In his book, South Park Republicans, Brian Anderson describes conservatism that is evolving and changing as new and younger generation redefines conservatism for a new century. Anderson explains the cultural war that is going on and within that context, he shows that conservatives are not the mere caricature often painted by the left but serious thinkers who is defining America even as they debate among themselves.
The book is about the conservative revolt against the prevailing liberal media bias but between the lines, you can see that there is a deeper battle ensuing. Anderson notes that a new era is upon us and this was demonstrated when conservatives forced CBS to cancel the mini-series Reagan. As Anderson wrote, “Ten years earlier, CBS would have happily aired the libelous series… Thanks to the remarkable transformation I mass communications and culture that this book chronicles, such left wing humbug no longer gets a free pass.”
As this episode showed, conservatism has developed a sizable media presence of its own. On the Internet, cable television, talk radio, print media and even in movies; conservatives are now successfully challenging leftist orthodoxy and changing the perceptive of what conservatism is.
There is a liberal bias among the mainstream media and has been for the past several decades. Hiding behind “impartially”, the major networks along with the print media determined what news was seen and what ideas were promulgated. Research has long demonstrated this bias. Since the 70’s, surveys have shown that journalists of the major media centers voted overwhelming for Democratic candidates and held liberal ideas. The retort has always been, “We may be liberal but we keep our views to ourselves when reporting.” Of course, this was not true, either. Surveys after surveys showed that Republicans often gained more negative coverage than Democrats. The last election was no different as CBS attempted to make news a story based on forged documents and lies. In this case, there was a sizable conservative media that challenged the falsehoods and put conservative ideas on an even plane in the political debate.
Anderson details the irrationally of the left when debating the right. Words like "racist," :mean-spirited," "sexist" and "insensitive" are often used when describing conservatives. As Anderson notes, it is easy to use derogative terms than deal with the ideas behind the other side. Anderson view these attacks as illiberal as he notes, “Democracy requires a willingness to engage the arguments of those you disagree, recognizing their equality as citizens… By calling someone a racist or a bigot says that his ideas have no place in the democratic public square.”
Anderson also takes on the idea that the right is extremism. Anderson quotes columnist Charles Krauthammer, “In a country so divided on these issues, can one seriously argue that opposing abortion and racial preferences is proof of extremism? It would indeed if the minority of Americans who believe in racial preferences and the minority who believe in abortion-on-demand were to define the American mainstream.” The reality is that conservative candidates over the past three decades have obtain more votes than their liberal counterparts, so the idea that conservatives are extreme is laughable but yet held as Gospel truth by those on the left. Call it the Pauline Kael rule. Ms. Kael was a social critic, who after the Nixon landslide, wonder how Nixon could have won since she knew no one who voted for him. I suspect that after each Republican victory, many liberals ask the same question, “ How did this guy (fill in the blank) win since I don’t know anyone who voted for him?
Article comments
1 - Harvard Irving
This isn't a book review, it's political posturing.