I miss the snobby George Will style conservatives compared to this new breeed. :'(
I think it's because the zeitgeist of the party shifted from print to talk radio. They replaced Buckley with Limbaugh and Will with Levin. It went from stuffy psuedo-intellectualism to bombast.
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There's a great book yet to be written about the effect of the conservative Jew on the Republican Party (post WWII). Starting with Buckley and his magazines clear effort to stomp anti-semitism out of the party (mostly coming from the South) which then gave opportunity to many great conservative Jewish writers (like Will), to Goldwater's ascendence in '64 which became the blueprint for modern Conservatism, to Kissinger with Nixon and his influence on foreign policy, which then culminated with Reagan in the 80's. Reagan actually got 35 percent of the Jewish vote in 1980 (remarkable to think of when compared to today) and had many Republicans of that time thinking they could gather even more in.
Reagan, of course, ran on a strong pro-Isreal campaign which still resonates today (and has young people scratching their heads as to why someone who is just as likely to fly a Confederate flag or give a Nazi salute is as likely to defend Isreal). He also had many conservative Jews in his cabinet or in consul (like Friedman).
Then 1994 happened and the party went "full south". Embracing all the baggage that the term implies. Making those neocons of the 70's and 80's look more and more out of place (at least domestically).
