The end notes for Over the Cliff can be accessed at overthecliff.crooksandliars.com
Over the Cliff examines the right wing’s eagerness, especially in the aftermath of President Obama’s election, to invent and propagate stories that are provably false. Noting that such stories are disseminated in large part by mainstream-media figures like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs, the authors link that kookery to a wave of lethal violence and threatening behavior. They also explore the main drivers of this descent into nonsense, including a resurgence of extremist groups and the longtime Republican strategy of exploiting racial and cultural resentment. Finally, Over the Cliff details ways ordinary Americans can resist the madness.
John Amato is the founder of Crooks and Liars, one of the nation’s most influential progressive weblogs. A pioneer of video blogging, he was part of CNN’s election-night coverage in 2006 and has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Forbes.
David Neiwert is a journalist and author. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Salon, Seattle Magazine, and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report. His online reportage on domestic violence for MSNBC won a National Press Club Award in 2000. He is the author of The Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right (PoliPointPress 2009) and editor of Ornicus, the award-winning weblog.
Praise for Over the Cliff
“John Amato and David Neiwert have produced a book that should stay on shelves for 50 years—long enough to remind us that at least some people understood the strange and vile energies consuming the social contract at the beginning of the third millenium. As a record of what is happening to American conservatism in the year 2010, Over the Cliff is unmatched.”
—Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
“If you want to understand the forces behind the extreme demonization of President Obama and the assault on progressive America, look no further than Over the Cliff. With witty analysis and thorough investigative reporting, Amato and Neiwert provide a definitive chronicle of the far-right’s rapid movement from paranoia to outright violence.
—Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party
“Over the Cliff is a genuinely useful cataloguing of the remarkable descent of the American right into vicious name-calling, racist demonizing, and paranoid conspiracy-mongering since the election of Barack Obama. Amato and Neiwert do a first-rate job of chronicling the dangerous, populist rage on the right that pandering politicians and shameless media pundits are aiding and abetting.”
—Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project, Southern Poverty Law Center
[...] Amato exposes more about today’s conservative party in his new book – Over the Cliff: How Obama’s Election Drove the American Right Insane [...]
[...] Alan Grayson (D) about the new book by the creators of the popular website Crooks and Liars and good friends of [...]
Someone had to say it, write it all down, hurray! So nobody can say ‘wir haben es nicht gewusst’ (we have never known). Keep up the good work, dudes!
Hurray! This book provides insights about our current political environment in the way that Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me” did for American-style K-12 school History curricula.
[...] You can also buy it from all the major online retailers like Barnes&Noble, IndieBound, Powell’s, and Border’s. Over the Cliff is now available as an ePUB and mobi-Kindlen on PoliPoint.com. [...]
You’ve got HTML codes on the front page of your book preview. Way to go.
Why is it that the liberal, progressive folks had free reign to insult,disparage and slander George Bush and conservative folks? No one from the left ever stood up and said okay, enough already? The liberal,progressives now have their panties in a bunch because the tables have been turned. What did they think would happen once they had control of the government? You reap what you sow.
COME ON NOW 2 LIBERALS RIGHT A BOOK AN IT SELLS PLEASE YOU PROBABLE WONT SELL MORE THAN 2 COPYS.WRITE ABOUT STUFF PEOPLE CARE ABOUT AND YOU MIGHT SELL MORE
Man oh man talk about liars. The folks who wrote this crap have their heads on backwards . This is pure silly dribble Really it is, who brain washed you into communism???
Have YOU LOST ALL COMMON SENSE ?????
You mean how Obama’s election was used to play the false left/right paradigm, further orchestrating america’s destruction?
Its not about race, of false political divides. This is just how they play us, and role in big government to take control of “us kids”.
Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs are obvious stooges, who are MEANT to inflame the public and divide us. They falsely represent, and mischaracterize demographics.
I have no read this book, but it seems to further cement the “divide and conquer” that is going on.
Its not about left and right. Its about top and bottom.
If you have children you are very careful about their choice of friends. Why can’t be concerned about the czars that surround the President? I do not depend on Beck, or Limbaugh, I read their books and papers. They area anti Capitalism, for spreading the wealth, rewarding bad behavior ie not paying ones mortgage, buying houses they can not afford, living on the dole…………………..!
This is my President. He is suppose to represent all American not just the Progressives. Give me a break!
thanks for your folksy “blah blah blah, they are all the same, blah blah blah” false equivalancy trash we hear from the far right every time they are out of power.
Facts are stubborn things… and according to the facts, it IS a left/right thing. The right had America enslaved, and has been trying to get itself back to that position ever since they lost the Civil War, and later WW2.
Conservatives want to get angry… but then blame everything on “them”, rather than give a name and face to the people causing the trouble, because they KNOW all those names and faces are on the far right.
what GK said
I haven’t read your book yet! But brothers, you must have gotten inside my head and copied my thoughts and analysis. You have hit the nail right on the head! If good people like you don’t speak up and have courage like Martin Luther King, we’re doomed. God bless you and keep up the good work!
If you would actually research what you publish I believe you would change your mind.
