The Right-Wing Media’s Discipline Machine

A look at a striking demonstration of the sway Rush Limbaugh and his cronies in conservative media hold over Republican hopefuls.

It’s a degree of influence unmatched by any entity on the left, or for that matter by issue activists on the right. And as the Republican primary unfolds, the consequences of the right-wing media megaphone are clear: the ideological discipline meted out by the pundits is a big part of the reason Republican candidates are sticking so relentlessly to doctrinaire conservative positions during this campaign cycle, and why there is often so little space between them.