Forman on TPM: “The Dumbing Down of American Politics”

Aaron Keyak — March 17, 2009 – 11:37 am | Barack Obama | Democrats | Israel | Republicans | Stop the Smears Comments (0) Add a comment

Today, Ira N. Forman’s piece, “The Dumbing Down of American Politics,” is being featured on TPM Cafe.

An excerpt:

A handful of articles that I read recently have caused me to worry about how we are conducting our politics in the first decade of the 21st century. These pieces illustrate how the right and the extreme left are degrading the way we communicate with citizens in our democracy.

The first article was written by a young, allegedly rising Jewish Republican elected official, State Representative Adam Hasner of Delray Beach, FL. The first sign that this essay was not, shall we say, “enlightening,” was the publication in which it appeared, The American Thinker. The Thinker is one of those hard-edged, right-wing web sites that specializes in flinging filth. It is a publication that has turned the concepts of lying and distortion into art forms.

The Hasner essay, “Obama: Pro-Israel talk, anti-Israel walk,” includes so many stunning distortions, half-truths and outright falsehoods, it is hard to know which ones to highlight. Hasner’s main argument is “Israel and the Jewish People now face” a “growing threat” in Barack Obama’s presidency. He then proceeds to “prove” that Obama is a threat by charging the president with a series of misdeeds. Each charge is more ridiculous than the one that precedes it.

A comment on TPM:

Your post is a welcome breath of fresh air. There are perhaps a half dozen or so regular Middle East-focused posters here, refugees of a sort, who subscribe neither to the Stephen Walt or Adam Hasner view of the world. We are generally referred to, implicitly and often otherwise, as neocons, or likudniks, or Israel Firsters. Heck, around these parts, Stephen Walt is some brave dragon slayer, as opposed to the formerly boring professer who has now marketed himself into fame and a little fortune with an ingenious marketing strategy that would make Madison Avenue and Hudson Street advertising and public relations gurus proud. It is nice to see a visit from someone from the real world…

Click here to read the rest of Forman’s post and here to see the remainder of the comment.

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