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I think this is a good example of how most political parties aren't really about defining their morals and principles then sticking to them and finding voters that agree with them. They are about getting elected and saying/doing what is needed to make that happen even if that is completely the opposite of what they used to believe.
One thing that did happen to the republicans is that Reagan heavily courted the religious right. After his election it became clear to many republicans that the way to win elections was to make them happy. Karl Rove is famous for saying that the key for a republican win was to heavily court the evangelicals, move just enough to the middle to pull in the right leaning independents then hope it rains on election day. The far right is organized and they vote so a low voter turnout benefits the republicans (hence many of the current voter suppression laws that they are trying to put into place). The problem with this is that the evangelicals the took control of the party so candidates were forced to bow to them or never win.
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