The Republican Party is trapped in a Prisoner's Dilemma - they gotta rush to the right faster than the other guy because the most extreme viewpoint gets the most out-of-state dark money.

Unfortunately that which wins the primary is rapidly diverging from that which wins the election. 65% of America supports some form of gun control. 75-80% of Americans support some form of legal abortion. 70% of Americans support single-payer healthcare. 70% of Americans support same-sex marriage. 75% of Americans think the country has work to do on gender equality. 64% of Americans want to raise taxes on the rich.

The mechanics of American electoral politics have required Republicans to demonstrate their extremism. This has gotten us extremist politics. However, what started as a populist revolt against mainstream Republican positions has now become a tail wagging the dog. I'm not confident in my hypotheses? But I can argue with confidence that the extremist positions in Republican electoral politics do not represent extremism in the electorate.