Would the Republicans be more accommodating on issues like these if press outlets were less hostile? Perhaps, but I’m not persuaded they would.

There’s also the question of whether, if media outlets were more willing to praise them, Republicans should seek their praise by being more accommodating. The cause of conservativism has usually been set back when Republicans seek and/or obtain approval from the mainstream media. There’s a name for the phenomenon — “strange new respect — as in “the press is showing a strange new respect for Marco Rubio now that he’s leading the charge for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.”

On balance, I think conservatism is better served to the extent that Republicans now assume they can’t gain favor with the mainstream media, and decline to curry it.