I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but the modern right-wing neoconservative media onslaught many of you have grown up with has its roots in one man: Richard Scaife.

The saga of the destruction of modern media is best relayed in Joe Conason & Gene Lyons' book (and movie) The Hunting of the President:

Hilary Clinton was resoundingly mocked for decrying a "vast right-wing conspiracy" while her husband was in office. As it turns out, she underestimated the efforts made against the Clintons. Hunting of the President and Republican Noise Machine both document the same subject, from opposing sides of the battle... the difference is, David Brock was so disgusted by his efforts that he switched sides.

And all of it was bankrolled by Richard Scaife.

These days, it's fashionable to piss all over the Koch brothers. People don't realize that without the trailblazing of Richard Scaife, the Koches never would have been able to gain a toehold.

I only hope it was painful.