George Washington warned us about the Wingnuts. We would be wise to take his advice.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book was written in three months, bridged by my wedding and honeymoon. So it should be no surprise that it is dedicated to my bride, Margaret, who showed superhuman support and patience during the process. She is beautiful and bright in every way and I am blessed to call her my bride.
It’s an honor to be the first imprint for Beast Books and I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Tina Brown, Harold Evans and my colleagues at The Daily Beast who helped me move the ball down the field at great speed. I am especially appreciative to Edward Felsenthal, Randall Lane, Rebecca Fox, Andrew Kirk, Christine Marra and the team at Perseus. My research assistants were also essential in getting the book done and documented on time, including Denver Nicks, Stephen Brown and Ahmed Salim. And special thanks goes to my literary agent, Ed Victor. At CNN, the Wingnuts of the Week segment took off because of the support and encouragement of Kiran Chetry, Janelle Rodriguez, John Roberts, Jamie Kraft, Karrah Kaplan, Alexis Ginsburg, Derek Dodge and everyone at American Morning.
I want to thank my parents, John and Dianne Avlon—their love, support and encouragement have always been invaluable. My in-laws Andy and Jeanie Hoover have been warm and welcoming (and Andy, just to be clear, you’re not a Wingnut) as have my new brother and sister-in-law, Alex and Margaret. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family: my grandmother Toula Phillips, Aunts Joan and Lexa, Uncles Alex and David, my brother, Reynolds, and cousin Alex Timbers. My godfather, Peter John, and godmother, Elaine, as well as my own godchildren, Alexandra Catlin, Catherine Vanderzee, and Benjamin, Flora and Matilda Damon—and all our friends down in Charleston. I want to thank my best man, Jay Vanderzee, as well as my groomsmen Mike Jackson, George Catlin, Jesse Angelo, Owen Brennan, Eric DelBalso, Howard Gould, Jamie Schriebl and Matt Lockwood. Special thanks also go out to Matt Pottinger (USMC), Rich Wager, the Policy Team: Dan Freedman, Jayson White, Jen Pollom, Chris Coffey, Jemma Futterman and Marco DeSena; Bill Simon, the Manhattan Institute, Dave Maney, Dave Dunbar, Frank Barry, Dick Dadey, Alan Dobrin, Peggy Noonan, Suzanne Robinson, Bobby Grossman and Erik Sorenson. Many people were generous with their interview time, including David Frum (who sparked the concept of white minority politics), Joe Scarborough, Rich Lowry, Charles Johnson, Kathleen Parker, and Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Legal Center.
On language, I should note that some in the netroots believe the term “Wingnut” should apply exclusively to the far right. “Moonbat” is the preferred label for folks on the far left in this worldview. But this distinction seems to split the difference along partisan lines, where I generally and genuinely believe that the far right and far left can be equally insane and so deserve the same word to describe them. No discrimination here.
For further background reading on the broad subject of homegrown extremism and how to overcome it, I’d recommend Richard Hofstadter’s classic The Paranoid Style in American Politics, Harry and Bonaro Overstreet’s early ’60s snapshot The Strange Tactics of Extremism, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s The Disuniting of America, Morris Fiorina’s Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America and Cass Sunstein’s Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide.
NOTES
Introducing the Wingnuts
1 http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200904210014
2 http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2009/09/24/msnbcs-ed-shultz-erupts-republicans-want-see-you-dead
3 http://www.lvrj.com/news/oath-keepers-pledges-to-prevent-dictatorship-in-united-states-64690232.html
4 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08Armey-t.html
5 http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200909230021
6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5qWFHzwAz8
7 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/03/rush-limbaugh-claims-obam_n_211162.html
8 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/us/06threat.html
9 Christopher Hewitt, Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Security International, 2005), pp. 28-90.
10 Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics (New York: Vintage Books, 2008), pp. 23-24.
