Here's the cycle:
The Republican base is comprised mostly of degenerates, liars, creeps, and morons.
Republican candidates lie because if they didn't lie they would not win in primaries.
The worst of the worst wins.
Decent people don't want to lie so only indecent people run as Republicans.
The base grows increasingly ignorant and degenerate. The Republican candidates progressively get worse and the base degenerate accordingly.
Proof: The GOP base overwhelmingly preferred Trump and Cruz and overwhelmingly rejected Kasich. 90% of Republicans still support Trump.
There was a time when Republicans were opponents and the choice for voters was conservative government vs progressive government. Today the choice is, and honest patriotic persons or a lying crooks who whore for criminally run corporations and kleptocrats.