Alexandra,
One of the things I've noticed, sometimes as a subtlety, sometimes pretty overtly, is that bishops rarely come off as if they are representing the church that is comprised of the laity.  The seem to LOVE projecting the sense that they represent something bigger than themselves, but the question can be asked "what?"

This isn't obvious.  Do they represent some kind of idea, as developed and put forth by their brother bishops?   Do they represent the body of their brother bishops?  Are they claiming to represent those who are Baptized and hit all the rules like Sunday Mass, or perhaps all those who were baptized, whether or not now fallen away?  

I think there is a growing sense of disassociation here.  Clearly, their actions on the scandal do NOT represent the laity.  When they jump into politics, I think it fair to suggest that on any given day, a LOT of people (either party) will be upset.  The bottom line is that their effectiveness depends on the answer to that question.