Derych tells the story of his slow and sometimes painful metamorphosis from Dittohead to Democrat.
I wasn’t sure if I was the right person to write this review. I picked up Confessions of a Former Dittohead because it looked interesting. I didn’t know who Jim Derych was or that he wrote on the Daily Kos. I didn’t even know what the Daily Kos was until I started researching the author. After all, I don’t hang around the political blogosphere all day. Hell, I don’t hang around any blogosphere. I’m one of those anti-social bloggers; I do my own thing, quietly and unobtrusively, in my own little corner of cyberspace, and my recent venture into BlogCritics land is as social as I’ve ever dared to get in my blogging.
But just because I don’t hang around the political blogosphere doesn’t mean I don’t have political concerns. I sign petitions, I write my representatives frequently — perhaps more frequently than they would like — and I even engage in peaceful demonstrations and attend rallies for the many causes that I care deeply about. So maybe I am the right person to review this book, after all. The people who hang out at Daily Kos already know Derych’s story. The people most likely to pick it up from the bookstore shelf are people just like me - people who think it sounds interesting.
So is it interesting? Sure is. Not only that, it is enlightening and funny too.
In Confessions of a Former Dittohead, Jim Derych tells us the story of his slow and sometimes painful metamorphosis from Dittohead to Democrat. So what is a dittohead? According to the book’s cover, it is:
A self-identifying term used by fans of Rush Limbaugh. Characteristics include: a belief in the infallibility of Rush, the Republican Party and Fox News; a hatred of all things liberal; and the uncanny ability to deny any information or ‘facts’ that contradict their worldview.
Sounds like my brother-in-law.
Part I of Confessions details Derych’s journey from right to left, and how his conservative political leanings died “a death of a thousand cuts.” He was anti-choice until he heard his friend Amy’s story. He was a homophobe until he found out his college buddy was gay. He began to wonder where all this hatred had come from. His faith in his party, and Rush, was slowly eroded over the years by the war in Iraq, by the strange and unfathomable system of mathematics that informs conservative economic policies, and by the incessant war on “things the Republicans think are immoral.”
Part II is a revealing schematic of the dittohead mind, the underlying fear and ignorance that informs it, how to talk to a dittohead, and how to perhaps crack open the dittohead skull, just a fraction, to let in a smidgeon of light. Over the years I’ve learned how not to talk to dittoheads. I now realize that saying things like, “Wow, that Fidel Castro is really sexy,” and “Gotta run, I’m late for my quarterly abortion,” are usually not the way to go. I think next time I’ll try some of Derych’s tactics instead.
Confessions of a Former Dittohead is a short, easy-to-read, and well-written book. Derych’s style is friendly, almost conversational, and makes for enjoyable reading, even when he’s hitting some hard subjects. Derych has a sharp sense of humor and a couple of times I laughed out loud. There is also a straightforward sincerity to the book; at all times Derych seems to remain aware that this is his story he’s telling. He doesn’t get preachy or tyrannical - he just tells it like he sees it, like he experienced it.
There were times I wish he’d gone into a little more depth on certain subjects, particularly Katrina, which is an issue that is close to my heart. But Confessions isn’t meant to be an in-depth analysis of the issues. It is Jim’s story, and he tends to go into greater depth on matters with which he’s more personally familiar; for instance he does a great job of breaking down economic issues and tax-reform (which sounds kinda boring, but isn’t).
I don’t agree with every single thing Derych says, but then I don’t have to. Having a liberal brain, I am free to free-think as much as I want to, and I don’t have to toe any party line, or mimic the words and attitudes of more famous and influential liberals. One point of minor contention is Jim’s views on social Darwinism. I don’t believe that social Darwinism is the strict provenance of the Republican party. Democrats may not be as rabid in their embrace of it, but in a country where the “American Dream” is defined by a grueling work ethic and an underlying sense that poverty somehow equals immorality, social Darwinism is, sadly, prevalent on both sides of the party divide.
But again, this isn’t my book and this isn’t my story. This is Derych’s story and, overall, it is an engaging and entertaining one. It also gives me hope for my brother-in-law.
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Article comments
26 - Dave Nalle
Ok, MCH. Let's hear your defense of Che Guevara and the great benefits which International Socialism has brought to the people of South and Central America.
Maybe if you don't understand my comments you shouldn't respond to them.
Dave
27 - MCH
"Well, I guess I won't be inviting my friend Billy Polpot to join Blogcritics.
lolz!!! Mussolini Castro Hirohito!!!"
