A week after Pat Buchanan drew outrage with a column that warned three Jews would be on the Supreme Court if nominee Elena Kagan is appointed, the head of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists is taking issue with the move.

Samantha Bennett, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette scribe and head of the 300-person organization, says Buchanan's outrageous comments and others like them from some conservatives do a disservice to both readers and fellow columnists.

“On the right, there is a certain pressure to out-outrage everyone else,” Bennett said. “More moderate conservative opinion doesn't seem to be much of a draw.”

Bennett's comments followed the May 13 column by Buchanan, who is distributed to nearly 200 papers through Creators Syndicate. In that piece, he stated: “If Kagan is confirmed, Jews, who represent less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, will have 33 percent of the Supreme Court seats. Is this the Democrats' idea of diversity?”

She said his column was indicative of the way some conservatives have tilted in order to get attention: “Who is the most popular and who is the draw? It is the people on the fringe.”

“The pundits who cater to that get crazy sort of attention,” Bennett added. “It has been the theater of outrage. This has been our public discourse. It is who is shouting the loudest.”

For Buchanan to make such a comment about a Supreme Court nominee's religion, Bennett says, is a sign that he is seeking attention.

“I guess he feels like he is being eclipsed by Beck and O'Reilly,” she said. “Pat Buchanan used to be kind of the fringe guy. But he has been surpassed in that role. I guess he feels like he has to come up with something more outrageous and potentially offensive to stay in the spotlight and keep his position.”

But moreover, Bennett said all of the commentators on the right who use the outrage and controversial comment to gain an audience are hurting columnists as a whole.

“In some cases, it can put more pressure on the rest of us to be more out there,” she said. “That's not a good thing because the majority of our readers are not looking for that. It does a disservice to our readership when you become this crazy exhibitionist rather than doing what is really important to your community.”

She adds: “I could come out tomorrow and say something completely offensive to many and get a lot of attention and get on the blogs and interviews, but that would be about me advocating my opinion and my name. It should be about the reader and what the reader needs to know and what matters to them.”