The change in the republican party accelerated when voters stopped punishing them for implementing their most extreme views. Fox News has created a collective ego that Republicans now identify with. Whatever their cadre does is considered acceptable and by definition good. Whoever opposes them is by definition bad. As long as the voters who are uncomfortable with their extreme policies continue to vote Republican, their policies will continue to get more extreme. Only losing an election will temper their craziness— actually it will take multiple elections.