I don't know who the author is, but this is a good observation. However, one thing he forgets is that at the beginning of virtually every GOP campaign, there is a populist candidate with no political background who becomes that year's messiah. There are always a couple of promising actual conservative candidates, but they get no attention because the GOP is looking for the man on the white horse. The populist idol, of course, usually self-destructs or goes third party - but too late for the good candidates to get traction, so instead we have one of the well-funded establishment candidates who has barely had to campaign and can just slide into the main slot because people are tired of the circus.
However, what's new is exactly what this author observed, but he assigns it to the wrong cause. What has actually happened is that people have gotten so used to seeing an unpleasant, crude, unknown nobody with wacky, unpopular ideas imposing his will from the White House, ignoring our political system and our elected representatives, that they think this is something desirable. They are looking for someone who promises, essentially, to be another Obama (although a white one this time) because that's what they've gotten used to.
Unpopular ideas?
That must be why he's polling so well, don't you think?