Splinters

With this adoring book review of Jonah Goldberg's childish reactionary Republican screed entitled Liberal Fascism the once reputable journalist finally completes his yawnsomely predictable journey to the political right, a path well worn indeed by erstwhile edgy  radicals with mortgages to pay. There were degrees of truth to some of the charges he levelled at the left at the start of his post 9-11 journey. He so obviously fancied himself rotten wearing the heroic mantle of "truth telling iconoclast", and in a certain light he  looked almost  convincing in it at times. But when you spend your whole, entire time attacking one side, you usually end up joining that of the other - throwing the progressive baby out with the hypocritical bathwater - and Cohen is by no means great enough to be one of the few exceptions to this rule. In this lazy, lazy rolling out of every hoary old conservative cliche, there can be no doubt Cohen is now as right-wing as they come. I just wish he'd be an upstanding chap like old Kingsley Amis and co of yore,  and be honest enough to admit it.

Goldberg's book is a rehashing of the crappy old conservative wish-fulfillment argument  that "fascism isn't right-wing". Like bollocks it isn't. David Neiwart in Prospect demolishes this heap of old todge very well.