Veronique, in response to your question – the paragraph you quote was calling out the sad irony that many of the web and talk radio’s foremost RINO-police now seem more interested in page views and ratings than in conservative principles. In my piece outlining next steps for the conservative movement, I said this:
Fourth, reject the cult of celebrity in favor of building enduring, meaningful conservative cultural institutions. If the current election cycle has revealed anything, it’s demonstrated that large chunks of the celebrity Right — you know, the people who spent most of the last ten years or so calling out “RINOs” and proclaiming themselves the true arbiters of American conservatism — have proven that they’re little more than populist audience-whores, following where the lowest common denominator leads.
Of course conservative voters, pundits, and politicians should keep calling balls and strikes — praising legislators when they deserve praise and critiquing them when we think they’re wrong. My problem is not with criticizing GOP leadership (though not all critiques are valid), but with the class of people who spent the last decade styling themselves as the arbiters of true conservatism — only to jettison any recognizable conservative principles to embrace Trump.
One of the problems with the cult of celebrity is that fame is both seductive and addictive. Even good people can rationalize and justify expedience and self-interest to remain in the spotlight. But not all the folks I’m talking about are all that good or decent. Crass opportunists do not deserve our respect.