You see, all indications are that the party elite imagines that base voters share its own faith in conservative principles, when that not only isn't true, it never has been.
Maverick politicians have been a staple feature of presidential elections, but rarely has any gotten so far in the face of opposition from the powerful party elite.
The primary concern of the party elite was to ensure the future electability of the party, having learned lessons and modified policy in response to prior electoral failures.
His wife had already been removed from the public eye in the late 1970s, as the party elite had grown increasingly suspicious of her influence over the elderly president.
Polarization can refer to such divergence in public opinion as a whole, or to such divergence within a particular sub-set or group (like party elites).
