Right Is Wrong
I first decided to purchase this book when I heard about its imminent release on crooksandliars.com however there is a distinct shortage of books focusing on the political situation in America in Ireland. That is not too hard to explain given that there are only 4.4 million people in Ireland and it is simply logic to only sell the books that people want. Needless to say I was forced to order this from amazon.co.uk for about 15 pounds which is close to $30. I know that sounds a bit pricey to pay for a hardcover but I believe that books are slightly more expensive in Europe.
The title of the book is “Right Is Wrong” written by Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, I don’t think many people have not heard about her but she runs the biggest online newspaper in America. The Huffington Post is the bane of many Republicans but the best place to read liberal news if you are a liberal like myself. The book has received mixed reviews on amazon.com with 9 people giving it a 5 star rating, 1 person giving it a 4 star rating and the other 6 people giving it below 3 stars.
The book is 331 pages in length divided into 15 chapters and took me just over a month to read. It is well researched with the occasional generalization that is blatantly obvious but helps drive the point home. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to any liberal or independent who is debating about which party to support in the general election. The author touches on some valuable points with regards to immigration and healthcare with the last chapter focusing on Senator McCain.
Some of you may immediately think that this is another Republican/GOP bashing book but a startling fact that I found out while reading this book is that Mrs. Huffington is a former Republican and has actually travelled on the straight talk express. She knows John McCain and would actually have supported him if he had not “lost his soul” as she claims while courting the radical right. If you support John McCain, I would encourage you to purchase this book just for the last chapter where she compares the old John McCain to the new one and I have to say I would have supported the old Senator McCain after reading that chapter.
That being said, the new Senator McCain is not what America needs but I believe I have hammered this point home in earlier posts. The book is filled with valuable content so it is hard to choose one favorite passage but here is the best of the best:
The Right is wrong on immigration because they favor continued tough talk over policy reform. One suspects that a hidden reason the Right is wrong on immigration is their need for a scapegoat to divert attention from their massive failures in domestic and foreign policy. There’s a simple way to transform all these jobs American’s don’t want to do into jobs Americans would love to do: raise the wages for them. At a certain price, anyone would clean a toilet.
Out of all the politically inclined books I have reviewed on this site so far, this is by far the longest and the best. It is not everyone’s cup of tea but I would still give it an 8 out of 10 for excellent content but not 100% factually correct on some issues.
June 28 2008 09:57 pm | American Politics and Book Reviews
June 30th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I remember when Arianna was a very vocal member of the lunatic fringe of the right. Then her husband lost a senate race, announced he was gay, and divorced her. In southern California, if you want to hang out with the kool kids you have to be left-wing, or really rich (hubby was, she wasn’t).
The hole in her immigration arguement is that the presence of so many illegals (who will work for less money) depresses the price of labor. If the illegals weren’t here, wages for toilet cleaning would rise. If they got too high, someone would invent a self-cleaning toilet.
One way or another, the toilets would get cleaned.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Good point Gordon, but keeping the costs low is what the majority of Americans want not to mention the companies themselves which is why they source in China and European countries source in countries like Poland etc… A self-cleaning toilet would be awesome.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
This lady is so far to the left she makes Bill Maher look moderate at times. The self-described reformed conservative is the ultimate example of how converts can go on a 180.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I think political transformation is a natural process to each person, I remember meeting a lady from new york who was a liberal but is now conservative after having lived in Ireland for a number of years. I don’t think Arianna is that far left that we would call her radical but left enough to be labeled liberal.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:45 am
Living in Ireland made her a conservative, huh? That’s kind of interesting. I’d love to talk to her and find out exactly what brought out the change. Especially since Ireland’s two major parties don’t really fit either label.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Hey Gordon, she moved to Ireland and married a Gardai about 20 years ago from what she told me and Ireland in those days was fairly conservative, we actually had a great conversation about the changing values in America and Ireland, but the next time you are over, I will send you her away, she’s in Co.Kerry somewhere.