Standing Up to the Right

Yesterday's Salon excerpted the introduction to Joe Conason's Big Lies. His argument runs as follows.

The U.S. is not conservative – it’s just that conservative vitriol, back by big money, dominates the discourse. In fact, most Americans believe strongly in liberal ideas. Liberals stand for the things that have made this country great:

“If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights -- you can thank liberals. If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable -- you can thank liberals. If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old in dignity without bankrupting your family -- you can thank liberals. If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green -- you can thank liberals. If people of all races can share the same public facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society -- you can thank liberals. Progressive innovations like those and so many others were achieved by long, difficult struggles against entrenched power. What defined conservatism, and conservatives, was their opposition to every one of those advances. The country we know and love today was built by those victories for liberalism -- with the support of the American people.”

When pressed on specific issues, the conservative domination of the debate disappears. Voting patterns show liberals are ahead of or statistically even with conservatives across the country, in spite of a huge conservative money advantage. The right only holds on through propaganda:

“The right prefers to demonize liberals and set up fights with ‘politically correct’ straw men rather than debate with real progressives. ... Stereotypes and caricatures are the most important kind of message delivered by the conservative media. By ‘defining’ and discrediting their opponents, they can substitute invective for argument and images for facts. The technique is unscrupulous and almost foolproof. It's the big lie, repeated and repeated until the truth is obliterated and the lie is legitimated.”

What to do? Fight back hard.

“Comparisons that involve patriotism and morality, for example, are incomplete without examining some unpleasant facts about certain prominent individuals. But conservatives have been making ugly accusations about their adversaries for a long time, without hesitation or regret. If they don't enjoy hearing the truth about themselves for a change, I offer no apologies. They've asked for it many times over.

This book confronts the biggest lies deployed by conservatives against liberals, progressives, and Democrats. Its purpose is not to defend every liberal position or politician. ... It doesn't suggest a conspiracy against liberals, or argue that Democrats haven't brought any of their problems on themselves. And it shouldn't be taken as a blanket indictment of Republicans or conservatives.

That last point is of special importance to me. The spiteful, malignant discourse that became so common during the Clinton era has done lasting damage to democratic participation and civility in our political system. Although as a matter of literary convenience I frequently refer to conservatives and Republicans, I certainly don't believe that every conservative or every Republican is responsible for the offenses discussed in these pages.

Unlike Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter, I also don't believe that my political adversaries are uniformly ‘no good,’ or un-American, or greedy, or bigoted, or stupid. I shouldn't have to say this, but I know from personal experience that generosity, compassion, and wisdom cross all partisan and ideological boundaries. … I would much prefer an atmosphere that encourages friendship rather than hatred among Americans, regardless of ideology and party.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's much chance of that happy outcome until liberals learn to hit back hard. The classic American hero is the underdog who wins respect by fighting back against a bully. Sometimes the bully just limps away to nurse his wounds. Sometimes the bully wises up and mends his ways. Occasionally, the underdog and the bully become best friends.

But the underdog who dares to fight back is always better off.”

Kick. Them. In. The. Teeth. That's the way to win.

(Link via Daily Kos.)

Update: Oh, yeah. Buy the book.

Comments

[denny]

actually... may i be so bold as to suggest that it's the radicals that deserve much of the thanks... the anarchists, the Wobblies... folks like Emma Goldman, Mother Jones, Lucy Parsons, the Haymarket Martyrs... they were often at the core of the real movement for the eight our day and other related movements.

[Mithras]

Denny-
Actually, you're right. The radicals lead the way, and the liberals follow along. But they do follow, and ensure that progress is made.