When I lived in NJ decades ago (don’t look at me that way), it was obvious the “country club republicans” were trying to isolate their conservative wing. They were pushing Bob Franks over Burt Schundler.
Now I live in Pennsy & the same thing happened when the same group dissed Toomey (who, thank goodness has since been voted in).
They were all in on the trashing of Palin.
There’s no doubt in my mind that there is in the Republican Party a core of so-called moderates who are now feeling very threatened by the inroads by the Tea Party and the like.
Did you mean Bret Schundler?