12.16.2009

Shadowy Bookshelf...Republican Gomorrah

I read quite a bit, and listen to a shit ton of Audible books as well. My primary interests are high fantasy (think Tolkien or GRR Martin, but not the ass-clown Robert Jordan); political history (any country, any time frame); historical fiction, especially barbaric fucks (Bernard Cornwell; Conn Iggulden); religion; and contemporary stuff on political theory and diplomatic wrangling.




A shit-ton is substantially more than an ass-load...
Pic absolutely unrelated. 



Today's selection is what I'm listening to currently (since it's on my iPod for leisurely baths, drives, cooking and cleaning). Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Killed the Party by Max Blumenthal.



With a title this promising couldn't you find a picture of Pat Robertson applying nipple clamps to a goat or something?



What does Publisher's Weekly think?

Journalist Blumenthal documents the movement of conservative evangelicals from the political wings to center stage, delving into the psyches of those who now lead a Republican Party "fixated on abortion, homosexuality and abstinence education; resentful and angry." Guided by Eric Hoffer's 1951 cult classic The True Believer ("Faith in a holy cause, is to some extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves,") and Eric Fromm's 1941 psychoanalytical study of the Nazi movement (Escape from Freedom), Blumnthal suggests that childhood abuse has shaped the personalities of key leaders, including Focus on the Family guru James Dobson. Blumenthal is at his best examining these characters up close, including presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and his born-again conversion; John Hagee, a Pentecostal pastor who lauded Hitler for "forcing the Jews to Israel"; Sarah Palin, whose political aspirations first came to her as part of a religious conversion; and evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, a self-proclaimed spiritual warrior caught in a relationship with a male prostitute. For those who enjoyed Jeff Sharlet's Capitol Hill exposé The Family, this makes a spicy follow-up.  



What don't you understand about dropping the marginal tax rate?




Why would anyone give this radical liberal two cents for anything he decided to write down.

"The Republican Party is a Host Body for the Christian Right and the Radical Anti-Government Movement that's sprouting up around the country. They can cause a lot of damage. They can cause it by repeating what we saw during the 90's which was mass domestic terrorism. It's a campaign against the Government of the US by radical elements that want to change the nature of the Government." Max Blumenthal

This is clear hate speech against a political view and those that align themselves with smaller Government and anti-Government take over of private businesses such as the Insurance and Banking industries. It's one thing to give a contrary view but page after page is nothing but personal attacks against any one of a number of figures on the Right.

Amazon.com should jump further into the book to show how much hate Max Blumenthal clearly has for the Right with his personal attacks on Sarah Palin and others.  





Shadow's Verdict?

Blumenthal's expose is a profoundly disturbing and illuminating look at the abusive, authoritarian personalities that have shaped movement conservatives, and the extreme violence inflicted upon them as children, and which they are in turn inflicting on the weaker of society. To borrow from Erich Fromme, the authoritarian personality is an inherently abusive and sadomasochistic one.
While engaging in occasional drivel bordering on psychosocial autopsy, it is nevertheless an important topic, an under-discussed one at that, and is an important read.





Good shit...four out of five spider monkeys.
 

 

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