Carlson's rise and Hannity's stumble reflect not only the current state of the conservative media, but also offer insight into the current state of the Republican Party. "Sean Hannity doesn't have any ideas. He's not a thinker. He's a propagandist," said Matthew Sheffield, the editor of Flux who worked in conservative media for more than a decade, including co-founding the right-wing media criticism site Newsbusters, but has since emerged as a disenchanted opponent of his old industry. Sheffield noted that Hannity is a pundit who is at his best when he's promoting the Republican Party. But, with the GOP in disarray, he's searching for a new narrative -— and that's created an opening for Carlson. "Tucker Carlson at least has some ideas ... he's at least willing to reinterpret the world," Sheffield added. "Grassroots voters have no intellectual guidance and Tucker is de facto assuming that role."