Always bewildering to me when people look at the demographics of conservatives, leaning old and rich, and think that they just fell out of the coconut tree. No. Those people were sometimes "progressives" in their time and later became conservatives.

Same as it ever was. No further explanation needed. Not a new phenomenon.

ed: "No, it must be the fault of the left." must be a reassuring thought, but let me occams razor that for you: when these people were younger, they were selfish, and as they weren't yet the status quo, they were progressive. When these people got older, they were still selfish, and as they were the status quo, they were conservatives. Simple.