Stand Up Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of RevengeOne of our most visible, trenchant, and witty political commentators, the author of the bestselling Why Americans Hate Politics, offers a tough critique of President George W. Bush and the Democratic opposition on the eve of a landmark presidential election -- and points to a way out of cynicism and defeatism. With passion, clarity, and humor, E. J. Dionne describes today's political atmosphere as the bitterest he can remember. Never have Democrats been as frustrated by their inability to move the debate. The party of Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Clinton, Dionne says, is lost in pointless feuds, outdated strategies, and old arguments. Democrats have lost track of what they stand for so they don't know what they're fighting for and besides, they've forgotten how to fight back. In describing how Democrats, moderates, and liberals have failed to match Republicans and conservatives in commitment, resourcefulness, and clarity, Dionne invents what is likely to become a popular parlor game among the politically committed. In "The Wrong Stuff," he lists ten futile arguments -- big versus small government, for example -- that Democrats keep having with themselves. "The Right Stuff" focuses on ten arguments they should start making about taxes, business, and the role of government. Dionne zeroes in on how a floundering Bush administration used September 11 to politicize national security issues for partisan advantage. Enraged but intimidated by ruthless opponents, the Democratic party failed to find its voice on security issues and was soundly beaten in 2002. Drawing on some lessons from the 2004 primary campaigns, Dionne argues that anger and frustration have in fact awakened progressives to the need for innovation in organizing, in approaching an increasingly conservative media, and in formulating politically useful and plainly stated ideas. Learning from the conservative movement's successes, liberals have begun the work of reconstruction. The politics of revenge, Dionne argues persuasively, can give way to something better: a progressive patriotism built on hope and optimism about America's role in the world and its capacity to renew social justice at home. |
From inside the book
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Page 1
... things from what I write. The liberal friend will certainly share my frustrations with Bush. For many liberals—and a great many who are moderate—the sense of alienation, estrangement, and anger inspired by this president is unlike ...
... things from what I write. The liberal friend will certainly share my frustrations with Bush. For many liberals—and a great many who are moderate—the sense of alienation, estrangement, and anger inspired by this president is unlike ...
Page 2
... things came to this point and, in particular, on how those on our side of the fence have failed. I won't dwell on this too much here because the Democrats' flaws are the subject of the third chapter of this book, and a recurring theme ...
... things came to this point and, in particular, on how those on our side of the fence have failed. I won't dwell on this too much here because the Democrats' flaws are the subject of the third chapter of this book, and a recurring theme ...
Page 3
... things—sometimes even when they disagree with me. But my moderate friend's fears are confirmed by the fact that three of the most common forms of e-mail I have received over the last couple of years are: (1) sharp attacks on any ...
... things—sometimes even when they disagree with me. But my moderate friend's fears are confirmed by the fact that three of the most common forms of e-mail I have received over the last couple of years are: (1) sharp attacks on any ...
Page 4
... things and if unemployment dropped. The government could do things for citizens that the market would not do on its own in areas such as education, child care, after-school care, the environment, and worker safety. Bill Clinton's ...
... things and if unemployment dropped. The government could do things for citizens that the market would not do on its own in areas such as education, child care, after-school care, the environment, and worker safety. Bill Clinton's ...
Page 33
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Contents
1 | |
21 | |
2 Hes Ours Hes All Weve Got How 911 United Usand Divided Us Again | 47 |
3 Whats Wrong with the Democrats? | 87 |
4 Talking the Other Guys Talk Why Democrats Are Afraid of Their Own Principles | 103 |
5 Were All in This Together How the Right Won with the Media the Think Tanks and the Loudmouths | 137 |
6 A Fair Fight Why Democrats and Liberals Should Stop Being Afraid | 177 |
Notes | 209 |
Acknowledgments | 225 |
Index | 231 |
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Stand Up Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the New ... E.J. Dionne No preview available - 2018 |
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Popular passages
Page 80 - The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
Page 177 - Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances, for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities.
Page 176 - I agree with JUSTICE STEVENS that petitioners have not presented a substantial equal protection claim. Ideally, perfection would be the appropriate standard for judging the recount. But we live in an imperfect world, one in which thousands of votes have not been counted. I cannot agree that the recount adopted by the Florida court, flawed as it may be, would yield a result any less fair or precise than the certification that preceded that recount.
Page 177 - ... absence of a uniform, specific standard to guide the recounts. As far as the first issue is concerned, petitioners presented no evidence, to this Court or to any Florida court, that a manual recount of overvotes would identify additional legal votes. The same is true of the second, and, in addition, the majority's reasoning would seem to invalidate any state provision for a manual recount of individual counties in a statewide election. The majority's third concern does implicate principles of...
Page 106 - In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation.
Page 40 - I appreciate the invitation to testify today. I am Robert Greenstein, Executive Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a...
Page 33 - Our national resources are not only material supplies and material wealth but a spiritual and moral wealth in kindliness, in compassion, in a sense of obligation of neighbor to neighbor and a realization of responsibility by industry, by business, and the community for its social security and its social welfare.
Page 33 - America, at its best, is compassionate. In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise. And whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault.
Page 33 - In the quiet of American conscience, we know that deep, persistent poverty is unworthy of our nation's promise. And whatever our views of its cause, we can agree that children at risk are not at fault. Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love.