Why Fox News is destroying the Right.

This isn't really a surprise, Limbaugh et al got rich off the Clinton presidency, but it points to a much larger problem for the Right. The Right Wing Entertainment Industry completely dominates the conservative landscape and they do so by either directly pandering to, or obliquely fanning the flames of, the lowest common denominator in their ranks. If a conservative should dare to speak against the dangers of a hype machine that is beholden to nothing more than last night's ratings then they soon find themselves having to do an "awe shucks I wuz mizundastood" soft shoe. To the extent that there is truly an intellectual base in the Right Wing they have lost completely the ability to influence policy on the ground. Conservatism today can be defined as the ultimate victory of volume over content. And I say let 'em yell as much as they want.

We're being treated to the death rattles of what used to be known as Movement Conservatism, a political force that got its passion from Goldwater but was balanced by the intellect of Buckley. That has morphed into a truly impotent rabble of tantrum throwers who get their passion from Palin and brains from Glen Beck. It aint the same, by a long shot. Once upon a time the GOP purged the wacko John Birchers from its ranks but today there isn't a conservative alive with the courage to stand up publicly and call out the lunatic fringe. Its an empty philosophy without the tools to address the issues we're dealing with today and lacking the courage or leadership to articulate a positive course for the future and Fox News along with talk radio make it increasingly more difficult to alter that course. As long as numbers are good they'll keep programming to the screamers at the expense of good policy. And I for one am enjoying watching the implosion.