What this pattern of behavior shows is the existence of what I call the “club.” What that ultimately means in our society is a class of people in the press and in politics who consider themselves to collectively be above and beyond all criticism. The people in the club freely associate with each other, jointly attending events like the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner and other D.C.-centric events, and you are not on the guest list.
Like a country club of yore that excluded Blacks, Latinos, Jews, and usually women, you’re not supposed to speak ill of the club, and certainly club members rarely offer up public criticism. If anything, the club is more likely to circle the wagons, with figures like Jake Tapper (then at ABC News) rushing to defend Fox News against Obama White House criticism. It is just not done.
Hiring Ronna McDaniel is perfectly in line with club operation, just like the decision to hire Megyn Kelly was. They don’t care how bad it makes them look to any objective observer. They hired one of their friends, they like Ronna, they believe that her lies and deceptions are merely a part of the game and that liberals are being scolds to point out the effect this has on the public and the public discourse.