The Third Way can go very far to the right and still be to the left of the Republicans, while continuing their battle cry of "who the #%^* else ya gonna vote for, chumps?!"

as a cover for serving big business and the 1%

most succinct and accurate way of saying it ...

Total silence.

by keeping taxes low and projecting military power overseas.

The end.

Otherwise, they only serve to protect wealth for the wealthy and power for the powerful.

They become bloated by greedily sucking the life out of America.

The first part of your "question" is obviously incorrect!

but it wasn't very becoming

a too-powerful government.

In reality, they protect rich people and screw everyone who isn't a rich white heterosexual Christian man.

I'm not sure this counts as a purpose, but I'd basically say the GOP represents the last gasp of the worst aspects of Western Culture's uglier aspects (at least insofar as they have organized political power).