Perhaps it is because that is a misrepresentation of the truth. Take NYC for example. 1970s NY was a dystopia of Democrat corruption, incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility. Giuliani is a POS now, but he was a tough mayor, and Bloomberg is who brought NY back from the brink. Romney was a great governor to a blue state, as is Charlie Baker today. You complain about cults, yet that is how I would classify the Cuomo regime over Albany.
The GOP went sideways with the NEOCON movement of Bush and the Tea Party under Obama, but that is more like a 20 year time horizon, not 40.