From Booklist
*Starred Review* Despite its inflammatory title, this book offers a thoughtful exploration of the vitriol of conservative commentators in the media and their effect on the broader society. Spence, an attorney who has represented Karen Silkwood and Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge fame, lambastes Nancy Grace, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and other conservative commentators. While they attack liberals and others with whom they disagree, they don't dare attack their corporate sponsors, who commit all manner of misdeeds. Spence cites troubling parallels between the propaganda of Fascist Mussolini and Nazi Hitler and what he calls "corporacy," the growing corporate ownership and control of the media and American thought and discourse. Spence also attacks "thingism," the unbridled lust for products that enslaves Americans with debt, tying them to unfulfilling jobs, stoking constant fear and anger that are fed by the conservative commentators. Hate sells, Spence laments, in this stinging rebuke of the hypocrisy of commentators who cash in on the frustrations of average Americans without regard for the longer term consequences. Spence's passion should appeal to a broad range of readers concerned about the current political environment.
Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
Ann Coulter. Laura Ingraham. Nancy Grace. Bill O'Reilly. Sean Hannity. Pat Robertson.
Their faces and voices are ubiquitous: the shrill shrieks and strident bellowings that drown out all debate and set every listener on edge, using God’s and Jesus’s names to justify oppression and ignorance, and spread falsehoods as if they were facts. They occupy the bully pulpit of the new American hate culture: the television and radio programs watched and heard by millions of people that shape the opinions and set the agendas of churches, school boards, political action groups, and ultimately those we have elected to represent all of us.
Gerry Spence takes dead aim at the media demagogues who wield their power with such virulent effect. Using the full force of his own rhetorical skill—developed through decades as a legendary defense attorney—Spence exposes the people behind the words, and carves their arguments with the rough edge of his tongue. Anyone who has had it up to here will cheer to see these bullies met and conquered on their own turf.
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