A simple, brutal representation of how the crazy has been mainstreamed: the expansion of the market for right-wing conspiracies.

Just the numbers: ad revenues plus product consumption (videos, PPV, books, live events).

How much bigger has is gotten since 2008?

Glen Beck is making money hand-over-glove…but his success isn’t blocking 20 to 30 other “pundits” from hauling home 6 to 7 figure per annum. And below them are the hundreds of smaller acts pulling smaller audiences.

And let’s unpack the entire revenue model of Fox News, which samples the crazy when it suits their needs…and it suits their needs a lot. Just Asking Questions, hosting a full panoply of conspiracy nutters and haters. Birthers, Islamophobes, homophobes, and an allsorts sampler of people that just think Obama isn’t “real American” and/or is destroying the country.

Then unpack the consumers…how many of them? How many of them really believe what they consume? Out of that number, how many could be dangerous? How many could be dangerous, and could get organized?

If you follow the money—and there’s a lot to follow—you can’t pretend this is about the “fringe” anymore. The consumer base is enormous; there’s so much market share that there are multiple powerhouses that aren’t eating one another.