re: #657 HappyBenghazi

Instead of getting rid of people like Dick Lugar, the Republican Party should be looking for more people like him but no we’re living in age where to the Republican Party, where to be reasonably conservative is not enough. You have to saying their idea of bipartisanship is the Democrats doing what they want. Meanwhile, I see the Democrats offering people up like Joe Donnelly and Tim Kaine. People who like to work for solutions. Is it any wonder why the Democrats win overwhelmingly with self described moderates?

There’s a direct path as to why this is happening.
During the 1980s and 1990s, there was a concerted effort by the Religious Right, and by the extremist wing of conservatives to cultivate their own people, at the college level. There were groups like the Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, the Young Conservatives, and the Leadership Institute (whose ties to white nationalism are well-documented) flooding college campuses to bring people to their mindset.