U.S Senator Scott Brown. His Book.

 Book Review

Against All Odds
By Scott Brown

Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown has written an autobiography, Against All Odds. Brown was elected to the seat previously occupied by the late Democrat, Ted Kennedy, of Massachusetts.

I looked for the spot in the book where Brown specifically stated why he identified with the Republican Party.

Brown explains this on page 224: "I believed in a strong military and in service, and in standing up to those who wanted to do harm. But beyond that, I had largely identified with Republicans as the party fiscal responsibility and fiscal restraint."

I have Republican friends who say the same. However, if I mention out-of-control military spending in relation to that fiscal restraint, my Republican friends become a bit irritated.

However, Brown's book is a good business card for a rising star in the Republican Party, even if I completely reject the Republican agenda.  Most Republicans writers would be lucky if they could do as well.

(The following link goes to the book at Amazon.)
Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks, and Second Chances [ AGAINST ALL ODDS: MY LIFE OF HARDSHIP, FAST BREAKS, AND SECOND CHANCES ] by Brown, Scott ( Author ) on Mar, 01, 2011 Hardcover

Persecution Politics: The Wisconsin Republican Formula for Success?

Book Review:

Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual.

Michael Wolraich, a contributor to Talking Points Memo Café.
© 2010 
De Capo Press
Cambridge, MA
ISBN 978-0-306-81919-3



Michael Wolraich makes the strong case that conservatives use an oft-repeated formula that succeeds in getting their right-wing wacko candidates elected to public office. Wolraich uses observations of Pat Buchanan, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly to clarify and his ideas.

Quote from page 21:  "I call this movement and the tactics employed by its leaders persecution politics. Persecution politics did not begin with the Tea Parties. It did not even begin with Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. Its roots go back to the 1970s, when the election of a black president seemed like an impossible dream."

Here's the Persecution Politics formula in a nutshell:

1. Present the slippery slope argument. 
2. Expose a secret plot being conducted by your adversaries.
3. Present yourself as the persecuted party.

I would add a fourth tactic mentioned in the book:  Identify the scapegoat.

(Select the "read more" link below to continue.)