Seems like a paradoxical conclusion. If the party got pushed right because it HAD to to keep political power, that makes sense, but this push right comes "at the expense of its ability to govern and pick presidential nominees." I haven't got time to listen to the discussion so maybe I'm missing some nuance, but it seems like a peculiar thing to happen to the party.
- Conservative media pushes candidates to the right through, essentially, energizing and radicalizing the base. - Far-right, ideological purist candidates are elected to the Senate, House, or governorships in majority-conservative areas. - Far-right, ideological purist candidates fail to govern due to their unwillingness to compromise and rabid anti-establishment politics. - Conservative media pushes candidates for the Republican presidential nomination to the right. - The party nominates a fairly far-right candidate. - The candidate fails to win the general election due to their radical (far-right) positions.