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Saturday, September 19, 2009 5:00pm Eastern
Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party
Chat with Max Blumenthal about his new book. Hosted by our own watertiger, over at FDL.
Over the last year, award-winning journalist and videographer Max Blumenthal has been behind some of the most sensational (and funniest) exposes of Republican machinations. Whether it was his revelation that Sarah Palin was "anointed" by a Kenyan priest famous for casting out witches, or his confronting Republican congressional leaders and John McCain’s family at the GOP convention about the party’s opposition to sex education (and hence, the rise in teen pregnancies like that of Palin’s daughter), or his expose of the eccentric multimillionaire theocrat behind California’s Prop 8 anti-gay marriage initaive, Blumenthal has become one of the most important and most constantly cited journalists on how fringe movements are becoming the Republican Party mainstream.
Republican Gomorrah is a bestiary of dysfunction, scandal and sordidmess from the dark heart of the forces that now have a leash on the party. It shows how those forces are the ones that establishment Republicans-like John McCain-have to bow to if they have any hope of running for President. It shows that Sarah Palin was the logical choice of a party in the control of theocrats. But more that just an expose, Republican Gomorrah shows that many of the movement’s leading figures have more in common than just the power they command within conservative ranks. Their personal lives have been stained by crisis and scandal: depression, mental illness, extra-marital affairs, struggles with homosexual urges, heavy medication, addiction to pornography, serial domestic abuse, and even murder. Inspired by the work of psychologists Erich Fromm, who asserted that the fear of freedom propels anxiety-ridden people into authoritarian settings, Blumenthal explains in a compelling narrative how a culture of personal crisis has defined the radical right, transforming the nature of the Republican Party for the next generation and setting the stage for the future of American politics.
Max Blumenthal is one of the most constantly cited young liberal journalists in America and is regularly featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, Democracy Now and the Keith Olberman show. His articles and video documentaries have appeared in The Daily Beast, The Nation, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, Al Jazeera English and many other publications. He is a correspondent for The Daily Beast, a research fellow for Media Matters for America and a Puffin Writing Fellow for the Nation Institute. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. (Amazon.com)
7 Comments
Hang on people, it’s going to be quite a ride . . .
For others who didn’t see the show, here’s a link to help prepare to ask questions of Mr. Blumenthal.
Thanks Elliott for having him on the Book Salon.
I have heard Max Blumenthal interviewed on air america and hope to make this salon if I can. Scary and insightful disclosures about the root motivations of the far right. Thanks Elliot! Thanks ubetcha!
Elliott and watertiger (and Max B), here’s a plea that there could perhaps be a redo of this Salon within 4 months or so…?
I don’t know whether this is ever done, and I realize that it’s extremely important to keep new info coming in, but here are the reasons for my request:
1. I was intrigued by this book, having seen some of Max Blumenthal’s earlier efforts, so I went to Amazon to ‘preview’ and decide whether to put this on my already weighty ‘to read list’.
2. At the Amazon website, Frank Schaeffer (”Crazy for God”) wrote one of the most extraordinary book recommendations that I’ve read in ages. His recommendation of this new book singlehandedly put this title on my ‘absolutely must read ASAP’ list, because I think that he really knows this subject and realizes how important it is at this moment in our (national as well as global) history.
3. I went to order a copy through my local bookshop, but they have not yet received any copies of this title. The large ‘mother store’ in my region (Seattle) had over 90 copies on order, but apparently the books have only arrived in recent days. So I’m not sure whether the publisher or Book Salon is able to determine whether people are actually able to get their hands on books, but I don’t (yet) use Kindle because I like to support my local bookshops, so I’m a person who has to wait for the actual, physical tome to arrive. It might be worth trying to determine whether any other FDLers have not yet been able to get their hands on a (physical) copy of this title.
4. I won’t even be able to pick my copy up until later next week, so there is no hope of my being prepared for today’s Book Salon — plus, unfortunately I have other obligations for this time period.
5. Frank Schaeffer’s review suggests that Max has been able to ‘dig down’ and see some of the human pain beneath the surface of what is manifesting as an irrational, angry, unpredictable, reactionary, extremely costly whiplash of (anti)social behaviors, reinforced by defiant, belligerent behavior (see also: Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh).
6. Since I absolutely respect Frank Schaeffer’s views on this whole, important topic, AND I believe that we won’t be able to really address and solve some of our economic-political problems without more insight into the psychology and life issues of some of those who are so reactionary, I’d love a chance to discuss this book at some point. Unfortunately, there’s no hope of my being able to do that today.
7. I’ll have to pick up my copy of this book later next week, but if it is as important as Frank Schaffer seems to think — and I do respect Schaffer’s views on this topic! — then I hope that the PowersThatBe at FDL will consider whether it might be worth a future main post topic, or re-do of a Book Salon to discuss this book.
8. Someone please let Max Blumenthal know that he ought to send a very nice ‘thank you’ to Frank Schaffer, because that is really a remarkable recommendation that he obviously took a lot of care and time to write up over at Amazon, and also put his name and reputation behind ;-))
(FWIW, I only know of Schaeffer from his guest spots at MSNBC, and from his writing, but having had to deal with some of the people that he writes about, I think that Schaeffer’s work on trying to unpack what’s driving right-wing extremism is also hugely important.)
9. I hope that other FDLers are able to participate in this Book Salon, and I certainly hope that it produces a great discussion.
All best, -and thanks for putting up with my verrrrryyyyyyyy long (but well intentioned) comment! rOTL
FWIW, note to Bev, Nomi Prins’ “It Takes A Pillage” is only arriving now at bookshops. I’ll pick up my copy today or tomorrow, so expect to have it done by next week’s Book Salon.
I cannot wait to read this book. Heard his interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The Republican party is a disgrace and does not deserve to be in power.
rotl…. Frank was raised under the pressures Max apparently writes about. It was cathartic for Frank to write about them. But to have the empathy of Max explore those roots must have been very cathartic for him, too. Your mention of Frank’s strong endorsement really inspires me to read the book myself, and Frank’s. I heard Max on radio interviews and was so eager to hear more of his sharing.