MURDOCH AND AILES RETURN FROM THE RED-LIGHT DISTRICT

Josh Marshall writes:

A number of times over recent months I've noted the importance of the 'Murdoch Primary', the battle for the support of the far-flung News Corp/Murdoch media-political empire.

...it's an overpowering voice in intra-Republican questions. So who gets the Murdoch, Ailes and company nod, is a big big deal in a GOP primary race. Thus, the Murdoch primary.

So who won? It sort of slipped by in all the Newt craziness. But looking back over the last month we can see pretty clearly what happened. In late November the Fox at folks pretty clearly said WTF in response to the Newt surge, called it for Romney and got to work big time.

I'm struggling to come up with the appropriate metaphor for the actions of the Murdoch press and the Murdoch audience -- i.e., the GOP base. At times, the base has seemed like a gaggle of adolescents with ADHD, unable to settle on one object of affection and genuinely seeming to believe that Bieber will come along someday to propose marriage.

But I'm not sure that's the right analogy.

I think the Republican electorate is more like the son of a wealthy man -- I'm picturing a cigar-chomping tycoon of a century ago. That tycoon is Murdoch, or Murdoch and Ailes. The tycoon wants the son to find a proper wife, but the tycoon also travels with the son to the vice district on a regular basis. There, the father not only encourages the son to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, he also takes part; on many an evening father and son have jointly delighted in the company of Miss Donald or Lady Herman or La Newt.

Night after night in these rooms of ill-repute -- and father wonders why his son doesn't want to settle down? Could it be father's own bad example?

Well, now father is urging -- and practicing -- self-control. There's evidence that the son intends to do as he's told and settle down with Lady Romney.

But is the son suddenly expressing a great deal of interest in the prim young Salvation Army lady from Pennsylvania? Or in the older Texan with the strange ideas about central banking and gold?

Well, this is what happens when you indulge the young -- they get strange ideas....