Either loser Steve Schmidt is the stupidest strategist ever or he’s a demmunist party plant.
Glad you brought up his name. Schmidt is a Progressive, liberal Republican who somehow continues to wield influence over the party in spite of his impressive streak of losing campaigns. He is not the only one of his ilk, either. It is well-known in GOP circles that he absolutely, positively loathes Sarah Palin and opposed her as the choice for McCain's VP.
I am convinced that virtually the entire class of Republican strategists in Washington would be quite content to lose the next two or three election cycles if they could only rid the GOP of its conservative Tea Party base.
The plan would be to replace them with a new "base" of largely secular, socially liberal, and economically moderate voters largely composed of former Democrats who now consider themselves "independent".
People who believe in (and live off of) Big Government, and who see no role for Judeo-Christian values in public life have no use for real conservatives.