Four out of 10 Republicans said they always regard as “fake news” accurate news stories that cast a favored politician or group in a negative light. Let that marinate for a moment. They concede it to be true, but they regard it as “fake” if they don’t like what it says.

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But let’s also talk about what’s going on with 42 percent of Republicans. Because clearly, 42 percent of Republicans are out of their damn minds. For the record, 17 percent of Democrats are, too.

And 100 percent of everybody else should recognize this as a clear and present danger. It is bad enough that malevolent online hoaxers make it difficult to tell the difference between fact and fiction, but when you no longer care about discerning that difference, when truth matters less to you than protecting your political turf, you are a virus in the body politic of a democratic nation. You are an infection that threatens the ability of free people to understand their world and make competent decisions about it.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) fired back at late-night host Stephen Colbert on Saturday after Colbert filmed a segment on Capitol Hill mocking Nunes over his recently released intelligence memo, saying the segment showed conservatives "are under attack.”

“Well, I think this is the danger that we have in this country, this is an example of it,” Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News's Neil Cavuto.

“The left controls not only the universities in this country, but they also control Hollywood in this country, and the mainstream media,” he continued. “So … conservatives in this country are under attack and, I think this is a great example of it.”

“I hope they continue to do it.”