liberal strategy. He was driven by similar sizzling spite any time Hillary Clinton made news.

So it has been startling to hear the "new" Glenn Beck compare President-elect Donald Trump to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. It has not been reported as to whether cars veered into ditches as that came across the radio waves.

"Donald Trump is the face of the GOP. Well, that makes us crony capitalists. It makes us wafflers. It makes us pretty racist," Beck said in an interview with USA Today in May, after Trump emerged as the de facto Republican nominee for president. "It makes us big government guys. Just, you name it – it makes us that."

Beck campaigned on behalf of Ted Cruz for the GOP nomination. After Cruz announced his support for Trump, Beck publicly apologized for supporting him.

Beck said he actually considered voting for Clinton this fall but ultimately cast his ballot for Evan McMullin, a former CIA operations office who ran as a conservative alternative to Trump and received a few scattered votes.

Beck changed his party registration from Repubican to independent in 2014.

None of this is meant to suggest that Beck has swerved into the far left lane. His conservative dogma is rooted in the constitution, he says, and he fears the hard-right tint of the Trump White House may do a hatchet job on it.

And he seems truly appalled at the Tea Party’s unapologetic shredding of not just the document, but of the nature of American politics.

Beck confesses that he played leading part in creating the smothering atmosphere of hatred and distrust that so divides us, offering a mea culpa while appearing alongside liberal-leaning comedian and television host Samantha Bee earlier this month.

"I’ll not only take my share of the blame, I’ll take extra,” Beck said in an interview with The Atlantic. "Please just listen to the warnings now so we don’t continue to do this."

Time will tell if hardline Republicans and Trump conservatives are even listening to Beck anymore.