Pence’s critics have, as Jason DeParle says in the Times article (reg. req’d.), called him a showboater. And it’s true that most of the clips on his immigration plan have been positive. But it’s also true that it was a funny way for him to promote himself. It should have been obvious from the beginning, first, that immigration split his natural constituency of House conservatives–with a majority in the anti- camp–and, second, that his plan would not bring both sides together.

And while the plan was initially sold as a way to bridge the divide in the Republican party and the Congress, it has clearly failed to do so. The people who praise his plan are almost all the people on the pro-guest-worker-program/earned-citizenship side of the divide, and almost everyone on the anti-side is against his plan. As the article also illustrates, Pence echoes the themes of one side of this debate.

Whatever the merits of Pence’s plan, it has substantially diminished his ability to lead conservatives. And this was entirely foreseeable. So I must conclude that either Pence showed a startling lack of political judgment, or he believes in his plan so strongly that he doesn’t care.