I think Doug is asking if Kristol's remarks are part of an effort by GOP bosses to distance themselves from the Tea Party rabble who helped them surge to victory but whose political programs they, the bosses, don't really have much interest in carrying out. Seems right to me. Though it should be said in my neck of the woods, major dickhead Rick Perry has if anything ratcheted up the nativist nonsense since being reelected. For now.