Book recommendation: “Banana Republicans” by Rampton & Stauber

[InformedSource]

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Banana_Republicans:_How_the_Right_Wing_Is_Turning_America_Into_a_One-Party_State

The same two guys who wrote “Weapons of Mass Deception.” If you have time to read books (wait, that sounds facetious, like I’m dissing people who don’t have the time; that’s not it}. Reading "Banana Republicans" should be a wake up call to all those who think the current poll numbers mean John Kerry is a shoe in. One chapter does a great job of deconstructing the job the Republican attack machine (which the book describes in great detail} did on Al Gore – the “invented the internet” scandal, the “model for Love Story” scandal, trivial matters that were exaggerated and spread around to paint Gore as a habitual liar. It worked. I personally think these things did more than Ralph Nader and Florida vote chad to cost Gore the election.

And they’re doing the same thing to Kerry, and Kerry is playing right into their hands. The Right Wing (I refuse to call them “conservatives,” neo or otherwise} is characterizing Kerry as a flip-flopping liberal, and there we have Kerry, flip flopping like mad: first he won’t accept the nomination, then he well; trying to evade being seen as a “Massachusets Liberal.” The ghost of Michael Dukakis lives on.

“Banana Republicans” shows clearly how the Republican Right thinks that politics is “war by another means.” They’re serious about this. They are full to the brim with self righteous rage at anyone who isn’t with them, and their sense of entitlement is so strong that they will go to any length to prevail, and if they do … well, I shudder to think about it. Someone wrote somewhere on the net today something that used the term “Christian fascism” and "Banana Republicans" is full of examples of what that looks like.

Ann Coulter, Bill O.Reilly, Sean Hannity and all those people slinging around the word “traitor” aren’t kidding. They want people who are able to effectively disagree with them executed for treason. They aren’t just exaggerating for rhetorical effect.

I will vote for John Kerry, but, as a candidate, he certainly hasn’t impressed me much. I wish he would make speeches like Al Gore did today:

http://www.moveonpac.org/goreremarks052604.html/

[dudeness]

1. thanks for the heads up.. IS

:)

[Eloriel]

2. Gore's speech was awesome

It's come a bit later than I would've liked, but it was VERY powerful, and included things that very much needed to be said. NOW, if we can just get Congress (and Kerry) to pick up the mantel.

Thanks for the book recommendation. Jeanine Garafalo said if anyone votes for Bush it has to be considered a character flaw. I'll go further than that, and your mini-review serves as validation: these people are sick. Truly.

[Eloriel]

3. Kick because

I think anything that enhances our understanding of the Republican "mind" and "thinking" is important.

[Poiuyt]

4. I heard John Stauber on Public Radio today

It really sounds like an interesting book. He described how the Republican party has been taken over by the far right wing, and even though most Americans don't feel that way, they have been able to win elections. Your point of politics is war was demonstrated by all the right wingers who flocked into Florida during the 2000 election and disrupted the recounting of the votes, but Gore didn't challenge what had happened.

From Amazon's web site:

Banana Republicans reveals how the national GOP maintains its hold on power through the systematic manipulation of the electoral system, the courts, the media, and the lobbying establishment. The book examines:

* The legacy of the Florida ballot scandal, and how it has played out in the recall movement in California-and other states, where recall efforts are under way-and in the redistricting controversy in Texas.
* How a GOP echo chamber systematically spreads its views through conservative media giants-e.g., Clear Channel, Fox-and highly placed columnists, journalists, and opinion makers.
* How the Bush administration is loading the federal courts with a generation of demagogues, and smearing the names of legislators who attempt to stand in its way.
* How House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has strong-armed traditional lobbying firms into exclusively hiring Republicans, so that even K Street is political, rather than merely opportunistic.
* How the GOP has equated dissent with treason-e.g., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accusing war critics of abetting terrorism.
* How the Bush administration uses its power to punish dissent, such as the leaking of a CIA agent's name to the press, and unprecedented lawsuits against activist organizations such as Greenpeace.