Conservatives Can't Compromise Capably

Commenter Valerie nailed it at Legal Insurrection:  

I think it’s overwhelmingly stupid to take insulting swipes at people with whom you agree. The whole point of politics is to work with other reasonable people, in order to accomplish something worthwhile. You can’t do that if you alienate potential allies that you need.

 I chimed in.

 Abortion is the most conspicuous example. This is part of the problem:

When professional extremists dominate a debate, the only thing they’d rather shoot at than each other is somebody who walks the middle ground. Compromise threatens their franchises.

It's not just the pros, it's also people with emotional investments.