"The right fears their base; the left hates their base."

The words of David Frum, one of George W. Bush's speechwriters.

Apocryphally, at least. Regardless, it rings true.

Numerous times recently, a conservative will have to roll back what appears to be perfectly reasonable statements. The joke on the left is along the lines of "X will have to apologize to Limbaugh/Beck/Palin in three... two... one..." They are indeed scared to offend their "base"--however, their base has lost its definition. ("Tea Party"-ers, anyone?)

At one time, at least in the recent history of the party, (a la William F. Buckley Jr., or later Grover Norquist, ("I want government to be so small I can drown it in a bathtub",)) the Republican base was fiscally conservative voters. The Southern strategy, started around President Nixon's time, brought in a lot of social conservatives and religious types. Republican politicians could not afford, eventually, to lose this part of their base; and the base knew it instinctively. Evangelicals, Pentecostals and other increasingly extreme groups became more and more influential within the party. This ended up with politicians famously talking in codewords that appeased the "base" which sounded somewhat reasonable to those who weren't quite so extreme.

The Democrats, on the other hand, at the same time, theoretically built a "Big Tent", accepting all comers. Dixiecrats opposed to civil rights for minorities? Sure. (Though the Southern Strategy largely dismantled this.) Big Business Old Money folks? Yes, please. Blue Dog Democrats that will not vote with the party the majority of the time? OK, as long as you have a "D" after your name in the media. Will Rogers' famous quote "I don't belong to any organized Party; I'm a Democrat" rang truer than ever.

This creates an odd landscape. Those in power in the Democratic Party inherently don't agree amongst themselves. Since the early 2000s, the frustrated core who call themselves "progressive" ("liberal" had effectively become a dirty word,) organized online and otherwise in a more cohesive and focused voice. The Obama campaign caught the fancy of the Progressives, and arguably, became the new Democratic "base", since their messaging was better unified and ideologies more homogenized.

The situation today has been well illustrated by the recent comments by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' derisive "Professional Left" comments, as well as other administration officials' scorn (Rahm Emmanuel, for example, appears to have nothing but contempt for the base that elected his President.) President Obama himself has been complaining often recently about his supporters.

My takeaway from these observations is summed up in the alleged Frum quote. The Republicans, who intentionally constructed an ill-advised "base", listen to them attentively. The Democrats, whose "base" created itself despite the party's lack of involvement, are highly irritated by them. I'll be curiouse to see how this plays out for either party.