No end in sight for political insult books

The Washington Post had an interesting article about the rise and dominance of polemic books — those partisan attacks that accuse political opponents of being “traitors” or “lying liars” or of having a “mental disorder.” I had thought that this trend would have played out by now, or that they would have run out of insults to put in the book titles. But there is no end in sight.
“What people respond to in this culture is loud and brash and pointed and sometimes vulgar — that’s what gets people’s attention, on TV and radio and in books," Judith Regan, who has published books by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Moore told The Times. “Shades-of-gray books are very difficult to sell.”
That’s discouraging news for those of us who think that answers — or at least political solutions — are usually found somewhere between the extremes.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

7 Comments

  1. Brian
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 3:59 am | Permalink

    You just have to look through threads on this site to see that reasoned, respectful, debate is quite a rarity.

    I try very hard to present a reasoned case for my positions; I try to persuade by a preponderance of evidence; I try to be open to reasoned, persuasive thinking in return. However, I plead guilty to insulting, mocking, hatespeak on occasion. There’s no excuse for it; in my defense, however, I usually only “lose it” when such speech has been visited upon me.

    It’s beneath all of us to participate in this behavior and further coarsen a culture that’s already coarser than 180 grit sandpaper. It doesn’t become us or reflect well on us. I hope to do better.

  2. Joe Williams
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 5:32 am | Permalink

    I don’t read the books, but I often listen to them on the radio. That’s because I’m on the road constantly and all I have is a radio in the company vechile.

    I find them very comical though. It is entertainment more than anything and its a business more than public debate. I think its fine!

  3. J W`Walker
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 5:56 am | Permalink

    All one has to do is read the blogs posted here to realize the “extremes” are rampant. The “grey” people, if you will, must be laughing their heads off.

  4. TRACY
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 7:01 am | Permalink

    Brian I like your honesty.I’m middle road on most things, but have ocassionally resorted to the very things you mention.It seems some bloggers whole reason for existing is to attempt to provoke other people. Hell I’ve even been blasted for being moderate. Don’t you just love it when some whacko calls you names and then wants you to look at their links and come over to their extreme side of the world.Flame wars from the dark side.I try not to respond to the blog’s equivalent of Darth Vader.

  5. Damoon
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 9:29 am | Permalink

    It’s amazing how polarized our country has become and it’s largely due to the propaganda and hysterics spread by the right and left wing extremists. It would be so refreshing to have respectable honest discussions without the defensiveness and insults, but humans being what we are, we often see any questioning of our opinions or beliefs as a threat. It’s all ego driven and I’m as guilty as anyone.

  6. Galahad
    Posted November 9, 2005 at 3:30 pm | Permalink

    I hate the “even tone” of these blogs. As if the tiny Air America is equivalent to the giant Rush Limbaugh Faux News empires.

    What the smear-liars did to John Kerry’s war record is the absolute nadir of hate politics. The Republicans can never go any lower than that.

    Their punishment is four more years of George W. Bush.

  7. Damoon
    Posted November 10, 2005 at 9:27 am | Permalink

    Consequences can be hell. To bad the rest of us have suffer along with them.