11 http://washingtonindependent.com/61229/more-trent-franks-the-president-is-an-enemy-of-humanity
12 http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/64173-grayson-republicans-are-the-enemy-of-america
13 http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/01/ad_watch_barack_obamas_inspiri.html
14 http://thepage.time.com/obamas-new-stump-speech/
15 http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/John_McCain_Civil_Rights.htm
16 http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/21/obama-theyregoing-to-try-to-make-you-afraid-of-me/
17 http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1
18 http://www.clarusrg.com/ELECTIONRECAP.pdf
19 http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0709/58_of_GOP_not_suredont_believe_Obama_born_in_US.html?showall
20 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A37125-2003Dec4.
21 http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2000presgeresults.htm
22 http://www.fightbacknews.org/2001fall/nowar.htm
23 http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/28/152665/-Why-We-Hate-George-W.-Bush
24 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/02/national/main1005030.shtml
25 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16422285
26 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u19KHbTJEOk
27 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10767465/
28 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002981541_sheehan09.html
29 http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=2973
30 Fox News, “Hannity & Colmes,” September 26, 2005.
31 2008 ANES (American National Election Studies) National Election Study.
32 http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1516
33 William Safire, Safire’s New Political Dictionary (New York: Random House, 1993), p. 453.
Of Tea Parties and Town Halls
1 http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853
2 http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/TeaParty
3 http://rpc.senate.gov/public/_files/042909100DaysofBailoutsandMakingaBadSituationWorse.pdf
4 http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/28/news/economy/house_vote_wednesday/index.htm?postversion=2009012819
5 http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/25/house-passes-410-billion-spending-bill-as-obama-prepares-634-billion-health-care-fund/
6 http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/tea-party-nonpartisan-attendance.html
7 http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/07/lawmakers_will_face_tea_parties_and_more_in_august.php
8 http://mediamatters.org/research/200904170011
9 http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/07/rep-conyers-why-bother-to-read-health.html
10 http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/05/freshman-dem-assaulted/
11 http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/08/memo-details-co-ordinated-anti-reform-harrassment-strategy.php?page=1
12 http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/08/memo-details-co-ordinated-anti-reform-harrassment-strategy.php?page=1
13 http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/protestor-in-connecticut-treat-dodd-with-handful-of-painkillers-and-whiskey.php
14 http://www.adl.org/special_reports/rage-grows-in-America/Rage-Grows-In-America.pdf
15 http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/08/11/mccaskill-admonishes-crowd-forum/
16 http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=113851103434
17 http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/americans-for-prosperity-compares-health-care-reform-to-holocaust-tells-protesters-to-put-fear-of-go.php?ref=fpblg
18 http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/08/25/john-mccain-booed-for-saying-obama-respects-the-constitution
19 http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/tempest-tea-party
20 http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/12/tea.party.express/index.html
2
1 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=111086&catid=8
24 http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/town-halls-turning-into-town-brawls.php
25 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fHSW4Txxz8
26 http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/12/tea.party.express/index.html
Obama Derangement Syndrome
1 http://www.grassfire.org/111/about.htm
2 http://siteanalytics.compete.com/grassfire.org/
3 http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/fox-website-commenterwants-assassinate
4 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2127465/posts
5 http://www.newsweek.com/id/195085
6 http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov15/0,4670,ObamaThreats,00.html
7 http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2008Nov10/0,4675,CongressmanObamaMarxist,00.html
8 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27705755/
9 http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Nov15/0,4670,ObamaThreats,00.html
10 http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Idaho_students_chant_assassinate_Obama_on_1112.html
11 http://themoderatevoice.com/44879/arizona-pastor-repeats-wish-for-barack-obamas-death/
12 http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/08/tempe_pastor_steven_anderson_p.php
13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8NJPsj5kdU
14 http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200802250008
15 http://mediamatters.org/research/200802130016?f=h_latest
16 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/29/krauthammer-obama-nazis/
17 http://mediamatters.org/research/200807240001
18 http://mediamatters.org/research/200804040005
19 http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/10/republican_creator_of_sign_lik_1.html
20 http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/10/republican_creator_of_sign_lik_1.html
21 http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D94CDDM80&show_article=1
22 http://mediamatters.org/limbaughwire/2009/08/19
23 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/us/politics/20caucus.html
24 http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/01/beck-march-to-Fascism/
25 http://thinkprogress.org/2009/06/23/md-gop-obama-hitler/
26 http://gawker.com/5340436/meet-pamela-pilger-the-crazy-lady-who-yelled-heil-hitler-at-a-jewish-supporter-of-health-care-reform
27 http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_12/021407.php
28 http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/09/09/22/controversial-float-meant-to-inspire-citizen-voices
29 http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/09/09/22/controversial-float-meant-to-inspire-citizen-voices
30 http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/former-bush-administration-official-warns-against-economic-fascism-under-obama.php
