I read a LOT of 'stuff',

including books, news and politics. This article from Politico, a right-leaning, but inclusive news organization, is one of the best political articles I have read for a LONG, time, as a Repub explains why they need to nominate Trump, and take the ass-kicking at the polls, so the Repub party can finally return to relevance. Pretty amazing piece, packed with history, facts and insights. Be sure to read page 2.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/moderate-republicans-donald-trump-tea-party-conservative-fringe-2016-120675_Page2.html#.VbpO9pcmhpM

Some examples:
The Republican Party historically has been the party of the economic elite. There’s much truth in the old joke is that Republicans could never understand why they lost an election because all their friends at the country club voted Republican.

Since extremists of all types tend to flock together, the Tea Party, well financed by Charles and David Koch and other multimillionaire conservatives, welcomed groups formerly excluded from the political mainstream. These included xenophobes, racists, neoconfederates, anti-Semites, gun nuts, secessionists, conspiracy theorists, homophobic bigots, religious kooks, gold bugs and many others.

No matter how dumb or demented Tea Party demands were, the Republican leadership had to accommodate them—there’s always time in the crowded legislative schedule for yet another vote to repeal Obamacare. Ideas such as shutting down the government or repudiating the national debt that were previously considered beyond the pale became standard Republican policy.

Frighteningly, fringe ideas began to become dogma even among GOP elites. For example, they came to believe that all reputable polls were biased against Republicans in 2012 and instead followed a crackpot who arbitrarily adjusted the polls to show them winning. All the scientific research showing global warming is denied as a liberal conspiracy even as sea levels have steadily risen. Every mass shooting becomes proof that more guns are necessary for average people to protect themselves.

These and other nutty ideas became staples of Fox News programming, which is the primary source of information for most conservatives, according to numerous polls by Pew and others. Among the critical roles played by Fox is to validate extremism and its proponents as mainstream conservative spokesmen. Whether motivated by ratings or ideology—the effect is the same—Fox encouraged the right-wing fringe and gave it a huge megaphone. No point of view is too extreme if it is pro Republican, or anti-Democrat.


I could go on and on, but you get the picture...