Leaving the Republican party is so close to leaving a cult as to be indistinguishable. They are so dead set on vilifying outsiders that they won't even associate with non-republicans and Democrats in a civil fashion. I once had a family member threaten to punch me in the face for mentioning UBI.
Ensuring the poor are made to suffer for being poor is a core tenant of the republican ethos. If you don’t have someone to punch down upon you might have a chance to consider your own position in this world, which is dangerous to the power structures that be.
It takes years to shrug off the programming.