Product Description

One of our most visible, trenchant, and witty political commentators, the author of the bestselling Why Americans Hate Politics, offers a tough critique of President George W. Bush and the Democratic opposition on the eve of a landmark presidential election -- and points to a way out of cynicism and defeatism.

With passion, clarity, and humor, E. J. Dionne describes today's political atmosphere as the bitterest he can remember. Never have Democrats been as frustrated by their inability to move the debate. The party of Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Clinton, Dionne says, is lost in pointless feuds, outdated strategies, and old arguments. Democrats have lost track of what they stand for so they don't know what they're fighting for and besides, they've forgotten how to fight back.

In describing how Democrats, moderates, and liberals have failed to match Republicans and conservatives in commitment, resourcefulness, and clarity, Dionne invents what is likely to become a popular parlor game among the politically committed. In "The Wrong Stuff," he lists ten futile arguments -- big versus small government, for example -- that Democrats keep having with themselves. "The Right Stuff" focuses on ten arguments they should start making about taxes, business, and the role of government.

Dionne zeroes in on how a floundering Bush administration used September 11 to politicize national security issues for partisan advantage. Enraged but intimidated by ruthless opponents, the Democratic party failed to find its voice on security issues and was soundly beaten in 2002.

Drawing on some lessons from the 2004 primary campaigns, Dionne argues that anger and frustration have in fact awakened progressives to the need for innovation in organizing, in approaching an increasingly conservative media, and in formulating politically useful and plainly stated ideas. Learning from the conservative movement's successes, liberals have begun the work of reconstruction.

The politics of revenge, Dionne argues persuasively, can give way to something better: a progressive patriotism built on hope and optimism about America's role in the world and its capacity to renew social justice at home.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1276060 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Amazon.com Review
One thing all can agree George W. Bush deserves credit for is creating a groundswell of bestsellers in the run up to his 2004 reelection campaign. Most of the anti-Bush tomes of the time are marked by a sense of outrage and anger. It says something that even E. J. Dionne, Jr., a radio and print columnist noted for a generally placatory left-center tone, allows a clear sense of outrage to creep into his take on the Bush II era, starting with the title. Indeed, Dionne's discontent grows more pronounced with each page, though ultimately Stand Up, Fight Back maps out practical responses to what the author sees as the two maladies that infect contemporary politics--resolute conservative maliciousness and irresolute liberal defensiveness. The Washington, D.C.-based scribe chronicles the three-decades-long ascendancy of the right in response to Democratic complacency. The key for the G.O.P. was its "clarity of purpose and a certainty about the moral superiority of their creed." Dionne, however, finds gaping holes in right-wing morality, notably when chronicling the 2000 Florida debacle and the "grotesque" Supreme Court decision that handed the presidency to the second-place finisher in the popular vote. Dionne wraps things up by outlining a program to stall the precipitous shift to the right. It would be engineered by a moderate and liberal alliance that emphasizes fairness, compassion, justice, and the common good. Not particularly original, and certainly there are bolder perspectives on the current political landscape, but by navigating the practical path, Dionne may have penned one of the season's most influential reads. --Steven Stolder

From Publishers Weekly
Syndicated columnist and NPR commentator Dionne (Why Americans Hate Politics) outlines a sound plan for a Democratic takeover of the White House in 2004. He first criticizes Bush's "compassionate conservatism," arguing that most of it, the tax cuts, for example, was much more conservative than compassionate. Indeed, he says that President Bush's administration was floundering until the September 11 terrorist attacks, which gave it a focus in policy and the mid-term 2002 elections. The newfound focus on homeland security not only gave the administration some momentum, it also put the Democrats on the defensive: unwilling to appear soft on security, he argues, they kept relatively quiet. As a result, Democrats were "complicit in the strategy" propagated by the White House and big losers in 2002. Dionne proposes a two-pronged solution: First, Democrats must develop think tanks and talk radio outlets similar to those used by the right because these sow the seeds of new ideas. The Democrats' solution of relying on the "grass roots" only splinters the party into special interests. Second, Democrats must reframe arguments into the middle ground so that the party is seen as being for both government and individualism, for free trade, but with environmental and labor protections. The new liberal Air America Radio network may be one test of Dionne's theories. Beyond that, Democrats may hope that fallout from Iraq and the economy will accomplish their goal without enacting Dionne's solid ideas, which could have more long-term effects. Dionne proffers perhaps the most cogent analysis to date of why Democrats have lost the battle to the right, and how they might regain control of the debate.
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From Booklist
Using the format of writing a letter to three friends--a liberal, a moderate, and a conservative--political commentator Dionne analyzes the current American political scene. With flashes of anger, he notes his disappointment in President Bush and in the Democratic Party for their roles in creating a bitter polarization of the American electorate and politics motivated by revenge. He criticizes Bush's failure to take advantage of the terrorist attack to unite Americans, cynically using 9/11 to win elections, and criticizes Democrats for being in a "perpetual state of identity crisis," unable to define themselves and take a stand for progressive political ideas. Characterizing himself as temperamentally moderate, Dionne questions how a nation that tries to keep to the center has gotten so divided. He ends on a hopeful note, with advice, including 10 policies the Democrats should adopt and 10 they should drop, on how to counter the effectiveness of compassionate conservatism with progressive patriotism. Readers from both political poles will appreciate Dionne's wit and insight, whether or not they agree with his perspective. Vanessa Bush
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