It makes me think of ideological possession, actually. Once an ideology becomes ingrained into your being, it kind of takes holds of you, and shapes how you interact with the world. The ideology itself becomes the most important thing - the reasons aren't important, only the ideas behind it, and seeing those ideas through to action matter. Your ideology comes up with an answer to everything; it can explain any problem, dismiss any countering evidence, debunk any theories about why your ideology is wrong. And it pushes, unrelentingly, toward its goal, whatever it is.
I think the PV team is in a similar state; in their endless drive to bring Voat to it's "perfect state", nothing else matters. All dissenting voices are brushed aside. Any efforts to pull them back are seen as attacks on everything they hold dear. There's only two groups in their mind - the ones with them, and the ones against them. Allies and enemies. Those who love their idea of Voat, and those who want to destroy it. There is no middleground. And the leaders can explain away anything that might be contradictory with calls of "shill", "Reddit hater", and so on.
Couldn't have said it any better.
It amazes me they can't see it though. lol