^This guy gets it.^

And to that explanation I would add that on the fringe-right end of the political spectrum you have individuals like the Koch brothers and huge corporate sponsors who essentially spent decades pouring tons of money into creating a whole network of think-tanks, lobbying groups, and alternative academic institutions that have pumped out toxic free-market propaganda and legislation.  Decades ago they transformed the libertarian movement from a collection of various nutso neo-confederates, fascists, supremacists, nationalists, christian theologists, objectivists, and pro-protectionism corporatists into a powerful marketing machine for free-market dogmatism that has been poisoning our politics for decades - even if no libertarian politicians get elected.  You can see how corporate tax and income tax are pathetically low in America, and you can see how the social safety net that we used to have in this country has slowly been dismantled.  The Republicans will still pass legislation handed to them from the hyper-capitalist think tanks verbatim, they will later get a cushy lobbyist job or a kickback in the form of campaign donations.  And the corporations reap ever-greater profits to the detriment of ordinary Americans.