Operation Memory Hole: America's Elite Media Fires Up The Bagger 293

If you have followed the long, sickening collapse of American political media over the last 30 years, you know that after every Republican catastrophe there comes the most solemn and sacred ritual in the business:  the excavation of a memory hole big enough to bury the whole fucking fiasco, root and branch as fast as possible.  Dig the pit, dump the body, quicklime it, pour enough Chernobyl-grade bullshit over the site to sarcophagize the whole thing and then post signs warning future generations of the Dire Consequences of poking around anywhere near the truth:

With that accomplished, the American political media is then free to get back to the important business of mooning over Paul Ryan's abs and wondering why the Democrats refuse to deploy their magic Green Lantern powers to compel Republicans to stop wrecking the place and wallowing in deranged conspiracies and actually, y'know, grow the fuck up and govern.

And so here we find ourselves once again, at the very first stages of the next great act of national Strategic Forgettery, when the stink of desperation and failure blend with the odor of greasepaint and hair-spray.  The split second after the Big Bang when everything is hot and dangerous and the exact shape of the Next Big Lie has not emerged  yet.  It is a scary, frantic time during which members of our Elite Media will be seen across this Land of the Free flinging every bit of poo in their magic bag against every wall they can reach in order to achieve the most vital imperative of all:

Of course there will be a few, notable contrarians along the way (most of whom will not be anywhere near contrary enough to admit that the Left has been right about the Right all along) and they should be noted,  For example, this by Dana Milbank in the WaPo -- 

The lap dogs of democracy who didn’t bark at Trump 

is, among other things, one of the more unsparing beat-downs of Mark Halperin that I have seen outside of the Liberal blogosphere:

...
Consider Trump’s refusal at last week’s debate to say that he would respect the results of the election, a violation of the indispensable notion of the peaceful transfer of power.

But on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the next morning, the process journalists had a different view. “It’s the revenge of the elites,” Mark Halperin of Bloomberg Politics said. “Elites do not accept that that was an appropriate answer.”

Host Joe Scarborough agreed that the issue was only of concern to “people in newsrooms . . . with their soy lattes.”

Halperin (Harvard ’87) went on to say that “normal people won’t care about that answer.”

“Morning Joe” has come in for a large share of criticism for cheering on the rise of Trump. And contributor Halperin’s praise for Trump’s tactical genius has been particularly soulless...

But the real story that is even now starting to unfold is the story of the largest and most cynical media excavating machine ever built by the hand of man shaking itself fitfully awake to dig the largest memory hole you have ever seen.

Here are some of the early results.

It's not the "Republican Party" that's to blame; it's "Trumpism" (from Crooks & Liars):

Morning Joe Down The Memory Hole: We're Calling It 'Trumpism'

"Box Turtle" Ben Domenech at "The Federalist" can find no fault with Conservativism:

The Failure Of American Institutions, Not Of Conservatism, Made Donald Trump Possible

While Warren Henry (also from "The Federalist" and retweeted approvingly by noted Conservative lunatic and New York Times contributor,  Erick Erickson) gets in on the ground floor of what I am sure will be a very profitable and entertaining "Blame the Dirty Hippies" campaign:

Liberals Adored Trump When He Was Winning The GOP Primary

...

Donald Trump’s rise was fueled in part by progressives who cried wolf about Republicans for years. During the so-called “invisible primary” and early contests in 2016, several liberal pundits entertained the idea that Donald Trump was not the worst possible GOP nominee, even if some ultimately changed their minds...

And speaking of noted Conservative lunatic and New York  Times contributor,  Erick Erickson, and the beginning of a what I am sure will be a very widespread and entertaining "Blame the Dirty Hippies" campaign, from his article in The Indulgent -- 

Breitbart and a Liberal Acitivist Coordinated to Advance the Clinton Agenda

By Erick Erickson  |  October 24, 2016, 09:58pm...

-- and from his Facebook page:

All along it seems more and more obvious that Donald Trump was working hand in glove with the Clinton machine. He called Bill Clinton before running. He drummed up Democrat turn out while building hype about Republican turn out. Turns out that Trump is not expanding the GOP and is not bringing in a wave of new voters. In fact, turn out this year is not a record high.

And of course, no matter what, Mr. David Brooks of the New York Times will always be there in his reserved sky-box seat in, dispensing his brand of "Both Siderism"/"A Republican Renaissance is just around the corner" crank to grateful collaborators and co-conspirators.  

Sooner that you will believe possible, some or all of these (or some combination of them, or some entirely different Big Lie) will be mainstreamed into the American political bloodstream,  The Next Big Lie will be coming out of the mouths of Very Serious People on every cable teevee new show and every Sunday Morning Gasbag roundup.  Barrels of ink will be spilled by all the best newspapers to give the Next Big Lie as many column inches as possible.  It will spread quickly to NPR and PBS. And then, probably sometime in the Spring of next year, you will begin to see echos of the Next Big Lie intermingled with all the usual, rambling ALL CAP nonsense you get on Facebook or via email from your Crazy Uncle Liberty, when it will finally serve it's long-term purpose.  

Next Big Lie will be your Crazy Uncle Liberty's next alibi.  His next ouchless absolution.  His next, all-purpose, no-credit-limit "Get Out Of Personal Responsibility Free" card.

And the disease of Conservatism will go merrily along.  

Behold, a Tip Jar!