Customer Reviews

Showdown: Confronting Bias, Lies and the Special Interests That Divide America

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Larry Elder is a libertarian, and powerfully documents his thesis that the country and its citizens would be better off if we returned to the type of limited government and personal responsibilty envisioned by the founders of our country as outlined in the Constitution. As he states, "Americans are good enough, smart enough, competent enough, and forward-thinking enough to control their own lives with little government interference". He provides extensive examples of how most government programs limit our freedoms, reduce our wealth, and usually are counterproductive due to their unintended consequences.

No topic is off limits to the author, the host of a top rated LA radio talk show who overcame an attempt by pressure groups opposed to his views to organize an advertiser boycott and drive him off the air. After all, a Hollywood celebrity who is a libertarian is threatening enough to the ""toe tag liberals" and victicrats; when he is black it is imperative that he be discredited or silenced since he is viewed as a "traitor to his race" in Larry's words.

The book strongly makes the case that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 should cause us to focus our efforts on the country's self defense and should have made us aware of how the involvement of the federal government in areas that are Constitutionally defined as the responsibilty of individual citizens or local officials has led to the diversion of both personnel and financial resources away from its primary duty of the protection of its citizens.

Among the issues that the book discusses are the problems of our educational system, race relations and environmental policy. It illustrates how media bias interacts with the desire of both major political parties to retain their power and thus creates the pressure for an ever expanding role for the federal government.It shows how the threat of terrorist action is likely to accelerate these tendencies. His historical analysis is quite interesting and he takes no prisoners, Republican or Democrat.

I tremendously enjoyed the book, and even though I am politically active and very interested in public policy the book includes many fascinating facts and quotations of which I was not aware. (All of which are meticulously footnoted.) I did not rate it five stars because I thought that at times it jumped around rather than concentrate on facts and arguments furthering his main point.While these were interesting and often outrageous, they actually diverted the reader's attention. Several of the chapters should have been more focused; in this regard his previous book THE TEN THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T SAY IN AMERICA was much better at making his points. At times SHOWDOWN almost seemed more like the transcript of an excellent radio talk show than a book. Also, while I share the author's beliefs in the need for limited government, a return to Constitutional principles, the counterproductive nature of such programs as the war on drugs, and the innate goodness and ability of the American people to solve their own problems and manage their lives, I think his call to President Bush and the other politicians currently in power to voluntarily reverse the course started upon by FDR is naive. We probably need structural reforms enacted to accomplish his goals and he does not touch on these and the real showdown that would accompany their implementation.

Everyone who respects Larry Elder and has similar views will enjoy this book because it exposes the myths of the liberal agenda while reinforcing conservative values and beliefs. Unfortunately the people who need to read this book the most...namely liberals, leftists and what Larry refers to as "victocrats" will not read it, because it undermines and disproves their fundamental beliefs.

Give this book to your liberal friends and watch their jaws drop when they read it. If you can't convince them by yourself, let Larry help you. I've added Larry's book to my liberal conversion kit which consists of books by Shelby Steele, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell and Dinesh D'Sousa.

Larry Elder hosts a popular radio talk show in the Los Angeles, California area and he is known for his outspoken yet respectable commentary on the social and political issues of the day. Elder caused quite a stir a few years back when he published a book titled "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America". In that book, he spoke plainly and directly about many controversial subjects such as racism, family, media bias, the welfare state, and gun control. In "Showdown", he basically talks about the same topics with some more facts and additional commentary on each.

Elder feels that much is wrong with the political and social state we live in. He proposes several steps to remedy the negative situations and they all involve a return to personal freedom and the personal responsibility that goes with it. Elder feels we should rollback the welfare state and return to a nation where people are self- sufficient. He feels we should reject those individuals like Jesse Jackson who extort money from corporations using exaggerated and/or false claims of racism. He feels that a traditional two- parent family is important to the well- being of children. To sum it up, Elder takes a Libertarian stand on political and social issues and if you think in terms of liberty and personal responsibility, you should have no problem figuring out his positions on important issues without even opening this book.

