That's easy - because he was seen as an enemy of the GOP (aka The Stupid Party) and a true champion of conservative values. The GOP (or any political party for that matter) is not about principle, never has been. It's about furthering the ambitions politically of those who run the party apparatus.
Sometimes principled politicians come along, like Ronald Reagan, who "use" the party apparatus to further their own ideological ambitions. The party still benefits, assuming the politician is considered a successful and popular one, so the politician can survive within the party structure.
Most of the time, like with Todd, the party uses participants in the process to further it's own agenda - and all those players think they should be the one setting that agenda. A principled man like Akin must at some point run counter to the party's agenda and therefore will be jettisoned in the interest of the organization. In the end the party operates only to further its own existence.
This is a good example of why the Tea Party should be viewed with a healthy skepticism - at the grass-roots, everyday-folks level, it is an example of the resurgence of a conservative voice. But those who willingly jump into the leadership roles of the burgeoning movement are usually those who can't gain traction within the traditional party system and are looking for another way to amass power and influence for themselves - many times only so they can ingratiate themselves to those traditional party types that initially rejected them. Enter our friend Mr. Lucas.
You're right, something is rotten at the core of this - but it's a stench we have smelled many times before: the raw pursuit of power and influence through deceit and treachery. Go back and read your Shakespeare, he was great at describing this particular human failing. :-)
Did somemore digging and found out that Case is not a member of the Branson Tea Party ....My mistake. Case did work for Steelman and she was Tea Party but she got rid of him; he also worked for Blunt and for GOP strategist David Barklage. I thought Case was active in the Branson Tea Party because Palin was led to believe that Steelman was the TP darling and Case is a performer in Branson.
Case has a photo of Steelman on his fb page and he was very active in the republican party.