Thomas Frank ("What’s the Matter with Kansas?") on Charlie Rose tonight

[Bozita]

Frank was terrific on Bill Moyers NOW last week.

http://www.charlierose.com/index.shtm

7/14/2004  

THOMAS FRANK
Author, "What’s the Matter with Kansas?:
How Conservatives Won the Heart of America"

BRIAN COX
Actor, "The Bourne Supremacy"

[ibegurpard]

1. Agreed. This is a must-watch for anyone concerned about the direction

of the Democratic Party. His premise is that by abandoning economic issues and making our stands on the social issues (DLC bad-mouthing anti-business rhetoric, anyone?) that we lose conservative people who would be able to at least overlook the social issues if they felt the party was addressing their "bread-and-butter" issues. They think since they're not getting it from either party they may as well go with the one that agrees with them about the hot-button cultural issues. I don't know if it's quite that cut-and-dried but he makes a lot of good arguments that need to be addressed.

[buycitgo]

2. charlie's not going to like what Frank has to say

should be fun; Frank will tear him up

Charlie was pretty quiet with that guy last night who declared in no uncertain terms what a gigantic mistake it was to go into Iraq.

he wrote a book about AQ and his major point was that the worst thing we coulda done was go in there, cause, as all sane people predicted, we've made eternal enemies of most Muslims, and recruited an endless supply of terrorists

he also said that we HAVE to stay there, cause as soon as we leave, Iraq is going to be worse than Afghanistan was before the Taliban took over as a breeding ground for terrorists

he really knew what he was talking about, and, though I disagreed on his somewhat sanguine opinion of some of US policy/objectives, I thought he was a quite authoritative voice, as did Charlie.

he didn't know what to say to contradict him, though he clearly wanted to

[dumpster_baby]

3. Rose sure is one MAJOR pro-war, pro-corporate capitalism media whore

He disgusts me....

[dumpster_baby]

4. many of Frank's essays are online and linked from his website

http://www.tcfrank.com

Thomas Frank and Micheal Moore are now the leading leftists in America, as far as I am concerned, as least for this summer.

[Bozita]

5. this is too important to be on the second page of this forum

The book and the author are too damned significant.

[Jim Warren]

6. No TV here

Thomas Frank's message is hugely important right now.

Anybody watching care to give a Rose synopsis.

[dumpster_baby]

7. Synopsis of the interview

Pretty much the same stuff as you can find in the essays linked to from Frank's website.
Well, the interview included a lot of stuff about how the Dems have abandoned blue collar workers and economic populism in favor of neoliberalism on economics and liberalism on socialism.

Maybe the best part was when he correctly fingered Clinton's neoliberal abandonment of longtime Democratic economic populism in favor of adopting "free" trade and welfare "reform". Clinton, Frank said, is to blame for the ouster of the Dems from power. The Dems, he said, now have nothing to offer most working Americans. So, most working Americans figure they might as well go with the GOP, who at least offer them something in the way of social populism--> they agree with them on "values."

As always, Rose manages to get in his subtle shots in favor of corporate capitalism. "Journalists" like Rose and Larry King like to adopt a slightly confrontational tone with any guest who fails to toe the corporate capitalist line.

[Kanary]

9. Love that someone is calling Clinton's "legacy" for what it is......

Thanks for the heads up........ I saw Frank a couple of weeks ago on C-Span2, and got very interested in this book.

Kanary

[AlCzervik]

8. I loved the part about how the republicans talk is fake

when it comes to the moral outrage and standing up for the little guy. Fake but it sells.