Much of this same material was covered in Elder's last book. But there is one thing that makes this book a little different and Elder mentions it throughout: The attacks of September 11, 2001. Elder feels that fighting terrorists is paramount to our survival as a nation and he feels we should fight with all our power to defeat those who commit these heinous acts. He doesn't specifically say what should be done; how to pay for it; or how to reconcile this "war" with his own principled stand on personal liberty. But you can tell that this event had had a profound impact on Elder, much like it did with other political commentators, because he makes mention of it many times as you read.

Elder spends most of this book rehashing what he talked about in his last book, and this made the book a little less enjoyable than it otherwise would have been. I got a copy of Showdown and opened it up hoping for some new, fresh material complete with Elder's own pro- freedom diagnosis. Instead, the book touched on the same subjects that were discussed last time around, including racism, affirmative action, illegitimacy, gun rights, liberal media bias, etc. The only thing that was really different was the inclusion of the "war on terror" and how it has impacted the way we, as Americans, must now look at the world.

Elder is libertarian, but in this book, his approach seems slightly different from that of a few years ago. Now, Elder's political stands seem more conservative- like he has moved in a southeasterly direction on the political Nolan chart and has found a new home bordering on right- conservative. He still criticizes Bush and other Republicans and he doesn't accept the socially conservative agendas of these and other political figures completely. But it's obvious that he is moving closer to the Republican Party and this has been confirmed by Elder's "after word" section in later releases of Showdown where he refers to himself as a Republican. I'm a little surprised that Elder would do this, considering the harsh words he has leveled against Republicans over the years. But I assume he felt that since he is more of a Republican than a Democrat, he might as well give in and choose one of the two major parties to call his home.

Overall, "Showdown" is a good book, with many sensible solutions to the political and social problems that Americans face in the twenty- first century. It isn't quite as good or as fresh as Elder's "Ten Things you Can't Say in America", but this is still a good book to read for its common sense analysis and its dry, often sarcastic wit. The book places an emphasis on liberty and responsibility, challenging Americans and their political leaders to reexamine they way they view the world and it makes a good choice for intellectual reading.

Larry Elder follows up his first book, "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America" with "Showdown," a call for a return to limited, localized governance and liberty linked to personal responsibility. Elder's not the first to defend the Founder's design, not even the first black - Walter E Williams and Thomas Sowell have been championing less government for decades, but Larry Elder adds a strong voice to that choir and proof that what the Left likes to say about Libertarian blacks, that they are "out of step with mainstream black America," is wrong. In fact, Elder would retort that people like himself, Professors Williams and Sowell, Condy Rice and Colin Powell ARE more indicative of the mainstream than their more visible Left leaning cohorts like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

"Showdown" is a very well researched book. Elder backs up his points meticulously. He chronicles Santa Monica's disastrous "Living Wage" bill that recently passed...a bill that's already cost the area lots of entry level jobs. And the new California movement of "Visitablity" - an ordinance that would force private home owners to install ramps and other means of access, apparently for disabled door-to-door salesmen.

Throughout "Showdown" Elder shows a government run amock. It's a quick and entertaining read and one that'll make you think twice about so much of what the media passes off as gospel.

The Sage from South Central has done it again. In his new book "Showdown," Larry Elder describes with pinpoint accuracy why the biases and special interest groups are dividing America today and how they have prevented the government from doing its most important job; defending the American people. It is a shame that there aren't many people today who have the courage, intelligence, and direction Mr. Elder demonstrates through this masterpiece, and we as a people should hope that for the sake of this country there will be more like him in the future. I have listened to Larry Elder for years and will remain in Elderado for many years to come. Good job Sage!

This book is a follow up to the excellent "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America". The topic is again the various aspects of political and social ideologies that Elder feels gives rise to a continuing "victim" status that keeps minority groups in a cycle of poverty, poor education and a failure to make the most of the opportunities they have. He also discusses the various Democratic policies that simply make no sense regarding the environment and security.

