Pacific Views

The Anti-Coulter Book

Joe Conason is a wonderful writer and a very fine thinker as well. And he's decided to fight the bullies with his latest book. He knows how to explain liberalism (thanks Stephen) and how to describe the lies and hypocrisy of the radical right. In the excerpt published today in Salon, he repeats the same point we had discussed last week about stereotyping people, namely, not all Republicans and not all conservatives are part of the group that is trying to use hatred of liberals as their way to gain power.

This book confronts the biggest lies deployed by conservatives against liberals, progressives, and Democrats. Its purpose is not to defend every liberal position or politician. (It also isn't intended to disprove every right-wing myth, some of which are so widely disbelieved as to be irrelevant -- such as the Bush administration's insistence that its goals include cleaner air and water.) It doesn't suggest a conspiracy against liberals, or argue that Democrats haven't brought any of their problems on themselves. And it shouldn't be taken as a blanket indictment of Republicans or conservatives.

That last point is of special importance to me. The spiteful, malignant discourse that became so common during the Clinton era has done lasting damage to democratic participation and civility in our political system. Although as a matter of literary convenience I frequently refer to conservatives and Republicans, I certainly don't believe that every conservative or every Republican is responsible for the offenses discussed in these pages.

When I finished reading this article I cheered. With his broader audience, we have a much better chance of our messages being heard.

Kos' mail from Joe was a wonderful way to let the blogosphere know about his book.

Posted by Mary at August 19, 2003 03:18 AM | TrackBack