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53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Left Out! Is an Important Record of 2004 Democratic Party Failure and the Anybody But Bush Phenomenon, July 3, 2005
In a world of war, turmoil, growing scarcity, growing income disparities, and unapproachable and unreproachable governance, Americans today are asking questions... lots of questions.
Today, while visiting San Francisco's beloved City Lights Bookstore, I couldn't help noticing the frenzy of interest locals and visiting tourists had for the comprehensive collection of books located in what owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti eccentrically calls the "muckraking" section. To a couple from North Carolina overwhelmed by the choice of books before them I recommended three: Gore Vidal's Imperial America, Thomas Frank's What's the Matter With Kansas?, and Joshua Frank's Left Out!
Each book expertly reveals a critical face of America that contemporary history books and mainstream news are too timid to examine. In Imperial America, Vidal unmasks how the creation of a National Security State at the end of WWII usurped the founding fathers' Republic, ostensibly ended dissent, hobbled citizens at home and promulgated evil abroad. In What's the Matter With Kansas? Thomas Frank unmasks the secret of the Republican Party's appeal to rank and file constituents who will never benefit-- in actuality are losing-- from the policies their party actually promulgate.
In Left Out!, Joshua Frank takes his own iconoclastic aim at the Democratic Party. For those who labored and sacrificed on the party's behalf in 2004, what he has to say is bitter medicine. In sum: rather than push Bush from the White House, the Democratic Party ensured his victory by demanding unquestioning obedience from liberals even as it failed to capitalize on any competitive advantage it may have had against Republicans in the battle of ideas. Most consequentially, it failed to reflect the anti-war sentiments of the majority of its constituents. Frank writes:
"The blatant narrowness of our mainstream political discourse and the continuing convergence of the two major parties in the US are such that the Democrats and other liberals actually helped reelect George W. Bush for a second term. I certainly don't buy that this election was stolen like so many liberals are convinced. But hypothetically, if election '04 was rigged, it should have never been close enough for Bush to steal. John Kerry should have won by a landslide. The Democrats simply failed to distinguish themselves on a host of critical issues."
Frank puts the leading Democratic Party contenders, their promoters, and enablers under a microscope and asks what in fact did the Democrats stand for? Again, the overwhelming facts he presents are painful. Armed with the records and the facts, Frank shows that none of the Democratic Party presidential candidates were all or even much of what their idealistic supporters thought they were. For those who should have known better, Frank exposes the fallaciousness of supporting unyielding candidates whom they hoped to influence: the ABB, or "Anybody But Bush" phenomenon.
Much of my fascination with the book was with learning things about the candidates that they themselves would undoubtedly prefer to keep hidden from the public-- particularly their unsavory ties to corporate and moneyed interests. Unfortunately, despite Frank's deft expository style, none of the Democratic candidates is charismatic enough to sustain much more than a trivial interest in. The shadow of the Clintons, Bill and Hillary, looms throughout-- a broken and unflattering shadow. Thank goodness Frank has done for us the hard work of detailing all their mediocrities and mendacities for the record. This book is a straightforward record of failure and hard lessons. This is no shallow "feel-good" spin of rationalizations like Donna Brazile's Cooking With Grease.
Joshua Frank's book provides a powerful argument against those that believe that the Democratic Party's chief failure in 2004 was due to its neglect of issues relating to "Moral Values". It also provides ammunition for those who argue that the party be more responsible and less distracted by its cosmeticians who overemphasize the need for Democrats to properly "frame" issues.
Although Frank makes it plain at the end of the book that he believes that alternative political parties like the Green Party led by Ralph Nader in 2000 are key to a revitalization of American democracy-- I would have enjoyed reading more about what became of the Green Party, and more about Nader who appears the true American political hero of 2004.
Also curious is no mention of financier George Soros whose hatred of Bush and influence throughout the election year was widely commented on.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book to every citizen who aspires to never wasting their vote, to political buffs who take the record of their representatives as seriously as sports buffs take the scores of their ballplayers, and to all libraries that care about having a complete historical election year reference. Additionally, it can be read by anybody interested in understanding America's current moral and economic decline and how a lack of real democracy is contributing to it.
Left Out! includes a zinging forward by Jeffrey St. Clair, and contributions from Sunil K. Sharma and Merlin Chowkwanyun. I consider Joshua Frank one of America's most astute political observers. He manages to maintain a breezy and confident style even as he delivers a comprehensive wealth of facts and vital information.
