So I wondered: what if yesterday’s Message Matters talking points—which had a distinctly conservative ring to them—proved to be the first step in Brock’s journey back to the right? Would Brock’s old comrades take him back? I contacted Brock’s old editor at the Spectator, R. Emmett Tyrrell, to find out.

It turns out that while the 1990s were a long time ago, the memory of Brock’s betrayal is still vivid for Tyrrell. He quoted E.M. Forster—“If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country”—and suggested that he thought Brock had done both. “His mind operates a little different than yours or mine,” he added.

In short, Tyrrell did not think Brock would be welcomed back into the conservative mainstream. But Brock shouldn’t worry. Even if mainstream conservative groups won’t have him, he apparently already has his own right-wing outlet: Media Matters Action Network. Which, please bear in mind, has a separate editorial process from those liberals at Media Matters for America.