This is what happens when you create an army of extreme foot soliders.

That's what started in the Reagan era, that is how they started to dominate caucus and were taking over entire local state parties.

Because, yes, they are fanatically loyal, but the key word is Fanatic.

Now, the problem comes when they are tired of being Privates in the Army, and they want to be Sargeants, then Captians, then Generals?

You get Bachus, you get Michelle Bachmann, you get Sarah Palin.

In WA state, they did it, and started nominating total loonies like Ellen Craswell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Crasw ell

She wing-nuttly said at a debate, if Governor, she would adminster God's law, it was a higher authority then WA State law.

After she got blasted, she joined the Constituition Party, basically, the WA Republicans saw how far they had gone and backed off.

And, they ran off or minimized at least SOME of the foot-soldiers that had taken over the Republican machinery.

But, we are a blue west state. The south and evidently outposts of wackos in places like MN are still under the sway of the Foot Soliders.

"It's not liberal to be anti-crazy."

I'm sure this isn't quite what you meant to say, but as an admittedly crazy liberal I heartily agree.

Any other examples of the open mockery of Republicans by unbiased media sources?

Perhaps you could point me in the direction of these unbiased sources.  I have yet to see one.

If you think Spencer Bachus is nuts now, you should have heard the things his intellectual forebears said in his district, say, 40 years ago. At the time they called themselves "Democrats." But they were far more atrocious than Bachus today.

It's called - being white and Alabamian (with all apologies to the 10% minority of sane people there).

The buzzword control tactics used by corporate media to control our minds and lives pisses me off.  I was listening to a podcast of The Joan Kenley Show called The Media: What's True, What's Not just now that addressed the ways the flailing, frightened right-wing newsmedia are creating false realities that actually do convince a number of Americans (including some of us). I guess throwing the word "socialism" around as if there is no difference between a communist country and one that favors social programs didn't work, so now it's "fascism"... and I can't even draw any parallels for that one.  Good grief.