Why does MTG get votes, though? It's hard to believe any reasonable person would go, "Yes, this is who I want to have representing my best interests."

That MTG gets votes, that people attack the Capitol (the people whose side makes a big deal of how they love the country?!), that Limbaugh drew such an audience, and so on, is very hard to square with a peaceful, tolerant right.

Just like the right might have trouble believing that there's a peaceful tolerant left given one-two combo of some people loudly calling everyone who they think isn't displaying 100% tolerance to their specifications a "Nazi"...and then endorsing punch-a-Nazi.

If all you get is the most superficial view of the loudest voices on the other side, and then tell yourself stories in an echo chamber for years (decades, in case of Limbaugh's listeners), it's no wonder that you can come away with a pretty distorted picture of the other side.

But such things also make the other side legitimately scary, because people with distorted views who think fundamental things are under threat can act in extreme and dangerous ways.

The right has been leading the way for decades. The left is rushing to catch up--and you seem to have noticed only that part.