David Brock Question....

[HardWorkingDem]

Has anyone ever read an interview with David Brock where he is asked about his switch from conservative to liberal and how are liberals to feel safe without fearing he will flip back to a conservative?

I really like what he is doing with MediaMatters and am curious if he has addressed this.

[bryant69]

1. I would be curious too

How committed is he to liberal programs?

I believe his disgust with the Coulters and the Limbaugh's of the world to be genuine. I also believe he's genuinely upset at how the media mollycoddles the conservatives (while ripping into serious liberals at every opportunity).

But how does he feel about the safety net? Or Social Security?

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[tanyev]

2. Have you read his book Blinded by the Right?

I think we're pretty safe.

[Loonman]

3. Well if he's a truly a media watchdog

He should be apolitical.

[NYCGirl]

4. As the above poster says, he wrote a whole book about it.

Read "Blinded by the Right."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400047285/qid=1130872583/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4763989-5681634?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[Sparkly]

5. He's said he came to realize he was in an untenable position.

As a gay man, he realized he was promoting an anti-gay agenda and that the conservatives lauding him would turn their backs on him in a second for that; and the cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy, personal pain and ethics of it finally got to him.

I have great respect for him.

[Yavin4]

6. Brock Is A Gay Man Who Has Accepted Himself for What He Is

He stopped externalizing his hatred, and he learned to love himself for who he is. That's why he converted. Several Gays and Lesbians are raised in homes and communities that do not accept them, so they develop a self-loathing. Some externalize this loathing onto others and believe that endearing themselves to the "establishment" will make people accept them. (See Matt Drudge. See Roy Cohn. See J. Edgar Hoover. etc.)

[LSparkle]

8. See David Dreier, see Lindsey Graham, see Gary Bauer,

see Mitch McConnell, Scooter Libby, KKKarl Rove, Ken Mehlman, et al. Rampant closeting in the Repug party. Brock is the only one who's seen the light ... so far.

[tenshi816]

12. I agree with you, but as a parenthetical note

would like to comment on your mention of Matt Drudge. He did an interview with the Sunday Times here in the UK back in April (here's the link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-1572089,00.html). I found the following particularly interesting in that Times article (in fact, I practically snorted coffee out of my nose since I was reading it at breakfast that day - I read a lot of newspapers and this was my biggest laugh of the day from all of them):

'David Brock, a former right-wing journalist, claimed in his book Blinded by the Right that Drudge was gay, yet supported a party that these critics see as “homophobic”.

“So are you a gay right-wing Republican?” I ask.

“No, I’m not gay. I was nearly married a few years ago. And no, I’m not a right-wing Republican,” he replies without batting an eye. “I’m a conservative and want to pay less taxes. And I did vote Republican at the last election. But I’m more of a populist.”'

Drudge not gay? And a populist? I guess he was banking on the fact that not that many people in Britain are familiar with him, so his assertions wouldn't be challenged.

[Patiod]

7. I actually got to hear him discuss this in person

Was standing about 4' away from him at James Carville's DC restaurant. He spoke at a fundraiser for Julie Hiatt Steel, sponsored by Bartcop.com

He was pretty convincing. As above posters have said, he got tired of working with people who hated what he was (gay) and in some cases what THEY were. He saw what a fraud the Republican spin machine was, and became really disgusted by what he was being asked to do.

I'm not 100% judge of character, but I bought his "conversion".

[Catherine Vincent]

9. I don't think we have to worry about him.

Back then he may have been working for and with conservatives but all that time he was liberal. He didn't realize it or didn't speak up about it. He can't switch back to something he never was. I read his book "Blinded by the Right", it was great. I also love his website...mediamatters.org.

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. I think knowing examples of why Brock and Big Ed Schultz decided

to move from right to left would be very illuminating - especially in terms of how to reach those currently on the right that may still have hopes of coming to their senses. Are there other examples of people who have made the right-to-left conversion???

[ragin_acadian]

13. Huffington did too. but she is more of a

"looking for her name in the headlines" type of right-left shift, than Brock. I read blinded by the right, and it seemed like Brocks big shift came when spending all the time in AK, with mellon-scaife throwing money down a hole to get state troopers to blatantly lie about the Clenis, and also when Brock was savaged for writing "the seduction of hilary clinton"

[Shakespeare]

14. Not true (about Huffington).

Her switch came about for several reasons, none of which had ANYTHING to do with getting her name in the headlines. Huffington was a respected scholar and commentator long before her switch, so she didn't really need any help in that regard.

Two of the things that sent her fleeing from the GOP were the merciless attack on her ex-husband Michael Huffington when he came out of the closet, and the continual refusal by anybody on the right to address broad issues of poverty, homelessness and hunger (her pet issues).

[ragin_acadian]

18. ah

Brock was not very kind to her in his book (describing her "impeachment" parties) that's why I had that impression.

[AlCzervik]

11. Blinded by the Right is a must read, it's excellent and a primer

of the who's who of DC assholes. I do trust Brock becasue part of him being a republican imo was surpressing who he really was and when he was finally ready to come out he new "His friends" in the gop wouldn't cut him a break.

[AnnInLa]

15. Read his book

Blinded by the Right

It explained his history with the extreme RW of the the repuke party, how he got involved with them, and how he became their "darling," and what made him apologize to Anita Hill. He explained how and why he switched to the "left," and why he won't "return" to the right. I can recommend this book highly as very interesting and very informative about all of the PLAYERS of the RW.

[Senator]

16. Give "Blinded" for Xmas - to your rightwing relatives

And don't worry about David Brock.

Joe Conason vouches for him as "a friend."

---

[shance]

17. I think his switch was more of a moral awakening like many of us have had

I believe there's a difference between a political switch and a legitimate awakening.

Brock did something unprecendented in my opinion, which I believe it shows the caliber of who he is as a person.

He did what he could to 'right the wrongs' he had done. It wasn't simply lip service he offered, it was physical action he took, authoring and owning some tough admissions which revealed a true change of heart.

Few people have the courage and conviction to do what he did. I don't think anyone would risk what he did and take the actions he took without it being authentic.

I used to be a Republican and I know there would be no feasible way for me to return to such a belief system. However, with that said, I believe the belief system itself has nothing to ultimately do with the Republican party. That is merely a guise to shroud the elitism, classism, righteousness, racism and division that is being promoted by such a belief system and those now running the party.

I think once we move ahead from such a place, its as if we know too much to ever return there.