Pop Quiz.
Who would be able to predict the behavior of a gang better:
(1) A former high-level gang member who has recently left
or (2) A social worker?
Let's say the former gang member says that the gang has changed its philosophy and "business model", and -- while formerly non-violent -- is now going to engage in many murders in order to expand its turf.
I would argue the former gang member would know where the gang is headed better than the social worker.
Okay, who would know better where the Republican leadership is heading -- Democrats and professional pundits
... More Beneath the Fold ...
or such current and former high-level republicans as:
Former gang members are talking . . . we should listen.
Of course, the conservative movement has been taken over by NEOconservatives, who are as different from true conservatives as they are from liberals. Indeed, many neoconservatives are former MARXISTS (Google it; its true).
A more accurate analogy might be a social club which then turns into a criminal gang, and a former high-level member of the social club is warning about the conversion to a gang. I used the gang analogy only because it is a powerful image with which people can relate viscerally.