the first republican presidential deindicate this year which was a fiasco was hosted by the south carolina republican party and the fox news channel. when fox news contributor turned republican presidential candidate rick santorum announced he was unofficially stepping into the race, where did he do that announcing? on the fox news channel of course. if they do not have fox news in their corner, there s no way forward for them through republican politics. fox news is not just a gate keeper of republican legitimacy, fox news is a maker in republican politics. fox news hasn t been around forever. fox news has only been around since 1996. before 1996 they were king makers in republican presidential politics, but they weren t necessarily media organization. they were conservative activist. conservative movement power brokers like this guy. this was the cover of time magazine 16 years ago this week. the typically understated magazine cover headline, the right hand of god. that a