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Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative
by David Brock
A right-wing conservative writer comes out of the closet and into the light.
I am a recovering conservative. Maybe that is why this book affected me as
much as it did. When a friend of mine suggested I read it ... and told me ahead of time it would make me mad ... I set it aside for a day or two to make certain I wanted to discover the contents. I did.
Journalist David Brock begins by discussing his early liberal leanings and goes on to chronicle his fervent backing of the right-wing conspiracy. He tells about his years as a high-powered writer for The American Spectator, a far-right magazine. Brock eventually writes the book, The Real Anita Hill, a character assassination of the woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. It is a best seller among conservatives.
After his success with The Real Anita Hill and his article on “Troopergate,” an attempt to get the goods on Bill Clinton by probing Arkansas state troopers for incriminating information, he becomes disenchanted with his writing ... and with himself. As a closet homosexual in the camp of holier-than-thou homophobe conservatives, he is always fearful of discovery. Brock's constant smut searches leave him out of touch with his own beliefs. He has become a right-wing whore.
Brock writes The Seduction of Hillary Rodham as an attempt to regain balance
in his writing and in his life. His conservative friends and fellow writers reject him as a turncoat. It is Brock's turning point. The very rejection he incurs from the book's publication enables the blinders to fall from his eyes.
This book is both telling and sad. Brock finds comfort with a group of people that will never accept him and writes hearsay as fact, bastardizing his own journalistic profession.
Brock's writing is not boring. He debunks many of the rumors about the Clintons and shows how the underbelly of the conservative right wing works. He takes on Gingrich, Limbaugh, Falwell and the entire gang. If you want to know if there is truly a right-wing agenda, read this book and decide for yourself.
Title: Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative
Author: David Brock
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 1400047285
Review written by: Mindy Phillips Lawrence
Reviewer's Rating:9
Reader's Rating: 5.00
Reader's Votes: 2
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