Stand Up, Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge [Hardcover]

E.J. Dionne (Author), Jeanette Olender (Designer)

Book Description

Release date: May 25, 2004

One 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 The party of Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Clinton, Dionne says, is lost in pointless feuds, outdated strategies, and old arguments.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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One thing all can agree George W. Bush deserves credit for is creating a groundswell of bestsellers in the run up to his 2004 reelection campaign. Most of the anti-Bush tomes of the time are marked by a sense of outrage and anger. It says something that even E. J. Dionne, Jr., a radio and print columnist noted for a generally placatory left-center tone, allows a clear sense of outrage to creep into his take on the Bush II era, starting with the title. Indeed, Dionne's discontent grows more pronounced with each page, though ultimately Stand Up, Fight Back maps out practical responses to what the author sees as the two maladies that infect contemporary politics--resolute conservative maliciousness and irresolute liberal defensiveness. The Washington, D.C.-based scribe chronicles the three-decades-long ascendancy of the right in response to Democratic complacency. The key for the G.O.P. was its "clarity of purpose and a certainty about the moral superiority of their creed." Dionne, however, finds gaping holes in right-wing morality, notably when chronicling the 2000 Florida debacle and the "grotesque" Supreme Court decision that handed the presidency to the second-place finisher in the popular vote. Dionne wraps things up by outlining a program to stall the precipitous shift to the right. It would be engineered by a moderate and liberal alliance that emphasizes fairness, compassion, justice, and the common good. Not particularly original, and certainly there are bolder perspectives on the current political landscape, but by navigating the practical path, Dionne may have penned one of the season's most influential reads. --Steven Stolder

From Publishers Weekly

Syndicated columnist and NPR commentator Dionne (Why Americans Hate Politics) outlines a sound plan for a Democratic takeover of the White House in 2004. He first criticizes Bush's "compassionate conservatism," arguing that most of it, the tax cuts, for example, was much more conservative than compassionate. Indeed, he says that President Bush's administration was floundering until the September 11 terrorist attacks, which gave it a focus in policy and the mid-term 2002 elections. The newfound focus on homeland security not only gave the administration some momentum, it also put the Democrats on the defensive: unwilling to appear soft on security, he argues, they kept relatively quiet. As a result, Democrats were "complicit in the strategy" propagated by the White House and big losers in 2002. Dionne proposes a two-pronged solution: First, Democrats must develop think tanks and talk radio outlets similar to those used by the right because these sow the seeds of new ideas. The Democrats' solution of relying on the "grass roots" only splinters the party into special interests. Second, Democrats must reframe arguments into the middle ground so that the party is seen as being for both government and individualism, for free trade, but with environmental and labor protections. The new liberal Air America Radio network may be one test of Dionne's theories. Beyond that, Democrats may hope that fallout from Iraq and the economy will accomplish their goal without enacting Dionne's solid ideas, which could have more long-term effects. Dionne proffers perhaps the most cogent analysis to date of why Democrats have lost the battle to the right, and how they might regain control of the debate.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743258584
• ISBN-13: 978-0743258586
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,192,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Well-Written and Thought-Provoking Call to Arms June 20, 2004

By Bookreporter

Format:Hardcover

The recent death of Ronald Reagan inspired many recollections of the former President's remarkable talent for disagreeing without being disagreeable. Even his fiercest political opponents found him to be an amiable man who did not take political differences in a personal fashion. Sadly, politics today is played by a different set of rules. To see how the game is played today, one need only start with a current list of some of the bestselling books from either side of the political spectrum. Bookstore shelves yield discordant titles such as DELIVER US FROM EVIL: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism and Liberalism by Sean Hannity; BIG LIES by Joe Conason; TREASON: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism by Ann Coulter; and THE REPUBLICAN NOISE MACHINE: Right-Wing Media and How it Corrupts Democracy by David Brock. These are just a few of the representative titles found in the politics section.

STAND UP, FIGHT BACK by E.J. Dionne, Jr. is a call to arms to those people who, regardless of political views, are troubled by the fiercely personal nature of American politics and the growing tendency to make every political debate partisan. Dionne worries that one side in the current political climate, liberals and progressives, have lost the will to fight for traditional principles supported by the vast majority of Americans. The current political atmosphere, Dionne argues, is damaging not only to democracy but also to important political institutions as well.

At other moments in our history, revenge has been an important theme in American political life. From the era of Andrew Jackson to the post-Civil War period to the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, American politics has experienced cycles in which each side depends for victory more on mobilizing its loyalists than persuading the uncommitted. So divided are we along party and ideological lines that we cannot even agree on what event triggered the current cycle of revenge. Some believe it started with Watergate, others point to the confirmation battles over Supreme Court nominees, and still others would suggest that the Clinton Wars were the commencement of the battle. Regardless of when the struggle began, there has been no peace in American politics for many years.