For example, the political posturing regarding the environment continues to show how difficult it is to sort through the complexities and get to the facts. For seven years, eleven months and twenty-eight days in office Clinton kept the arsenic (in drinking water) levels exactly where they had been since 1942 - fifty parts per million, but in the very waning hours of his administration reduced the allowable parts to ten per million. Bush put it back to fifty when he took office. The water industry argued that allowing the change would cost billions, despite virtually no improvement in health risks. (Page 29) In regards to the Kyoto treaty, 17,000 scientists as part of the Oregon Petition urged the US to reject the treaty. (Page 31) That this is nearly ten times as many scientists that spoke out on global warming is lost on those who see only political gain and do not appeared interested in actual discourse.

Elder really gets going when discussing civil rights issues. When debating Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney regarding accepting money from the civil rights leaders in Saudi Arabia (sarcasm) Elder points out something you will never hear from the Left: America's 32 million black Americans are simply the best-educated, best-fed, most healthy, and most prosperous blacks in the world. In fact, if black America were a separate country, its half-a-trillion dollar economy would make it one of the world's top fifteen wealthiest nations! (Page 87). Not surprising that this was a complete surprise to me.

Larry Elder makes some very poignant points on public education, and also about the inefficiency of how our government runs the public school system. The President of the Libertarian Ludwig von Mises Institute describes the data research that shows a surprising difference between the common perceptions in regards to the cost of private schools. "The per-pupil cost of public schools averages $6,000, compared with $3,100 for private schools" (Page 106) The gap is even larger in California; with Los Angeles public schools spending $12,300 annually per student compared to the Catholic school system in Los Angeles which educates over 100,000 and spends on average $2,800 per pupil. In addition home schooling is growing at 11 percent per year, making a powerful statement about the quality of public education. Larry discusses the political forces at work that result in this poor use of public funds.

Never content to avoid controversial subjects, Larry attacks the faulty premise of the role of families in our society. Citing undeniable statistics on the impact of not having a father available on crime, he discusses how the values of the Democratic Party continue to hurt the very people they profess to care about. (Page 137)

Where Larry really gets humming is in his discussions of how the Democrats handle race relations. However, given how much space he uses to discuss this issue, I can't begin to do it justice. However, Larry is in a unique position to balance the "victim" mentality often associated with how the Democrats treat their constituency.

Overall, Larry is a good writer, explains his position clearly and provides supporting information. Of course he has an opinion, and it may not be held by everyone, but he does a great job here with this interesting and engaging book.

It's obvious that Larry Elder doesn't really like government involvement in anything, although he tends to pick on views that are more associated with liberal thinking than with conservative points of view. "Showdown" is Mr. Elder's follow-up to "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America," and you'll find no big surprises if you've already read the latter. His writing style alternates between instructional, expository and a bit "gee whiz." Whatever the case, it's all very direct. If you're open to a strongly libertarian point of view, you'll likely find this book interesting.

In a chapter that wasn't touched upon in "The Ten Things . . ." Mr. Elder doesn't pull any punches in criticizing the presidential administration(s) for misguided interests and federal spending before and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He terms America's self-defense "job number one," and has much to say about what he believes was proof of government's failure on that day. There are also many interesting quotes (both pro- and anti-US) from Muslim writers about politics and life in middle eastern countries.

From a financial/economic policy viewpoint, Mr. Elder gives Republicans just as hard a time as Democrats. He's obviously opposed to big government spending, but he gives many examples of how a wide ranging group of industries can obtain federal funding as a result of war, recession or disaster recovery.

As in previous writings, Mr. Elder visits the topics of race relations, media bias, gun control and "Republicans vs. Democrats" (he doesn't support either party). He takes delight in recounting the news media point of view, and then adding contradictory bits of information that was not common knowledge, almost as if to ask "So, now what do you think?" Even though he's a little rant-stricken at times, Mr. Elder is at once informative and entertaining. He argues his points well, and I enjoy reading about his take on politics, social issues and the media even if I don't agree with everything he stands for.

