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141 of 172 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Adult Political Discussion - Good Stuff!, May 7, 2007
This review is from: Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve (Hardcover)
Bernard Goldberg sold me this book as I was driving one day and heard him being interviewed. He was talking about what has happened to the Left in this country. There was a time when you could have a discussion with them about the current state of politics. No more.The reason? BDS.
This is actually a term that was coined by Dr. Charles Krauthammer, a Harvard trained psychiatrist and Pulitzer prize winning columnist. BDS is Bush Derangement Syndrome. As it was explained, I was laughing and nodding and it wasn't long before I turned into a local mall and went into their bookstore and bought the book.
Goldberg used to work for CBS. He used to be liked by his co-workers there at one time. If his book entitled, "Bias" in which he trots out some uncomfortable truths about CBS News didn't kill their relationship, this one will.
However, the Left isn't the only group that feels the lash of the Goldberg whip. Those wimpy moderates on the Right come in for their share of it as well.
It is all done in good taste and with a lot of interesting political insight as well as personal. Unless you are a gold plated Crazie or a certifiable Wimp, you will probably enjoy this book. It is humorous, educational and relevant, not the sort of virtues one finds much of in political discussions these days.
That alone makes it worth buying.
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134 of 165 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Goldberg has had it with both sides now-- and it's hilarious, April 17, 2007
This review is from: Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve (Hardcover)
Just finished reading the book. I couldn't put it down. Goldberg dishes out the dirt to both sides-- but for different reasons. Weak, wimpy Republicans and liberals who have lost their minds. The Republicans have lost their drive and won't fight for the very principles that support their platform. They say they are for small government and they, as Goldberg puts it, "spend our money like Imelda Marcos in a shoe store."
The best was the part about Rosie. "Once upon a time she was the 'Queen of Nice.' These days she's the 'Queen of Stupid' ruling over a land of morons who hang on her every word and *actually* think she's profound"
Speaking of Imus, Goldberg writes, "There's no doubt about it. Tuning into Imus in the Morning is like watching a freak show hosted by a nasty Mother Teresa in a cowboy hat. He even looks a little like her."
This is a very rare book-- it's funny, smart, and gets right down to the point of the matter that politics in this country is dysfunctional no matter what side your on.
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Unexpected Lesson, April 24, 2007
This review is from: Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve (Hardcover)
Contrary to the accounts of some others below, I learned an extraordinary lesson from this book. At one time, I considered the debates of political issues between the great parties to be something of dignity and intelligent discourse as fundamental matters were discussed and analyzed. I saw it as sort of a majestic dynamic validation of the concept of Democracy. It could even be dignified in the occasional angers debates engendered.
However, in recent years, I had gradually come to use the terms 'Liberal' and 'Democrat' interchangeably, just as I considered 'Conservative' and 'Republican' to refer to one and the same entity. In truth, I could be stunned at the nutty excesses of the extremes on both ends of the spectrum.
I believe now that there are real Democrats (unfortunately a minority) in the Democratic Party, and Liberals who vote the party because they're against everything the conservatives stand for. And there are actual Republicans in the Republican Party, and there are some extreme conservatives who vote Republican tickets for the same precise reason the Liberals vote Democrat tickets. Somehow, the parties got lost, or taken over, or they just surrendered. What's left is pretty ugly.
This, you see, was my dilemma. I had respected Democrats, but with the new conglomeration, it all got muddied over into a shapeless blob of pseudo-intellectual glop. But now, it is with considerable relief that I can meet a Democrat and respect him/her, but regard a 'Liberal' with the utter contempt previously reserved only for the denizens of the extreme right.
I guess I was aware that all of this was there. I just never actually took the time to see it until Bernie showed it to me. I owe him for that.
Six days ago, it was the 232nd anniversary of an important event. If Democracy is going to succeed in this land, we need another call. Ride, Paul. Paul? Paul? Where the hell are you? Was it one lantern or . . .
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