Robert Kuttner reviews Max Blumenthal‘s Republican Gomorrah:
Anyone who has followed Max Blumenthal’s investigative writings on the far right’s takeover of the Republican Party should not have been surprised when John McCain added Sarah Palin to the 2008 ticket. His running mate had to appeal to the Republican base, and the Grand Old Party has now become entirely captive to its fundamentalist wing. Next time, it is inconceivable that a figure even as moderate as John McCain will get the Republican nomination.
It is Blumenthal’s great achievement to connect the dots between the truly scary figures of the lunatic fringe and today’s mainstream Republican Party leadership. Along the way, he catalogs the ripe episodes of hypocrisy in which the party of Christian family values manages to forgive sinners for the most appalling of moral lapses as long as they do not involve lapses into liberalism. He also dispels comforting myths about the supposed ecumenism and moderation of figures such as Rick Warren and reveals truly frightening aspects of the teachings of James Dobson, a kingmaker who managed to mobilize the grass roots to destroy political moderates in the party and lead crude figures such as Tom DeLay to redemption.
