The source of the article however, Associated Press, leads me to believe that this is just another attempt to drive wedges into the conservative base.
All good points except for the above. I don't think the Left can succeed for the simple reason that the issues have already divided the base. They're merely capitalizing on the schism.
Perhaps I should have said, "they are attempting to exploit divisions in the base". I think that the point is that it's the enemy talking. It's like listening to Tokyo Rose. They have an agenda.