What an excellent thread and you made some really great points that needed to be made.
Many of us were really upset with Kurt Weldon going south on us and you are absolutely right about the msm trying to bury this vote.
My guess is it will be hardly mentioned anywhere. If this story has a life you will hear it on talk radio, the internet and of course a few papers that get it like the Wash. Times and a few others.
As for fox and friends, more weekend programming debacles, plus FNC has been going more and more msm lately.It's probably about selling out for money(more sponsors with a a more liberal attitude in broadcasting-- selling out) but they should remember who brought them to the ball. They could wind up dancing alone.
I think Fox, like any company, is suffering from several things. First, its own success has led some conservative news people, commentators, etc. to be lured away into other jobs or to competitors. That has watered down the conservative content a little. We don't see all the writers, producers, etc. who may have been diluted by this.
Second, the success of Fox has given them enough credibility that SOME of those who were "quiet liberals" on the talk shows now have become more outspoken.
Third, I think as always some people "go native" after they get in the big cities and in the "business" for a while and start to become more "tolerant" and liberal. I can't prove it, but it seems the "Fox and Friends" chat people, esp. the women, have become more liberal over the last four or five years.
Fourth, as Fox takes away market from the liberal stations, there is a business incentive to try to "hang on" to that market (always optimistically assuming you can "keep" your original conservative market). It's stupid, but I guarantee there are some of those types of discussions going on.