Give someone enough of an audience & adulation and eventually they'll hang themselves with hubris.
I think this is a big part of it, yes. One of Patterico's commenters noted that part of her problem may be that her bomb-throwing stand-up comedy style goes over great on college campuses where she does most of her speaking gigs, but it's completely wrong for CPAC and similar serious political venues. OTOH, she's a smart enough woman to understand this - under the surface layer of snark, there's a Great White Shark of a legal mind.