Liberalism Books - Page 2

Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild

Michelle Malkin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 238 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

liberal puerilism documented 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Michelle Malkin first caught my attention on Fox News a few years ago. She was engaged in a sharp-edged debate and her brilliance and impassioned presence were riveting. (I know this is irrelevant and politically incorrect to say, but she is the cutest news journalist on television.) She's an American born Filipina.

Ms. Malkin graduated from Oberlin College, a Liberal Arts College, with a four year degree in 1993; I can find no further academic record so she is apparently an autodidact who has read widely and deeply. Her father was a doctor and her mother a teacher; she grew up in a family environment where political news was the central family interest and intense reading and discussions were the order of the day. She definitely knows her stuff.

"Unhinged" is Ms. Malkin's third book. Don't be put off by the garish and flippant cover; this is a serious and important work. Malkin has documented the rhetorical rubbish that has emanated from the liberal establishment since the Bush (43nd Pres.) years. This is not a book of merely passing interest; it will be referred to for years to come in studies of American politics.

The murderous hatred that the liberal-left developed for President Bush is phenomenal. Its grotesque irrationality went far beyond antipathy toward Bush's pursuit of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. And its expression was not just from the unwashed lunatic fringe bloggers but to trash talk from school administrators, public officials, university professors and other respectable "pillars of society".

Ms. Malkin, for bringing this situation to public attention, now lives under threat of death. Opponents of her views illegally obtained and published her private home address, phone number, photos of her neighborhood and maps to her house on several websites. She has been forced to remove her children from school and to move her family residence.

One would expect Michelle Malkin to reply to her detractors with the same vitriol used against her, but instead she uses humor to show what fools they are. Her wit and verve cast a revealing light on the toadishness of the liberal mindset. The book is a quick read, informative, and thanks to Malkin's humor, quite enjoyable. There are 37 pages of notes, and a useful Index.

Ms. Malkin ends on a cautionary note: "The Basket Case Party has serious issues that threaten a healthy republic. We can help by holding up a mirror. But first, unhinged liberals must open their eyes." This is a first rate book and I highly recommend it.

Editorial Review:

A hilarious proof of the utter hypocrisy of Democrats who fashion themselves as role models of tolerance and civility.

The End Of Reform: New Deal Liberalism in Recession and War

Alan Brinkley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Insightful 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is really fundamental for understanding both the New Deal and the Liberal tradition it engendered. The book's title evokes two prior famous books; Hofstader's The Age of Reform and Lowi's End of Liberalism. Brinkley positioned this book as a bridge between Hofstader's description and analysis of the Progressive movement and Lowi's analysis of the disintegration of Liberalism. Brinkley begins by emphasizing the Progressive heritage of the New Deal. After the conservative reaction accompanying the First World War and the 20s, the election of Roosevelt and the crisis of the Depression brought Progressive influenced Democrats (some former Progressive Republicans)to power at a time when the American electorate was willing to try more radical and statist measures. The New Deal, however, was an improvisation and what evolved was a gradual diminution of Progressive skepticism about the institutions of capitalism. The interest in somehow reforming capitalism in any fundamental way gave way to an essentially meliorist framework with (by European standards at any rate) a modest social welfare system, Keynesian macroeconomic management, some regulation of important markets such as the activities of the SEC, an empahsis on civil rights in the legal and political sense, and a basic acceptance of the importance of consumerism and large corporations. This book is written unusually well and documented superbly. As commented by a prior reviewer, this book is a worthy successor to Hofstader's Age of Reform and that is high praise indeed.

Editorial Review:

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal was a turning point in the role of the federal government and in the expectations of American citizens. Now, Alan Brinkley, whose Voices of Protest won the American Book Award for History, shows how New Deal liberalism was transformed into a new beast during and after World War II--and why it is faring so poorly in the 1990s.

The Emerging Democratic Majority

John B. Judis, Ruy Teixeira

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR AND A WINNER OF THE WASHINGTON MONTHLY'S ANNUAL POLITICAL BOOK AWARD

Political experts John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira convincingly use hard data -- demographic, geographic, economic, and political -- to forecast the dawn of a new progressive era. In the 1960s, Kevin Phillips, battling conventional wisdom, correctly foretold the dawn of a new conservative era. His book, The Emerging Republican Majority, became an indispensable guide for all those attempting to understand political change through the 1970s and 1980s. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, with the country in Republican hands, The Emerging Democratic Majority is the indispensable guide to this era.

