Did Fox News Destroy the Republican Party?

We've all watched as Fox News became the propaganda wing of the Republican Party. And a nasty job they made of it, too.

Would there have been a "Benghazi" without Fox News? Not likely.

A new report in the Huffington Post makes a strong case that Fox News -- with a big assist from the far-right wing of talk radio, many of whom have done long stints on Fox News -- may have crushed their own brand.

Over the years of watching Fox -- just to see what they were up to, mind you -- I was often repelled by what I witnessed. Not all of its content was as silly as what you see in the above screen capture, but much was so warped that I could scarcely believe Fox management felt it was responsible to offer as "news."

"Pelosi Takes Socialist Tone." Can we even wonder whether they've chosen sides?

Now, as the Republican Party seems actually to be disintegrating, there's no question that propaganda can produce a rabble that may get out of control. Michael Gerson thinks so:

Consider: If Republicans had fielded a strong presidential nominee this year, who managed to win a winnable election, the party’s success would have been more comprehensive than any since 1980. The tragedy is not that Republicans are on the verge of self-destruction; it is that they were on the verge of victory, and threw it away.

This singular failure is not a small thing for the GOP. The patient is brimming with health and vigor in every way, except for the missing head. Either of this year’s likely Republican failures would complicate the job of candidates down the ticket and alienate demographic groups that are essential to future national victories.

Might be right, Mike.

Huffington Post goes further:

The Republicans, however, have no one to blame but themselves. This is a crisis of their own creation. And it didn’t just happen overnight.

The Republican Party has been fomenting anger and discontent in the base of its own Party for years. The mechanism through which this hate has been disseminated has been the network of extremist media of right-wing talk radio and the Fox News Channel, which is essentially talk radio transposed onto television.

Just think of all the right-wing “superstars” who spew messages of anger and hate every single day throughout the land over this enormous megaphone. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Ben Shapiro, Dana Loesch, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, to name a few.

And make no mistake, spewing hate has a significant impact upon society. It is the equivalent of modern-day propaganda where the population is barraged with a stream of consistent messaging. As ordinary people go about their daily lives, they are exposed repeatedly, day-in and day-out, to the same messages in numerous different forms and by numerous different people. Pretty soon, these messages begin to sink in and take effect. The audience begins to adopt a worldview consistent with these messages, regardless of the degree of truth. It is a remarkable phenomenon.

Remarkable indeed. And, fact is, this was quite obvious to any objective viewer. Now, a Karl Rove might have thought, "If we push this thing right up to the edge, uh, we win!" I could imagine why he might think so.

Instead, they pushed it over the edge and, after eight years of Barack Obama -- who, against all that Fox News holds sacred, now sports positive approval numbers -- the last two Republican candidates standing are Donald Trump and Ted Cruz? Seriously?

Seriously. So serious is the situation that some fantasize that Paul Ryan could come to the rescue. He'd get his ass pulverized, and he knows it. There will be no Paul Ryan.

Ask Mitt. He'd do it. Oh boy.

Anyone surprised at this?

Bonus image!

I fell for this Photoshopped image. But after the news style
Fox has cultivated over the years, can you blame me?