The FOX Nation: Will You Take the Blue Pill?

Image from Huffington Post

I've been seeing a bit of buzz about "The FOX Nation," and didn't pay much attention to it. It sounds like another in a long line of uber-patriotic-sounding things that come out of the conservo-sphere, not worthy of notice. But I kept seeing it, and got curious. Was it some sort of recruitment drive? How does this FOX nation fit in with Hannity's America?

And I think I've figured it out. For the last eight years, Karl Rove and Frank Luntz have been busily creating a false reality. And for the first few, it worked. "These are not the droids you're looking for," they'd say, and despite video taped evidence or transcripts showing the damned droids dead to rights, much of America played along. And FOX "News" played a huge role in keeping this alternate reality going. They were well on their way to their "permanent Republican majority," and then a funny thing happened: actual reality hit America in the face.

We swallowed some whoppers over the years, but eventually a huge chunk of us started saying, "Wait a minute! That's not true!" The Rovian Alternate Reality Machine ground to a sputtering, gasping halt. Until now. Most of us are out of it now, but the 25%-ers, the "base" if you will, craves and misses The Matrix. And The FOX Nation will provide it for them. It's a blue pill in the shape of the USA with a FOX logo on it.

Ironically, their mission seems to be "It's Time to Say NO to Biased Media and Say YES to Fair Play and Free Speech." Which is as Rovian and/or Luntzian a phrase as I can even imagine.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, I'm aware I mixed Star Wars and Matrix metaphors, and that I'm also a geek.

[Excerpt]

Online, Vox Populi Can Roar

Biased media are in the eye of the beholder, and with a site built around such high-decibel stars as Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, Fox is hoping to leverage its brand online, especially among conservative true believers. "We felt that giving people a real destination to go and express themselves would give them a feeling of belonging," says Senior Vice President Joel Cheatwood. "People feel they're dictated to a lot by the media. . ."

Read more at: Washington Post