31 Ibid.
32 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/27986.html#ixzz0TJGDPKVR
33 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009882084_gasparian16m.html
34 http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1315.cfm
35 http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=79411
36 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/palin-invokes-s.html
37 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/06/delay-obamasa.html
38 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/20/marxist-fascist/
39 http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-06-25/news/1992177016_1_spiro-agnew-ha-ha-ha-quayle
40 http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmM2NDQ3ZWQ1YWM0Y2QyZTUxMDdkY2M2OTJlNGE5MWE=
41 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/casey-ganemccalla/top-10-obama-player-hater_b_152490.html_NoPara
42 http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081207/pl_politico/16257
43 http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/beck-obama-has-us-road-not-just-soci
44 http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=16300
45 http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/37045
46 http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/228317.html
47 http://www.newsweek.com/id/169192
48 http://www.newsweek.com/id/169192
49 http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/antichrist.asp
50 http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_10859898
51 http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1830590,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar
52 http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1830590,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar.
53 http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/7060/
54 http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_10859898
55 http://www.newsweek.com/id/169192
56 http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/09/extremism-in-new-jersey.html
The Birth of White Minority Politics
1 http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/04/16/garofalo-tea-partiers-are-all-racists-who-hate-black-president
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Population Survey—November 2009.”
3 http://www.census.gov/PressRelease/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html
4 Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics, Vintage Books, pp. 23-24.
5 http://mediamatters.org/columns/200912110041
6 http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200908210049
7 http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=113463
8 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32654
9 http://buchanan.org/blog/is-america-coming-apart-2159
10 In The Civil War, Ken Burns’s PBS documentary.
11 http://912dc.org/2009/08/continental-soldiers-wanted-for-9-12-march/
12 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/10/17/palin_clarifies_her_pro-americ.html
13 http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/13/nation/na-obama13
14 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/john-mccain-bac.html
15 http://www.yelp.com/topic/los-angeles-al-jazeera-exposes-racism-at-sarah-palin-rally-in-ohio
16 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtZWwgw__WY
17 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/10/fox-newsexecut.html
18 http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/exit-polls.html
19 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGwsssa7xKHFgjdLsgtE...
20 http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20091010_1507.php
21 Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (New York: HarperCollins, 1988, 2002), p. 198.
22 Ibid., p. 551.
23 John B. Judis, William F. Buckley, Jr., Patron Saint of the Conservatives (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001), p. 138.
24 Foner, Reconstruction, p. 251.
25 http://www.strom.clemson.edu/strom/bio.html
26 National Review, January 25, 1956, p. 5.
27 Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative (new edition; Princeton University Press, 2007), p. 28
28 http://gawker.com/5380714/gop-tries-to-claim-the-ghost-of-jackie-robinson
29 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402079.html
30 http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/27/weekinreview/impeachment-republicans-130-years-later-dueling-with-the-heirs-ofjeff-davis.html
31 http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/10/ltm.01.html
32 Ibid.
33 http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-11/young-gop-chooses-hate
Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America Page 21
