United Liberty

The authors of Why You’re Wrong About the Right: S.E. Cupp and Brett Joshpe - Pictured Below.

Once while an acquaintance of mine was drunk out of his mind, he started tearing copies of the New Yorker in a quest to destroy his personal posessions. He became as obsessed with this mission as one could be while intoxicated, and followed his ripping session with a demonstration of how to set American currency on fire. When I pointed out the ridiculousness of what he was doing, he said, “I’m not a libertarian like you! I don’t care about money!”

That leads into Why You’re Wrong About the Right: Behind The Myths - The Surprising Truth About Conservatives by S.E. Cupp and Brett Joshpe. Why You’re Wrong About the Right tackles several myths and stereotypes of members of the right side of the political spectrum, deconstructing them and illustrating them as half-truths, mischaracterizations and nonsense. One chapter tackles the myth that had gotten my drunken aquaintance so hot and bothered, in “Republicans Are Greedy.”

In that chapter, Cupp and Joshpe take a look at Thomas Frank’s book What’s the Matter With Kansas?, which spends several hundred pages wondering why lower to middle class residents of the Midwest are voting for pro-industry Republicans instead of pro-welfare state Democrats. Frank’s argument is inherently far more materialist than anything coming out of the free-market side, as it argues that middle class people are defined by their “class” and have something “the matter” with them unless they vote accordingly.

Cupp and Joshpe note that Frank doesn’t understand conservative ideology:

Thomas Frank’s Marxist missive is a near-perfect example of the frustration of the Left, and its inability to come to terms with American conservatism and its goals. The idea that Middle American conservatives see Republican economic policy as simply good for their families in inexplicable somehow.

The mission of Cupp and Joshpe’s book is a noble one. The leftists of cities like San Francisco and the East Coast have had little exposure to unfiltered conservatism, instead having their perception of the Right shaped by their friends, family and the liberal environment around them. This inclusiveness leads to books like Conservatize Me!, where Seattle public radio commentator John Moe immerses himself with only right wing media and people for an entire month in order to understand conservative ideas. Moe’s approach, which is rather odd considering that Seattle is surrounded by conservative-leaning suburbs and there are numerous right-wing stations on the AM dial in the Puget Sound, is more like that of an anthropologist studying the indiginous peoples of Papua New Guinea than exploring the political ideas of people who live only a few miles away from you.

The real problem with Why You’re Wrong About the Right is its intense partisanism. All twenty chapters of the book start off with the word “Republicans,” as if being a conservative and being a Republican are one and the same. This doesn’t jive with reality. Libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr is far more conservative politically than Republican candidate John McCain. Bob Conley, Democratic candidate for South Carolina’s Senate seat, has far better conservative credentials than Lindsey Graham, the Republican incumbent. Politics are not black and white.

The word “libertarian” is mentioned only sporadically in Why You’re Wrong About the Right, which is a real shame. Including the libertarian message, which is growing in its influence, in conservative literature would help the conservative cause, which has been soiled by an unpopular president and an unnecessary war.

Cupp’s introduction is absolutely hilarious. She has a future as a political pundit and humorist. Her quip about having blown up a balloon, put it under her shirt and then proceeded to order a beer at a bar had me laughing out loud.

Despite its flaws, the strengths of Why You’re Wrong About the Right are enough for me to look forward to the authors’ next work.