They could try listening to their base.
However, seeing as how they are hell-bent on self-immolation, they don't need to.
How is it that you believe that the millions of people voting in the Republican primaries are mere puppets of some boogeyman "They"?
"They" are hell-bent on self-immolation. "They" [think they] don't need to listen to their base.
Are you a RNC-mind-numbed robot? I didn't think so. And neither am I.
So, if a candidate to your liking is not nominated, would that be the result of the RNC exercising telepathic control over millions of voters or would it be the result of millions of voters simply disagreeing with your views, for whatever reason?
Why is it someone else's fault (sound familiar?) that the base has been unable to galvanize voters to a particular candidate (though the base has yet to galvanize itself around any one candidate)?
You say the Party should "try listening to their base." Okay, what would the party hear?
First, name the name of the candidate the base is unified behind---please!
Then, tell me the base's plan for getting that guy elected---does the base believe that the RNC has some pixie dust it can sprinkle on masses of voters to make them like the base's candidate (assuming the base unifies around a candidate)?
Is the RNC that powerful that, if it just would "listen" to the base and then support the candidate the base wants, that candidate, first, would get the nomination and then, second, would win the presidency? Do you honestly go through life believing the RNC is powerful enough to "make" anyone president?
If you concede that the RNC is only one player in a complex game, then how do you claim it matters at all whether the "Party" listens to the base?
What matters is whether voters---first, within the party, then, secondly, within the general electorate---listen to the base.