(For anyone who may wonder: the couple I met at City Lights bought a copy of each book I recommended-- including, of course, Left Out!)
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite a Marvel, June 15, 2005
This really is an excellent read. Although Amazon states that this book was released in March of 2004, it was actually just released in June 2005. It is an analysis of the 2004 elections from a left-liberal perspective.
Frank's introduction is about an experience he had in DC with his Montana Senator Max Baucus, and how at a young age he was a stanch Democrat who didn't ask questions, but just went along for the ride. It was only later that he realized that not all Democrats could be trusted. And Sen. Baucus taught him a harsh lesson.
From there Frank opens Left Out! with a 100 page or so section on DNC chair and ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean for his tenure in Vermont and positions on many issues during his campaign for president. Frank argues that by analyzing Dean and his candidacy, which was on top for so long, we can learn a lot about Democratic politics and progressive "change" within the party. This section of the book is really great. It uncovers more on Howard Dean than any other book out there, and I've read all of the Dean books. This is one journalist that isn't afraid to dig deep. And he does just that. The Dean section alone should be enough to entice any Democrat, Deaniac or progressive to read this book. It really could shake some things up.
From there Frank exposes Wesley Clark and even the late liberal Senator Paul Wellstone, both supposed anti-war politicians. But as Frank argues, they were anything but. Frank than goes into many issues so many think Bush has spearheaded: the assault on civil liberties, the environment, Iraq, the economy, domestic issues etc. This section of the book is quite provocative. Frank lays out very clearly how Bush and the neo-cons have capitalized on the Clinton years. I have to say, I had no idea Clinton did all these things. From bombing Iraq to enacting the Salvage Rider law and the Effective Death Penalty Act. It's all in here and really the similarities between Clinton and Bush are astounding.
In the end Frank says that in order to beat the Republicans we must really take on the Democrats for their faults. Because if we don't, we will continue to lose because we are not standing for the issues we believe in.
I really think this is the must read book coming out of the 2004 elections. Frank is a great writer. I couldn't put this book down once it arrived in the mail. So if you want to know why John Kerry and the Democrats lost in 2004, read this book! It makes sense! And it's about time someone did.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you don't take charge, the inmates run the aslyum....and election, August 17, 2005
Written by a progressive, this book concedes that the Democrats failed to capitalize on the ever-growing citizen opposition to the Iraq war during the 2004 elections. After saying how badly we wanted to have Bush out of office, we failed to accomplish this on Election Day because our message became virtually indistinguishable from the Republicans.
Although they started out good (nominating a Vet who later became an anti-war organizer) the Democratic Party became timid during the actual fall contest. Ironically as Kerry was being portrayed as a "Massachusetts Liberal" he was attempting to moderate himself. Unfortunately, this moderation was what undercut the efficacy of the campaign.
When it became a race to see who would not say anything bad about anything having to do with the military, some voters tuned out. They supported the troops, but had wanted to hear straight talk about how the Bush administration forged evidence and wasted taxpayer money in Iraq. With the information that they were then-being given, these people had assumed that the candidates were uniformly alike and/or having Bush remain in office during a 'war' was better than attempting to change course with an 'unknown'.
The main problem was that the Kerry campaign did not clearly articulate where and how it differed from the White House. While it is true that incumbents do have an organization advantage over their challengers, an effective challenge provides strong justification (as did the 1992 election of Bill Clinton) for a regime change.
Then the Bush campaign proactively defined Kerry's image to the voters. Kerry spent the campaign having to tell voters who he was while he should have been able to instead talk about the issues which were going to be decided by and through the election. For all of the 'liberal bias' complaints which conservatives lodge, they were silent because this spin was benefiting their own candidate's campaign efforts.
He also addresses the issue of third party voting as a means for American progressives to effect genuine political change, and (I feel) does a much better job than occasional Green Ralph Nader. A third party would give progressives a better chance at having their preferences heeded in the American political system. Yet, I feel that he too fails to acknowllege that a better chance is not the same as a guarantee and any elected official has to compromise with each other (including members of their own party) in order to pass a bill.
Reading the prescriptions in this book would have been very hard immediately following Election Day 2004. I and many other progressives then felt as if something inside America had died. Because we honestly expected that Bush would loose, those results were especially frustrating. Yet, this tough love is needed so we can stop making the same mistakes and then begin creating the change which we do want to see.
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