This video of GOP elites whining about Trump over martinis is the most pathetic thing you'll see all day

We all know the GOP elites are horrified at the rise of Trump. They want you to believe their revulsion stems from outrage over issues but, if you dig a little, eventually you realize that's only the surface of the story. They don't like Trump because they don't understand his success, can't control him, and don't know what he'll do if he manages to win. He's a wild card and, as I've said before, there's nothing your "political betters" hate more than unpredictability. When things go off the pre-determined rails, these people have to actually pick sides, make decisions, and stand on principle. That's all such a bother.

Recently, a group of GOP elites sat down to discuss Trump with Mark Halperin and Mark McKinnon. Their martini fueled lunch was captured for Showtime's documentary series "The Circus." Sometimes you see something in politics so sad, so unbelievably pathetic, that you honestly can't believe it happened - and you really can't believe it was filmed. This is one of those things. Setting aside the group's sheer impotence, the two most telling quotes both come from Reagan/Bush adviser Ed Rogers, who really seems to lay it all on the line:

Halperin: How do you feel about the fact that the Republican nominee may be someone that none of you know? Ed Rogers: Shell-shocked. Bewildered. Republicans are hierarchical, respectful of authority, and we fall in line, and Trump has interrupted that cycle.

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In other words, they can't believe that someone "jumped the line" and managed to get this far without playing the standard political game. You're supposed to go through the proper channels if you want to run for office. Otherwise, you're not supposed to have access to the machine. Trump didn't do things "the way they've always been done" and that clearly scares the tar out of these people. Trump is "interrupting the cycle." How dare he! Rogers spotlight's the GOP's inability to grasp their own failings....

He's not articulate. He's not poised. He's not informed. All he has going for him is a lot of votes. Why hasn't any of that hit home? Here we are. Here we are.

"All he has going for him is a lot of votes." That, ladies and gentlemen, is called "contempt for the will of the people." These very important men may not like Trump, and they have every right to express that in any way they choose, but this comment admits something that's supposed to be anathema to the America political process. Actual votes are evidently just some sort of piddling nuisance. What the people want is far less important than process, procedure, and party penance. No one should view this discussion as a genuine effort to divine a reason for Trump's unlikely success. Instead, it should be seen as the reason for it. The attitude on display is precisely the driving factor behind the GOP's civil war, and the ascendance of the Trump phenomenon. We wonder if any of the participants understand that...