Yes. Both Schmidt and Nicole Wallace leaked unflattering comments about Palin. Palin was giving McCain a boost in the polls so they sabotaged the campaign by smearing her.
It’s hardly a coincidence than there was a financial crisis in 2008 and a Covid pandemic in 2020 that was useful to getting Democrats in office. Both crisis’ were manufactured by the left. It was Hillary’s bad fortune that there couldn’t be a crisis in 2016 on Obama’s watch.
It is remarkable that the politicians who have been most popular with rank and file conservatives have been most reviled by GOP politicians. They must be perceived as threats to the Uniparty’s cozy little set-up. McCain apparently thought he could co-op and use Palin, just as they no doubt planned to do with President Trump once they saw they couldn’t get rid of him-but these wouldn’t play ball with them. Hence their becoming pariahs to Uniparty politicians.