Salmo,

I went the local republican primary convention once. The party platform they adopted was essentially the exact same they lost on the previous 4 elections. The problem is, most of us do not have the time to put in the effort to fight those with extreme views. Lets be honest, if you truly believe abortion it murder then shouldn't you fight as hard as you can to end it? Those with more extreme views are always going to control the party as long as it is set up the way it is. I think some of the candidates are more flexible or realistic in their thinking but are either not given a chance or are forced into a corner early on that they then have to fight their way out of. The best example would be Reichert's stance on voting for Trump and on Abortion. If he had said early on he was against Trump or not anti-abortion, he would have been pushed out. Then, when it comes time to cater to the actual bulk of the voters, the Democrats hammer on the more extreme points.
The republicans do the same to the Democrats, just not as successfully. Unfortunately, I fear that many Democrats in power actually believe some of the more extreme views, ones that the majority of Democrats themselves would be against. Locke went against the Teachers union and was done. Ferguson has already hit back a little against the Democrat majority about tax increases. Time will see if he is actually popular enough to govern rationally.