In five well-researched chapters and a new afterword covering the 2002 elections, Judis and Teixeira show how the most dynamic and fastest-growing areas of the country are cultivating a new wave of Democratic voters who embrace what the authors call "progressive centrism" and take umbrage at Republican demands to privatize social security, ban abortion, and cut back environmental regulations.

As the GOP continues to be dominated by neoconservatives, the religious right, and corporate influence, this is an essential volume for all those discontented with their narrow agenda -- and a clarion call for a new political order.

Shut Up & Sing: How Elites from Hollywood, Politics, and the UN Are Subverting America

Laura Ingraham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 295 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Don't waste your money!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 27 people found this review helpful.

This book is a waste of time. It has no real substance. She constantly contradicts herself, and drones on and on about nothing.

Feels like a high school term paper 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I knew nothing of Laura Ingraham before picking up this book. Never heard her radio show, never read anything (that I'm aware of, at least.) Though I agree with much of what she says, she says it in a boring, repetitive, know-it-all, condescendingly-laughing-at-the-condescending, smarmy and whiny manner. The personal asides, where she describes those she disagrees with as failed actors or once-funny comedians may work on radio, but in print just come off as mean spirited and irrelevant. We care about the views, not the source.

Besides being smug and pompous, she is a mediocre writer. (And the typos--come on, guys....) Her prose reads like someone who talks extemporaneously for a living. And I don't think I learned anything new at all. The same ideas are expressed far more eloquently by many others. Mona Charen, Daniel Flynn, Peter Wood. Go to those authors to read excellent prose and thoughtful reasoning. This is stream of consciousness blather, a product that feels rushed to market. Books written in a hurry die equally fast. Save your time. Go elsewhere.

Editorial Review:

Tired of the Hollywood Left--and the vast network of liberals in elite positions--who always bad mouth America? Well, so is feisty radio sensation Laura Ingraham--and she has the answers in this pugnacious, funny, and devastating critique of the liberals who hate America.

Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party

David Limbaugh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Some good examples and some weak claims 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Three stars, but just barely.

I thought it was time for a political book, so I got this one and "The I Hate Republicans Reader".
In some ways they are similar; each tries to demonize the opposition, and each picks a
wide variety of areas or topics to attack. They also differ greatly. This one does a better job
of sticking to issues; there are no attacks on appearance, accent, or walk.

There is no explicit reason given for writing the book, but a blurb on the back of the dust jacket
says "Don't ever, ever be tempted to vote for a liberal, even as a protest vote." Convincing you to
take that advice seems to be the purpose.

Some topics have a better case than others. Limbaugh makes a strong case for lying and hypocrisy
by Democrats about Iraq. We do not have to agree with Bush about what to do there tomorrow, to see
that the complaint is justified. Similarly, Democrats claimed Social Security was in a crisis state
while Clinton was in office, but now say there is no problem. Voluntary, partial privatization
might not be the best and exclusive solution to the problem, and it is certainly not the only
thing that might be done to make the system solvent in the long run, but claiming there is no
problem is no solution.

Court appointments have been controversial. Claiming Pickering was a racist while the NAACP said
he was not is certainly immoral. Some other nominations seemed the opposition was claiming no
black or Latino could possibly be conservative, or honest. Still others blend into the political
background. Politics is a tough contact sport and people will get hurt, even decent people.
Limbaugh mentions that the Democrats were successful by merely threatening filibuster, but does
not adequately chide the Republicans for their cowardly behavior of not calling the bluff.

Other areas are covered. There are usually some good examples of liberal perfidy, just as the other
book has examples of conservatives acting badly. There are other examples that come close to a
belief that it is evil to have a different opinion.

You can check Limbaugh's claims. There are 57 pages of notes. Some, however, are references to
opinion pieces rather than documentation of facts. This is a trick used by advocates on both sides.
You can also use the book to try to convince others that particular views you happen to share
with Limbaugh are the best possible view. The table of contents is detailed enough to be useful
and the index is eight pages of three columns in tiny type. You can find a topic if you want to
refresh your memory of one side's view.

