The FISA battle is giving me some perspective on how the process of beshrillification unfolds:

(1) Republicans make a series of dubious or straight-up false claims in support of their position.

(2) Because the matter is complex, a relatively small number of people are actually paying close enough attention to know how and why the statements are wrong, and attempting to explain this to others.  Which they do.

(3) The same false claims are repeated, either with no acknowledgment of objections that had been raised the last time around, a brief dismissal based on a willful misreading of those objections, or a superficial “response” that is not actually responsive.

(4) More evidence emerges, suggesting that the original claims were still more wildly false than any “respectable” critics had been willing to suggest.

(5) Those original falsehoods are exaggerated further still, as conservative pundits and other media surrogates play a distorting game of telephone with misleading-but-technically-strictly-borderline-accurate claims made by administration officials. After one or two iterations, putatively trustworthy press sources are routinely publishing claims with no connection whatever to reality. At most, a contrasting claim will be offered as a he-said/she-said.

(6) People who actually know what they’re talking about finally snap and demand to know how the other side can just lie constantly.

(7) Those people are identified as suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome, which means they can be safely ignored.

(8)