One of Dionne's core themes in STAND UP, FIGHT BACK is that an opportunity was squandered to once again unite the country and create a better political atmosphere in America. After September 11th, President Bush had the opportunity to reunite the country. Indeed, for a brief period of time, the country was unified. But instead of building upon that opportunity to avoid divisive politics, President Bush chose to divide the country on issues such as homeland security, tax cuts and the war in Iraq. Dionne firmly believes that historians will not judge the President well for his conduct.

But Dionne does not limit his disapproval to the right wing of American politics. Liberals and progressives have both been unable to articulate an agenda to advance their political positions and unwilling to engage in the same tactics that have brought success to the Republicans in Washington. Recent events do seem to suggest that Democrats now appear willing to engage the right wing in a more vigorous fashion. In this current election year, candidate John Kerry has not been reluctant to respond in kind to attacks on his record and his patriotism. Democrats know all too well that the failure to respond quickly and vigorously to these types of attacks often results in defeat at the polls.

Still, strong words and a backbone are only part of what progressives need to succeed in order to once again become the majority in American politics. Dionne spends a great deal of his book discussing tired and useless arguments that liberals and moderates cannot seem to avoid and new arguments that they should start making. He calls these two areas "The Wrong Stuff" and "The Right Stuff." The discussion here is illuminating because Dionne destroys several myths and stereotypes of American politics, including issues such as deficit spending, judicial activism, big government and national defense. All too often, liberals have run from these debates. If they stood up and engaged conservatives on these issues, Dionne maintains that those voters who occupy the middle of the political spectrum would join their cause.

STAND UP, FIGHT BACK is a well-written and thought-provoking call to arms to those people who feel that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Much of what Dionne has written here he has espoused before in his regular columns on the editorial pages of the Washington Post. Dionne is a prescient observer of American politics. The sad fact about most political books is that they sway very few opinions or change very few minds. It is sad because E. J. Dionne offers a wise statement of what will best serve the future course of America's well being, and all sides of the political debate would do well to heed his advice.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stand Up And READ June 14, 2004

By Bumzaway

Format:Hardcover

In addition to delivering a insightful view of where the left and right are today, Dionne offers a slogan the Democrats (and yes, liberals) wold be wise to use: "Patriotic Progessives."
For too long, conservatives have pushed the center to the right and railed against those who have dared disagree or didn't reflexively fall in line.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking the Fight to the Opposition July 30, 2004

By William Hare

Format:Hardcover

E.J. Dionne is a mild-mannered, highly erudite Oxford graduate who pens reflective and intelligent political opinion pieces for the Washington Post. This book is a wakeup call to liberal-progressives that the battle so long thought lost by so many is far from that; the seeds for victory are at hand as long as the case is correctly made.

Dionne tackles the proposition that, because of a well-financed Republican spin machine, which has sought to demonize the word "liberal" and put forward the proposition that those who follow the philosophy's principles are misguided or worse, too many progressives have backed away from the fight and often taken apologetic positions. Dionne believes that any posture of defensiveness should be abandoned for an aggressive campaign. Dionne points out that, while moral fiber and patriotism are trotted out as staple Republican core values, the record tells a different story in instances where tax cuts are sought to please a wealthy coterie of party supporters and traditional beliefs about war and peace are turned upside down by neoconservatives who all too frequently seek to attack first and ask questions later.

A reporter who took the Howard Dean movement seriously from the beginning and was on the scene during key periods of the Vermont populist's presidential campaign, Dionne quickly noted that the fresh new face on the block was attracting a large support base by tackling the issues and asserting hard-core progressive positions on taxation, health care, and the environment. While Dean might not have won even one primary, Dionne was perceptive enough to notice that other more successful Democratic candidates, including John Kerry, began adopting a position of "We're fed up and we're not gonna take it anymore" rather than the more vanilla brand of "play it safe" politics earlier prevailing. By being afraid to tackle the bloated Republican special interest culture the twin dangers of 1) losing voters to the sidelines through apathy, or 2) losing them to Ralph Nader and Green Party candidates based on conviction are more likely to be realized. A solid agenda needs to be projected to counter an increasingly sharpening rightist Republican tilt. As Dionne notes, when this happens people become engaged, as was the case with the Dean movement.

Dionne believes, as does conservative political author Kevin Phillips, that the Republicans have abandoned the vital center. While they attempt to attack Democrats as being out of step with mainstream American voters, Dionne believes that the opposite is true, that the Democrats have the vital American center in reachable co-opting distance, and what is needed is the resolute tenacity and clarity of message to take control of mainstream America at the polls. Dionne argues that it is time to stop being timid and come forward with alternative proposals to a current Republican philosophy of hard core rightist rigidity that is a far cry from the conservatism of Senator Robert Taft and the centrist Republicanism of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.