No doubt this is because, after having heard electability arguments in the last two presidential elections, Republicans have only seen “electable” candidates not get elected.

Furthermore, though Hillary Clinton enjoys huge disdain from Republicans, perhaps Republicans are slightly less terrified by the specter of a Hillary Clinton presidency and don’t view losing to her as being catastrophic—a theory that seems crazy until you see that, in late 2014, polling showed Republicans liked her very slightly more than Barack Obama.

That’s not the most bizarre explanation for the data. No, it is possible instead that the email scandals and her lackluster performance on the campaign trail have made her seem more vulnerable. Republicans may have needed an “electable” candidate to beat the formidable political talent of Barack Obama, but to take on Hillary Clinton, maybe they think an out-there reality TV star and tabloid fixture could actually do the trick.

The idea that Donald Trump actually is viewed as electable will strike most political pundits as insane.  Yet “electability” may not only matter less—it may have also been radically redefined after the respectable, responsible candidates failed to get the job done.