I think the idea that the Conservative cult media is torpedoing any chances of a Republican President in 2012 is premature.

Yes, far-right fundies make up a minority of the electorate. Yes, screwing unions and a majority of working-class people in general should turn them against you. Yes, incumbents are hard to unseat, especially when centrist and reasonable.

But do not underestimate the power of hate. Seriously, follow cult media just for a bit. Watch FOX, listen to the radio when you’re not watching, read the blogs when you’re not listening. That’s what their followers do. And it is an endless barrage of hate. An assault of sound and fury that is so immersive, so disorienting, and so unceasing that the human psyche will wither and blow away before long. Hate liberals, hate Obama, hate foreigners, hate others, hate them, hate hate hate. And it is addictive beyond measure. No matter how hard you shaft someone, if you can make them hate the other guy more, they will happily vote against their best interests time and again. And they will thank you for hurting them, and making them vote against their best interests, because the single most important thing to them is how much they hate.

No, not every Republican voter will be a hate cultist. But it’s not just about making the majority into cultists - that’s not possible. It’s about repetition, and having hate trickle into the public sphere. I have not talked to anyone in a long while who does not believe at least one of the cultie lies. They may not believe in most of them, but they always believe at least one. And in the American political system, it’s not about winning a majority. It’s about having your people so monomanic that they show up, and ensuring that everyone else is ambivalent enough not to show. You don’t have to become a cultist to not vote. You just have to be ambivalent, and comfortable, and have doubts because of whatever lie you heard.

The best hope is that FOX and the cult media don’t really seek political power - that it’s not part of their calculus. Because there is definite benefit to them to have an angry, disenfranchised cult base, and thus losing in 2012 may be their preference. The media is the most powerful element in America, bar none. And these days, the entire media narrative is driven by the cult media. Scoff at this at your peril.