From a reader:
Why would liberals want to read another–one of many,
many–books that seems to amount to, “Liberals, You
Suck!” Shockingly, maybe liberals don’t want to read a
book that essentially argues that we are murderers.
And daring liberals to read it and prove that they
aren’t is hilarious. How many conservatives criticized
Fahrenheit 9/11 without seeing it? How many
specifically refused to see it out of principle? How
many conservatives have made fun of Al Gore’s Earth in
the Balance without reading it?
Me: This guys misses the point entirely. While I refused to see F/911 (I explained why here ), I think it was very, very widely reviewed and discussed on the Right. As for Earth in The Balance, few books have been more discussed, dissected and debated on the Right in the last 20 years. Sure, some people may talk about it without having read it, but serious conservatives reviewed the book and revisited it many times. I’ve read it from cover to cover. Moreover, Ramesh’s book isn’t a you-guys-suck book. That was my point. Ramesh’s arguments will inform the Right whether you like it or not. If his arguments amounted to “you guys suck” I would never say such a thing.