"One of the Republican right's most successful inventions has been liberal media bias. Even as the "mainstream" press has trended rightward, the liberal bias trope has had two big advantages in keeping the party faithful, well, faithful. First, it allowed devotees to reject any and all information at odds with GOP dogma. Second, it preserved the sense of victimization essential to the right-wing worldview.

"In reality, the Washington political media has been functionally pro-Republican for years. The so-called "Gang of 500" long ago abandoned journalistic ethics for those of the entertainment industry. They're celebrities, and as such, would-be insiders and front-runners. Another way of putting it would be that no matter who you vote for, you get the same talking heads on television.

"Liberal media? During the Clinton administration, this cohort flogged the make-believe "Whitewater" scandal for years. They went hysterical over Bill Clinton's sexual sins, flogged false derogatory stories about Al Gore during the 2000 election (invented the Internet, "Love Story," etc.), then buried their own recount showing that had all the Florida votes been counted, he'd have won."

There are few more seductive notions than that of being a victim. It excuses all manner of failings, errors, and mistakes while it blocks learning form them. People do no give up victim status without a fight, and then they still won't give it up.

Eg, Conservatives of the last 8 years. Had everything their way, and even so have been stymied at every turn by the media.

Arf