Exactly. Spending time reacting to their fabrications just gives those notions credibility. Obama moves on without addressing them, which for me sends a message that goes something like, 'that's not serious enough for consideration' He moves on, but he does not deny them other opportunities for input and he manages not to offend them either, or as is more important politically, he manages not to appear offensive.

They use media more successfully by keeping the Left out of the market. As I stated, there are vast regions where the Left is not heard at all. Air America is not there ... yet. Unless, of course, they have the web. In many areas, MSNBC is not an option on their cable package until the 3rd level of membership, or over $100/month, which in the heartland is a lot of money. Fox beats MSNBC and CNN because of this strategy by the corporate distributors. My point is that while they believe themselves to be champions of freedom, this is not a reflection of free choice. Well, I guesss choice HAS always been their Achille's heel.

As for the reference to parts of their message are instinctively true and relevant to a lot of people, especially those who don't live in big cities, this is a stumbling block we may never over come, but I see the core of the problem being just that, no understanding of what life in a city is like.

The myth of self-sustainment falls apart in a city where everyone is dependent on others. Here is where social services are critical. People with no ties whither. In the country, eveyrone knows in whose family someone is, and those families take responsibility. In the city, no one knows you except your friends ar Cheers.

Also relevant to this lack of understanding is the convenient sidestep of government intervention throughout the rural areas. In Oregon the transfer of wealth does not go from the country to the cities. It is the other way around. The cities' money goes to the country to keep up the schools, the roads, and other services. In the end, it is because of our natioanal roads and rails that we became a great nation. The states could never have afforded to fund these enterprises and we all needed to contribute and cooperate to make them work.

It appears to me New10 has it right, this radical fire is now self-sustaining and will ultimately burn the GOP to ashes but we will agree that time will tell. With this quest for purity the party will be relegated to the Far Right. They will diminish and disappear. I am skeptical of JEM's proposal that a new crew will rehabilitate the empty hull of the party once it has dissolved. I suspect we will see something new. Libertarians may come to better define themselves with something more realistic. It is clear they are still forming their ideas into something cogent and workable. Some pragmatism will go a long way, but the Dems appear to have a good handle on that right now.

From a slightly different angle: In my area the basic Dish Satellite TV package has Fox News and, I think CNN. To get MSNBC costs another $10-$12 per month. If that's not a structural disincentive to gather dissenting viewpoints, I don't know what is.

Agreed. I think it goes back to New10 again, this is a self-sustaining fire that just needs to burn out, and then people will consider whether there is enough left to renovate or whether it would be best to make a fresh start.

Since we at TPM always seem to bring up Hitler, I'll do it again. Hitler loved using the radio to rein in the masses.