Why was he so disliked?
"This whole idea of personal autonomy, well I don’t think most conservatives hold that point of view. Some do. They have this idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do, government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. You know, people should do whatever they want. Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can’t go it alone."
That sums the man up. He honestly does believe it too. He legitimately believes that basically people are untrustworthy and should be regulated as much as possible by the government, in ALL possible areas.
Toss in the "We should bomb someone every week" rhetoric he was using at the time, he managed to thoroughly piss off both liberals and conservatives. Only folks that liked him were Palace Guard GOP types and neo-cons.