This is the first in a series of posts about the state of the Republican Party following their defeat in last month's elections.  How will the GOP respond to a crushing loss to a vulnerable White House incumbent that the party expended enourmous energy and resources to defeat?

Most observers agree that right-wing media has played a big role in creating the current state of the GOP.  Here is a comment from a reader on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Beast blog The Daily Dish.

To those that argue an equivalence between Fox News and MSNBC, here's a thought experiment. Think about the first debate between Romney and Obama. Afterwards, Chris Matthews and just about every MSNBC personality within ten feet of a microphone berated Obama for his woeful performance. If Romney had tanked like that, do you think you would have seen Hannity and O'Reilly pummeling him on their shows? Of course not. And we know this because after Romeny's 47% incident, Fox News was simply a mouthpiece for the Romney campaign, using up its air-time to either downplay the comments or defend them.

Another reader comments on the relationship between the party and Fox.

The major distinction in my mind is the enormous power and influence wielded by Fox News. Fox is often said to be driven by or controlled by the GOP but it's really the other way around; Fox is doing the driving and controlling of the both party and of its base. MSNBC hasn't got a fraction of that kind of influence.