New Dealers, New Democrats, Nixonites, and neoconservatives alike had better be ready to duck when they open Larry Elder's new book, Showdown. Elder, a radio talk show host known as the Sage of South Central Los Angeles, spares no sacred cows as he sounds off on a wide variety of subjects. Elder takes on Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Bill Clinton, and other liberal icons, rebuts the argument that blacks are owed reparations for slavery, denounces the "War on Drugs," plugs the Libertarian Party, and issues a call for individuals to act more responsibly toward their families.

Much of the book is devoted to the shortcomings of the modern Welfare State, which Elder sees as the root of many of our country's social problems. Tracing the history of the Welfare State back to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Elder cites one example after another to show what a massive failure it has been. Using solid evidence to back up his charges, the Sage demonstrates how the Welfare State inhibits freedom and prosperity. He shows how the government, in its efforts to solve social problems through subsidies, set-asides, affirmative action programs, regulations, and so forth, has actually created culture of dependency, especially among ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups. As a result, crime, poverty, and other social problems persist.

An outspoken Libertarian, Elder takes both Democratic and Republican administrations to task for maintaining and expanding the Welfare State, and he argues that the Libertarian Party constitutes a viable alternative to the two major parties. However, in what is perhaps the book's weakest argument, Elder's case for the Libertarian Party--which in its three decades of existence has only elected a handful of minor officials--is not very convincing.

Contending that Americans can solve their own social problems without government intervention, the Sage calls for nothing less than junking the Welfare State and returning to a federal government with limited powers as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. He presents a plan for a "war" against the Welfare State that includes moving away from programs that foster dependency and cutting taxes and regulations. He would even take a hard look at programs such as social security.

While some of Elder's views may sound rather radical, his book makes a solid argument that something is wrong with the modern Welfare State, and in the ongoing debates over social policy, Larry Elder's arguments deserve to be heard.

Larry Elder has many good points and many good things to say in this book, however, my chief compliant about the book is that he's all over the place and not focused enough on one issue. A large part of his text could have been snippets transcribed straight from his radio show. He often writes the way he talks. And sometimes it gets confusing.

That said, Mr. Elder has some good research behind his message and this book has many footnotes. He does make use of solid logic, but sometimes goes off on tangents that are a little bit edgy when it comes to trying to go full circle back to his original point. Mr. Elder, Larry, Sage, send me your next manuscript and let me proof it for you, please...

In any case, while this book doesn't read with the same polish that you'll find in Ann Coulter, Elder has stepped up to the plate with some strong stuff to say about liberals and conservatives both. Any interested in the state of the union from someone that is fighting against the "victim" state of America will find interesting analysis here and probably some points of fact that hadn't been previously thought about.

The welfare state in America has to go and Larry shows why he believes this same "victim" thinking, using a coined word "victacrat", is fueling the fire in world terrorism and how the Democratic party and liberals in general have failed to realize how the policies they espouse actually make the problems they are trying to solve worse.

I do recommend this book, however, it's written in a more conversational style, than academic style, which in and of itself would be a good thing, but as a writer, Elder falls a little short when I go to rank the writing itself (independent of the message).

If you are a limited government conservative or a liberarian, this book will reaffirm your beliefs and give you the facts you need to support your arguments. If you are left-of-center this book might change your mind. There are many conservatives out there whose used to be on the political left, but often times when exposed to a thorough examination of the facts, changed their beliefs. This book, with it's penetrating analysis, excellent prose, and masterful evaluative techniques, is likely to do just that. The book artfully makes the case for a free and capitalist society, and proves once and for all that there is a deep-rooted leftist bias in education and the media, and it shows how damaging that bias is. If you care about this nation and its future you will read this book--either to arm yourself for debate or to rethink your assumptions about the world.