It’s been an overarching goal of this site to highlight the truth tellers in each political party. This isn’t just so the other party will see merit in the opposition, but also so the party itself might discover someone less prominent but more thoughtful, productive, and persuasive in his or her analysis.

Today’s columnist was once a prominent voice within his party. As certain leaders in his party took more extreme positions on one subject in particular, he took a stand and resigned from his contributor post at a major cable news network. His reach is still considerable, but it doesn’t extend to those who ought to at least consider what he has to say, and that’s too bad. Unlike the party’s more prominent and problematic commentators, this columnist can help the party. If only it would let him.