Why We are Liberals

"Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook for Post-Bush America" (Eric Alterman)

Eric Alterman has a new book coming out, Why We Are Liberals. Worth looking into, if not reading.

I'm told by friends that Amazon, BN.com, Powell's, etc., have started shipping out Why We're Liberals, and its official pub date is Monday. There is a review in this week's New York Times Book Review which believe it or not, criticizes me from my left. There's also one in The New York Observer, which are the only two I've seen. Both are more critical than positive. But both are serious and respectful of the endeavor, and so for now, at least, I'm not going to whine about them.

[From Media Matters - I'll go back to black ... ]

With a bonus Tom Tomorrow cartoon cover.

Thanks to the machinations of the right, there is no dirtier word in American politics today than “liberal”—yet public opinion polls consistently show that the majority of Americans hold liberal views on everything from health care to foreign policy. In this feisty, accessible primer, bestselling author Eric Alterman sets out to restore liberalism to its rightful honored place in our political life as the politics of America’s everyday citizens.

In Why We’re Liberals Alterman examines liberalism’s development and demonstrates how its partisans have come to represent not just the mainstream, but also the majority of Americans today. In a crisply argued though extensively documented counterattack on right-wing spin and misinformation, Alterman briskly disposes of such canards as “Liberals Hate God” and “Liberals Are Soft on Terrorism,” reclaiming liberalism from the false definitions foisted upon it by the right and repeated everywhere else. Why We’re Liberals brings clarity and perspective to what has often been a one-sided debate for nothing less than the heart and soul of America. Why We’re Liberals is the perfect election-year book for all of those ready to fight back against the conservative mud-slinging machine and claim their voice in the political debate