The Republican Party Needs to Ditch Fox News If It Wants to Win

[ginnyinWI]

Fox News and its right-wing extremist controversy-mongering has been harmful to the GOP: it has pulled their electorate to the right, forcing Repub candidates to do the same, and then they lose the moderates.


http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/11/why-republican-party-needs-ditch-happy-meal-conservatism-if-they-want-win

[mindwalker_i]

1. That's like telling them to cut their own dick off

Self castration is usually unpopular, even if one's member is so tumor-ridden that it puts 6-month old meatloaf to shame.

[Shuhered]

2. Muahahahahaha!! Good One

They can't divorce Fox. Collective haters always stay together.

[ginnyinWI]

3. The GOP helped create the monster that FOX has become.

I particularly liked these phrases used to describe them:

"self-serving right wing controversy machine"

"political entertainment industry"

"big money in controversy"

I've never forgotten what Rush L. said under his breath when asked how he felt about Clinton being re-elected: "it's great--plenty of material!"

[BlueCaliDem]

4. No! No! NO! The GOP should STAY with Fox News!

They should stick with Fox "News" Channel until their numbers have dwindled into nothingness. That will keep them from polluting broadcast networks to spew their lies. Seriously, keeping them contained would be better for the country.

[ceeRoy]

5. Every

Time i watch Faux news programs they complain about the main street media...they claim the MSM cuddles Obama , insinuate that they influence his popularity and protects him from criticism...MSNBC is one of their main targets as well...I've heard wingnut pundits criticize MSNBC for media bias in cuddling Obama as one of the reasons the electorate was so influenced in voting for him then turn around and contradict themselves by saying no one watches them...meaning to say their viewer ship is low....??? So if Fox have the better ratings than CNN, CBS, NBC ABC...why are they not more effective influencing others with their rightwing narrative..???

[ginnyinWI]

6. their viewers live in a world of self-delusion

The delusion is reality, and reality a delusion! And FOX is willing to keep feeding them the drug they need to stay in that world.

I do feel kind of sorry for these lost souls: old people who are pining away for a world long gone. Under educated poor whites whose whiteness is "all they have" to cling to.

I'm even sorry for the RW Christians who believe that voting GOP is what God wants them to do, for the sake of saving those unborn babies or opposing homosexuality. For them it is vote GOP or face dire consequences.

But I don't feel sorry for those upwardly mobile conservatives who, despite having the educated ability to see reality for what it is, continue to march to those RW talking points.

[just1voice]

7. I love Motherjones but this article is wrong on many levels

1. The lying (R)epukes lose because they lie about and are wrong about everything.
2. If Faux went off the air tomorrow they'd be replaced within 1 week.
3. (R)epukes ARE watching what they want to watch and Faux provides them with it.
4. Propaganda is a much more widespread problem than just Faux news and it affects everyone, not just (R)epukes.
5. There is no such thing as a (R)epuke moderate, only extremists are anti-science, pro-torture and willfully ignorant of their decades of economic lies.

The problem for (R)epukes is terminal, they are a party of "post-reality politics". It doesn't matter one bit if Faux news keeps telling them the lies they want to hear or not, the (R)epukes will just invent the lies themselves.

[patricia92243]

8. As the Republican Party goes, Fox News goes. The GOP will give them new talking points and they

will broadcast them. The problem is not Fox News. The problem is the GOP. Fox simply broadcast what they are told to broadcast.

[Doctor_J]

9. Pssh

without Fox News they wouldn't have had congressional majorities, the WH, and a right-wing SCOTUS for the last two decades. They have turned the country into a 3rd-world hell hole. The premise of this article is preposterous.

[ginnyinWI]

10. it is true that Fox has helped them in the short term

Nobody is disputing that. The problem is that it has led to long-term consequences. They are stuck with a voter base that has been moved far right with FOX's help--and sure, it was great to have those easy votes for a while. But they have painted themselves into a corner, and now have to always appeal to the tea party to get nominated at all, and then the moderates either don't vote or go and vote for the Democrat.

Republicans would have to make a conscious choice to ditch those voters and move back toward the center, and since this is not in the best financial interests of FOX, they would face heat for it. FOX needs extremism, magical thinking, controversy and anger to survive--it is their daily bread and butter. So they will continue to promote those candidates and flame the moderate ones.