From a reader:

Subject: Why conservatives mock Dobson
JG:
Your friend’s question is important, I think the answer is related to the generally true maxim that Democrats govern more effectively (in pure political terms, i.e., they win more fights) than the GOP when in the majority.
The answer is the Dems/liberals have more discipline and solidarity: It is more honorable, but less politically effective, for the GOP to hammer Trent Lott or Dobson or David Duke. The Dems, in contrast, have the solidarity to turn (for example) any Chappaquiddick reference into a mean spritied, anachronistic attack on the “Lion of the Senate.”
Pick any random wacky statement made by a Dem/liberal and their survival rate is much higher…there are hundreds but Patty Murray’s Bin Laden comments of a few years ago are a great example: she got raked over the coals on Fox for a while and then it slid by.
conservatives tend to be more vocal in hammering their own…which is virtuous via the morality and courage tests, but not politically smart.
Fortitudine Vincimus,