I should add in a collegial spirit that Ramesh is the pundit least prone to this analysis around today. Indeed, much of his writing’s force comes from the fact that he stands in the pocket between “good” politics and good policy and so he rarely confuses the two. That’s why you’ll find him making these distinctions time and again on issues like abortion and the difference between the GOP’s success and the conservative movement’s success. And no, I don’t owe him money. I’ve just always been envious of his ability to see these distinctions immediately and seemingly effortlesssly when the rest of us have to work to separate the two (though many pundits make no effort in this regard at all and blithely write as if their policies and their politics are perfectly in synch internally and with the American people).