I agree that Joe Wurzelbacher’s personae has been somewhat overblown by his supporters, and it seems logical to ask why that’s so. I submit to you the reason that Joe the Plumber is elevated by conservatives to the degree that he has been is because the rank and file of the party have been ignored for too long by the leadership. The base is latching on to Joe as a drowning man does to a life preserver. Joe’s instant celebrity should have been a red flag waving in the face of the Republican leadership, warning them that something was seriously wrong with the direction of the party. Alas, that warning has been ignored thus far. And at CPAC, we saw people reacting negatively to those waving that flag.

One respondent at CPAC, writing from the convention floor, spoke of a need to update the intellectual platform to accommodate a “changed era.” He complains that “it’s as if Jimmy Carter is still in the White House and Roe v. Wade was just handed down.”

The reference to Roe ignores the concept that conservative principles do not change. You do not check your principles at the door.