The other book is much worse. I wish I could recommend a balanced book that had all claimed
facts as real facts and presented the arguments of both sides fairly, with equal fervor. I can't.

Editorial Review:

With his trademark bull's-eye analysis and common sense, David Limbaugh provides a sobering-and shocking-portrait of a Democrat Party too morally and intellectually bankrupt to serve our country.

The Democratic Paradox

Chantal Mouffe

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Editorial Review:

From the theory of ""deliberative democracy"" to the politics of the ""third way,"" the present Zeitgeist is characterised by an attempt to negate the inherently conflictual nature of democratic politics. Political thought and practice are stifled by a misconceived search fro consensus and the promotion of a bland social unanimity which, as Chantal Mouffe shows, far from being the sign of progress, constitute a serious threat for democratic institutions. Indeed, in many countries this 'consensus of the centre' is providing a platform for the growth of populist right-wing parties which, by presenting themselves as the only 'anti-establishment' forces, are trying to occupy the terrain of contestation deserted by the left. Taking issue with the work of John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas on one side, and with the tenets of the third way as practised by Tony Blair and theorised by Anthony Giddens on the other, Mouffe brings to the fore the paradoxical nature of modern liberal democracy. Against those who affirm that, with the demise of the left/right divide, antagonism has been eliminated from contemporary post-industrial societies and that an all-inclusive politics has become possible, she argues that the category of the 'adversary' plays a central role in the very dynamics of modern democracy. Drawing on the work of Wittgenstein and Derrida, and engaging with the provocative theses of Carl Schmitt, she proposes a new understanding of democracy in terms of 'agonistic pluralism' which acknowledges the ineradicability of antagonism and the impossibility of a final resolution of conflicts.

The Politics of Freedom: Taking on The Left, The Right and Threats to Our Liberties

David Boaz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I agree but disagree 3 out of 5 stars.
14 of 20 people found this review helpful.

While I agree with about 75 % of this book (I consider myself a libertarian-oriented Republican, or a libertarian, or maybe an independent)...

I have some issues with the book:

- I disagree with the entire discussion of smoking bans. The author refers to people who are for clean indoor air as "fascists". This is of course more than a bit ridiculous.

- The author contradicts himself. One example is that he excoriates Giuliani for cleaning up New York city by getting rid of "street vendors" and beggars. Later in the book, he criticizes U.S. cities for allowing "panhandlers". So which is it ? Are street vendors and panhandlers an expression of American individual liberty, or a menace ? He takes both positions at once.

- He focuses on the Founding Fathers' love of individual liberty, totally disregarding Hamilton's love of strong federal power.

- At one point he states that "free people" have a right to secession (where is that in the U.S. Constitution ?)

- I disliked his defense of "gated communities". He ignores the fact that in cities like Dallas (where I live), the communities have expropriated public streets and closed entire public areas and put gates across what before were public streets. So it is not just about the private sector. It is about the private sector taking over public roads. He ignores this. He defends gated communities, saying that they make people safer. But is it real safety, or is it fake safety. Again: not addressed.

- His basic philosophy is: public sector = bad, private sector = good. I think this is oversimplified. Don't I get anything for my tax money ? Ever been in Minnesota and seen the public services there, the roads, the rest stops, the public infrastructure ? Now go to a state that has low taxation (Mississippi or rural Texas), and compare basic services. I don't think his statement that the public sector is ALWAYS less efficient than the private sector is right. Was Enron a good use of societal resources ? Was Worldcom a good use of resources ?

Editorial Review:

Is it any wonder that Americans have become so dissatisfied with government today? Politicians have given us soaring federal spending, rampant violations of our constitutional rights, a futile war in Iraq, corruption, incompetence, and a growing nanny state. Now one of the leading libertarian critics of big government raises the flag of freedom. David Boaz takes on both liberals and conservatives who seek to impose their own partisan agendas on the whole country. He discusses the roots of American freedom, the growing libertarian vote in America, the arrogance of politicians, and everything from taxes and education to terrorism and the war on drugs. For the millions of Americans who don't fit the red-blue divide, who are fiscally conservative and socially liberal, who reject big-government conservatism and nanny-state liberalism, this book points the way to a new politics of freedom.

Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America

Eric Alterman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The bestselling author demolishes myths about liberalism in a spirited polemic

Thanks to the machinations of the right, there is no dirtier word in American politics today than “liberal”—yet public opinion polls consistently show that the majority of Americans hold liberal views on everything from health care to foreign policy. In this feisty, accessible primer, bestselling author Eric Alterman sets out to restore liberalism to its rightful honored place in our political life as the politics of America’s everyday citizens.

In Why We’re Liberals Alterman examines liberalism’s development and demonstrates how its partisans have come to represent not just the mainstream, but also the majority of Americans today. In a crisply argued though extensively documented counterattack on right-wing spin and misinformation, Alterman briskly disposes of such canards as “Liberals Hate God” and “Liberals Are Soft on Terrorism,” reclaiming liberalism from the false definitions foisted upon it by the right and repeated everywhere else. Why We’re Liberals brings clarity and perspective to what has often been a one-sided debate for nothing less than the heart and soul of America. Why We’re Liberals is the perfect election-year book for all of those ready to fight back against the conservative mud-slinging machine and claim their voice in the political debate.

Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left

David Horowitz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 161 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Deeply Disappointed 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 17 people found this review helpful.

I read his very well-written autobiography last summer, and was highly impressed with his erudition and reasonableness. Thinking he's an interesting writer, it is a quite shocking letdown to see this book even in print; it should have stayed as a thought in his head. Perhaps I was taken in by what may actually have been an act, a cleverly designed portrayal of a critically minded man with an intellectual journey but, in actuality, the same ideologue he was when he helped flack for Stalinist Russia. Maybe, and maybe not. What is certain is that this particular book is nothing more than a hysterical diatribe with little basis in fact, if any. I'll give it two stars to be charitable, since I pity this guy.

Editorial Review:

The bestselling Unholy Alliance-now in paperback! Former Leftist radical David Horowitz blows the lid off the dangerous liaison between U.S. liberals and Islamic radicals. With America's battle against the disastrous force of terrorism at hand, Horowitz takes us behind the curtain of the unholy alliance between liberals and the enemy-a force with malevolent intentions, and one that Americans can no longer ignore.

Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help (and the Rest of Us)

Mona Charen

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Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The New York Times bestseller about the harm that liberal do-gooders have wrought on those they’ve tried for decades to help

Liberals from Capitol Hill to Hollywood, from our major news organizations to our leading universities, are convinced that they know what’s best for America’s poor and middle class. And they are equally convinced that anyone who disagrees with them isn’t just wrong, but morally inferior, cold hearted . . . maybe even evil.

But consider the mess liberals have made of education, race relations, crime, welfare, homelessness, and just about every other domestic issue over the past four decades. It’s a wonder they’re still so smug and self-righteous.

Bestselling author and columnist Mona Charen now offers a comprehensive look at the damage caused by decades of well-intentioned liberal “big-heartedness.” She shines the spotlight of truth on the nation’s best-known—and most dangerous—do-gooders, including Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Jackson, Al Franken, Maureen Dowd, Bill Moyers, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Gloria Steinem, and Hillary Clinton.

Mona Charen holds the do-gooders accountable for their bad ideas, and refuses to let them hide from the real world facts that disprove their naïve theories.

“Charen’s new book . . . comes at the perfect time. . . . Her book is not only an easy read, but her wit and humor make it truly enjoyable.”
—Betsy Hart, Chicago Sun-Times

“The indispensable Mona Charen devotes her new book . . . to depicting the severe price that America has paid for past acts of ill-considered liberal beneficence. The array of facts Charen assembles, from crime to welfare to education, is daunting and definitive. . . . To read this excellent book is to receive a keen insight into why America has moved so far in the conservative direction in recent years.”
—National Review

“Following up on her bestselling Useful Idiots, Charen seeks to debunk liberal discourse and unearth the facts that never make the New York Times.”
—Christopher Benson, The Weekly Standard

“Anyone who does not understand the utter cynicism of politics does not understand politics. An education on that subject can be found in Mona Charen’s incisive new book, Do- Gooders.”
—Thomas Sowell, Capitalism Magazine

“Do-Gooders abounds in powerful data.”
—Front Page Magazine