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Michael's avatar

It was Gingrich who trained the Republicans to stick with unified messaging. The truth or accuracy of the message was never important. The Republican base has learned to parrot the talking points. It's very fascistic but effective.

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Joe Caratenuto's avatar

Is a unity of purpose easier to maintain because Fox News is basically it for conservative media? We do have Newsmax, OAN and the other small media operations in this area, but none have come close to the reach of Fox News. The left and center left have so many options for political media. We have cable outfits, (CNN, MSNBC), national media (ABC, NBC and CBS), dozens of magazines, newspapers that all often espouse liberal behavior. With that many talking heads, it is impossible to have everyone on the same page like you would see at Fox News. That's why when Fox News claims that they are the most popular cable news channel, it frustrates me to no end, despite being accurate. Of course Fox News is the most popular cable news channel, thats the only place to go for that sort of content.

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David Muccigrosso's avatar

Yes, precisely. It's just easier as a rank-and-file Republican to execute on the daily blocking and tackling of politics. Fox News is the universal hymnal they can all sing from. It's also why celebrity politicians like MTG can dedicate more of their operation towards more advanced aspects of messaging -- they've got the basics covered, so they can spend the rest of their time refining it.

Dems, OTOH, quail in fear about what happens if they just play along in the daily scrum. On the one side, the GOP has a megaphone ready to make them Fox News' main-character-of-the-day for any misstep. On the other side, The Groups of the left each has their own hyperspecialized niche that they patrol for any opportunity to build clout by mollywhopping some unsuspecting moderate who's just trying to get skeptical normies on board with incremental progress. It's easiest to just keep your head down and do real work, rather than join a chorus that can rarely sing the same tune on the off chance that you can punish Republicans for their latest outrageous crime against the country.

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