by Maisie Allison
Politico defines the establishment zeitgeist post-Daniels, Pawlenty, and Ryan:
The problem, in shorthand: To many conservative elites, Rick Perry is a dope, Michele Bachmann is a joke and Mitt Romney is a fraud. … “In some ways, [the current field is] less satisfying because this is a particularly policy-heavy moment and the most wonky of the wonky issues are front and center,” said Yuval Levin, the Hertog Fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. “We feel the absence of policy intellectuals more.”
Along the same lines, Jim Antle assesses the ongoing search for a "consensus conservative." John Ziegler takes on Republican delusions. Jennifer Rubin is dismissive of the meme, imagining that Romney and Perry will "grow" during the campaign. James Warren blames voters for ordering empty political calories. Levin now retracts his dissatisfaction. Larison is amused that the "elites" interpreted Pawlenty's "desperation to pander" as wonkiness.
Allahpundit asks the Dish's next question:
Why aren’t more of these guys backing Huntsman? He’s centrist-ish to put it mildly, cosmopolitan, has come out publicly in support of Ryan’s budget, and is eager to set up camp on the elite side of elite/grassroots fault lines like evolution. He may be a bit too dovish on Afghanistan for some establishment hawks and his support for a larger stimulus with more tax cuts might be unpalatable to establishment fiscal cons (although maybe less so now with a double dip looming), but as a fourth or fifth preference behind Daniels et al., why wouldn’t they gamble on him? I assume that’s always been part of his longshot strategy — win over a few movers and shakers inside the GOP and then hope that their support plus the party’s deepening melancholy at the thought of nominating Romney will bring other big players around to his side.
I suppose getting behind Huntsman requires too great a risk (and not just because he hasn't made a dent in the polls). As Steve Kornacki argues, Huntsman has asked for some uncomfortable soul-searching from a party that has been "gripped by a siege mentality" since Obama was elected.
For years conservative elites, opinion leaders, and institutions have accommodated and even justified (and celebrated) the right's delusions and extremes. They exchange "intellectual" partisanship for incremental influence and the stupid satisfaction of Republican political victories. It is utterly short-sighted. "That final victory" is slipping away.
The GOP field is sadly lacking in an election that is by all accounts its to lose. I think it's clear that conservative elites helped make this bed.
The Dish 