- Matthew Sussman
Huh? So you're supporting Nalle's attack that Che is "not all that good," Sussman? The lady said her real name is Che and she posted a photo of herself.
Yes, I know who Che Guevera was, Nalle, and I still feel your hateful attack on a new BC member was below the standards of a so-called "editor."
28 - Che
Matthew: I'm going to be laughing about Billy Polpot all day.
David: Che Guevara is dead. I promise. I saw the picture of his corpse and it looked really convincing to me so he won't be bothering you anymore. I'm not him. I'm not the reincarnation of him. We just happen to share the same name. I suppose if my name were spelled Shay or Shea or some other girlie crap you wouldn't be having this problem. But it isn't. Che is my name, I'm happy with it and if you don't like it, then I'll be happy to politely tell you where you can take it.
Thanks MCH for the defense.
I'm not sure what the problem is. Should I put on my profile that its my real name? No one else has to. Should I use a nickname? I work hard on what I write and I want it attributed to me, not some nebulous pseudo-identity. I'm not going to change my name because one jack-ass is offended by my real one.
Now if you'll all excuse me, I must run. I have a revolution to organize.
29 - Che
PS. For those sans sense of humour - I was joking about the revolution thing.
30 - gonzo marx
Che sez...
*PS. For those sans sense of humour - I was joking about the revolution thing.*
damn!!! here i was gonna offer ta help...
after all, folks say i'm pretty revolting...
but i digress
Excelsior!
31 - Che
Oh Gonzo, there's too much sweating and lack of comfortable amenities involved in a revolution.
I'd rather just form a cult.
32 - Matthew T. Sussman
MCH: "Huh?"
We were talking about names that mirror those of controversial historical figures and/or ruthless dictators. I was taking a stab at what those intials of yours meant.
"Oh, Samsonite! I was way off!"
33 - MCH
Well, OK, although I do think it's rather sophomoric humor, Wussman...
34 - Matthew T. Sussman
You're giving me way too much credit. And I think an equal jab back would be to fiddle with my "T" initial.
Sincerely,
Matthew Torquemada Sussman
35 - Che
I was going to say Tito!
My middle initial is D.
anyone?
36 - MCH
One thing that's always amazed me about Ditto Heads is hypocrisy of the phoney demi-God they worship:
**Limbaugh preaches family values, and yet he's been married and divorced three times;
**He professes to be a champion of "rugged individualism," but the only real jobs he's ever had were as a disc jockey and a talk show host; I mean, how "rugged" can a guy be who's toughest work has been flipping 45s and sitting on his rear-end flapping his jaws?;
**Limbaugh claims to be a "great American patriot," when in actuality he dodged the draft (using a medical deferment for a cyst on his bummy) when he had a chance to serve during Vietnam;
**Limbaugh constantly denounces government waste, but prior to his success he had no problem whatsoever drawing unemployment several times between firings...
(source; "The Rush Limbaugh Story" by Paul Colford)
37 - Che
Thanks MCH, I have to agree with you there; hypocrisy does seem to be prevalent in the man's nature.
38 - Dan
Sorry, but this sounds like just another fake, I-was-a-conservative-but-I-saw-the-light, conversion scam that liberals pathetically think lends credibility to their delusional sense of moral and intellectual superiority.
Real Dittoheads aren't created by Rush, they're re-enforced by Rush.
If it weren't for the ethical lapses of a leftist infested main stream news media, Limbaugh wouldn't be needed.
Rush's show is one of only a few places where you can hear actual, in context, recordings of liberal politicians talking out of both sides of their mouths. Thankfully, that's changing.
In fact, it seems likely that Rush has inspired much of the conservative revolution that has transpired in American politics over the last couple of decades. Even the gullible, idealistic youth votes that liberals have traditionally exploited are becoming more politically savvy. Which explains why liberals are now pushing for the illegal immigrant and felon voters.
Closed minded liberals really don't understand the attraction. They seldom listen to the show objectively, (if at all) so they have no way to grapple with what Rush brings. They don't get the difference between truthful propaganda and simple demagoguery. More telling, is that they don't seem to care. They entertain this fantasy caricature of Rush as some humorless, moralistic, judgemental, authoritarian, who has no tolerance of human failings.
That's why liberal millionaire puppetmasters desperately throw money down the rat-hole of a pathetically sad, and deceitful, Air America venture.