The situation at present is entirely one of the GOP's establishment's creation.
The Republicans do not trust and in effect, their their own politicians. This is why RinoTom's argument on trade citing the "majority of elected Republicans" to deflect the transition on trade rings hollow. Republicans do not like and in effect, hate their own elected leaders and politicians.
You have, as always people who want to benefit from a power standpoint on all sides of this equation. You can stand in the way and cause nothing to get done and be a hero in establishment circles (Murkowski and Collins). You can stand in a way and cause nothing to get done and be a hero to the base (Ted Cruz and Rand Paul).
During the Bush years, you had a very top down run Party, where Bush set the agenda and Delay enforced discipline and if you weren't a team player, you wouldn't get fundraising and you wouldn't get your pork. They were determined to get stuff done and they did, but in the process that ran rough shod over the budget, over state's rights (education) and over honesty and competence in government. The end result was a mess of corruption and incompetence (Iraq and Katrina) and the end result was the Democrats taking over, by what was a perceived abandonment of values and core principles. The Republicans have had an internal revolution occurring since 2007, when the base went to the barricades essentially to demand that the 2007 immigration bill be killed. Romney and then Trump in turn were nominated largely because of that anger and their understanding of its priority in terms of concerns.
But you have many issues and it is easy for someone on a quest for power, to then take advantage of that ride anger, or stir it up in a place where it has never existed before. You have had people essentially turn this into a business model, and that is especially the case with Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Where every issue is an attempt by them to label even the slightest hint of compromise as the latest corrupt betrayal of the average joe at the hands of powerful people. But that is a dangerous game and especially so if you misunderstand your own voters and as the last election showed, many of these small government zealots do not in fact, understand their own voters. That is why Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are not President right now.
The Republican Party attracts glory hounds that seek personal aggrandizement. Many of its current officeholders are these types of people, and many of the establishment are just as bad on that score. And both sides of the equation are rife with cowardice as they will set lose pandora's box, but will never have the balls to stand up and call out the mess that it has created. The establishment was just as eager to "cash-in" as self-promoters were and they are just as, if not more responsible, for this situation coming into place.
Why do you have these people getting nominated, because there opposition sucks. Luther Strange is corrupt Southern Politics at its finest. But you see there you have the problem. There were alternatives that could have been selected. But the establishment rallied around the corrupt sleaze-ball who got his seat through shady means, the base rallied around Roy Moore, those two were the top two finishers and so you had a runoff. Criminally corrupt v. Extremism!
Kind of like MO in 2012. You had three solid conservatives running, but the socially conservative faction wanted their guy uber alles and the Dems wanted likewise. So Todd Akin got the nomination and lost by 16 points while the two alternatives probably would have won and cast a deciding vote for ACA repeal. Someone had misplaced priorities.
When the tea party first emerged, it was of course the perfect opportunity for fringe types to become relevant. To mount the horse and become the champion slaying the incumbent dragon. That is how you got Angle and O'Donnell. Because at the end of the day, the base hates their own party's officeholders.
You also had Dick Cheney who was very adept at shoving the legislation he wanted down the throats of individual party. He basically would tell them if you dont vote with us , we will call your donors and end your career . This guaranteed that the republicans in the house voted party line.