Why don’t each of you take on Beck and others you name? Get on tv and give us a counterpoint. Beck, for instance, uses tv spots, written literature and more to support his contentions. Why hide behind the pen get your asses in a seat opposite them, O Reilly and Hannity and take them on. I see Morning No Show Joe and his guests sneer at fox and these fellows but no one has the guts to take them on face to face. We need people with guts enough to face whom they accuse not bed wetters who hide behind their pen and publications.
conservatives and confederates both claim to be more patriotic than the rest of us.they both worship not only a differant flag(confederate),but also seem to worship ‘hate’…..Anticrist is not a lone figure like the devil.Anticrist IS opposite of crist like.like HATE.LIES.DECEPTION…every thing that a bible thumping conservative IS.
conservatives are the most blind among us.they cant connect the dots between,deregulating the housing industry and the housing bubble.conservatives wrote the banking deregulation law.pushed it through,attact any one who opposed it.then when it blew up in our face they blamed it on any democrat standing in the room.for gods sake man own up to it…..democrats have got to stand up to this nonsense.republicans are truly truly evil.look up ‘ANTICRIST’…how would the anticrist play politics?and you will find the republican play book.
Obama and “Progressive America”. Is that what you’re calling yourselves these days? How many more BILLIONS of dollars is the United States in debt for since Obama got elected. Look at how the country is even MORE divided since he got elected. A”new” way of doing things in Washington? The wheeling and dealing has gotten even worse the way I see it. Hope? Change? What a joke. The problem with you Lefty, Liberal Democrats is that you assume that being a Democrat makes you automatically correct and everyone else automatically wrong.
Like L.C. Coleman,the Justace Dept. and Homeland Security
Bimbos, I haven’t read the book either, but feel very much informed to comment on this book filled with half truths and inunendo. You must have gotten all your facts from CNN.
It would have been nice to have some one in charge who has the resources and the experiences that know how to deal with the oil scum. Just remember, its much more interesting to report the crap and to show someone off their game. You wont see Obama’s pastor damning the U.S. on obergeek. I’m sorry that blacks were the only people to have been enslaved. Who were the guys who designed the pyramids? Its safe to say they were not the guys who actually put the stones in place. Thank u for my Ebt card, i traded it for some meth.
[...] Over the Cliff: How Obama’s Election Drove the American Right Insane, John Amato and coauthor David Neiwert show that the Tea Party “movement” was not the organic [...]
Darrell, I couldn`t agree with you more. The republican party has become like one of the most deadliest of diseases known to man – IT IS CANCEROUS AND DESTROYING AMERICA AS WE KNOW IT – please remember the party of NO! in your voting booths. They are trying like hell to make us a third world country and to relieve us of our sovereignty to boot! It is time for Americans to come to life and leave their complacency at home. This republican cancer MUST be removed. Republicans have become despicable – allowing themselves to put self before country and spewing their venom through the likes of Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, Bill O`Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. They just have no conscience!
Check out the following organizations that are trying to rid America of its sovereignty:
The Trilateral Commission, The Bilderbergers, The Carlisle Group, The Cato Institute, The Center for Strategic Int`l. Studies, The American Enterprise Group, The Carnegie Endowment for Int`l. Peace, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Group of Thirty, The International Monetary Fund, AIPAC, The Skull and Bones Society, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Hoover Institution, The Regime of Strategic Intent, The Aspen Institute and The New World Order. These organizations and others are set on controlling our destiny and that of the entire world. This is a very serious conspiracy. They intend to make the USA a third world country. Please check out THE AUGUST REVIEW and THE AMERICAN FREE PRESS for further enlightenment.
WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP OUR SOVEREIGNTY TO ANYONE!
I hope this post will convince many of you to get out and vote – AMERICA NEEDS YOU!
[...] In Over the Cliff: How Obama’s Election Drove the American Right Insane, John Amato and coauthor David Neiwert show that the Tea Party “movement” was not the organic uprising it was made to appear, but rather was kick-started by FOX News and follows in a long tradition of movement conservative activism that harkens back to the street theater days of Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, and Grover Norquist. [...]
To Mr. Sorenson:
It’s not as if going on their shows gives a person an equal footing in the debate, and simply having better arguments and evidence will enable someone to show up the O’Reillys and the Becks of Fox Snooze. When it’s their show, they will determine how much the guest can say, and who gets the last word. There’s a long tradition of reactionary right-wing talk show hosts who invite liberal guests so they and the bloodthirsty mob audience can bully, interrupt, shout down, insult, and threaten the “guest.” Shades of Rome.
The authors SHOULD take advantage of electronic media — but the way I found out about this book was from hearing them interviewed on KPFK while driving my car, and I’m reading more about them via the internet, so I’d say the authors aren’t exactly shunning the modern communications system. Maybe they can get on Rachel Maddow’s show… ?
Obama is the stooge,Obama plays the race card (as does the Democratic Party all the time). Obama has divided this nation racially, not bring us together. And the first time we have a (half black) president many black americans just show really how racist they are against whites. Obama is the worst president since Jimmy Carter, he alctually makes Carter look intelligent. Obama is a loser, as is this country for voting him in by a rather small margin. He is a one term president. Good riddance to him. Buy Buy Barack.
I have been reading “Over the Cliff” since it arrived yesterday. It’s a terrific book that I wish a lot more people would read, but reading about the amazing amount of lunacy, bad will and yes, even evil, arrayed against Obama is literally making me feel ill.
[...] Hills on July 16. Amato shared how he and co-author David Neiwert researched their new book, Over the Cliff: How Obama’s Election Drove the American Right Insane. The event was hosted by LA Media Reform, Alliance Hollywood and the LA Progressive. Amato signed [...]
What about an audiobook edition?
The Libs need to come up with some better policies than printing money and begging the Chinese to watch out for us. Also the RW does have ideas. How about tort reform? Or NOT passing card-check union thugging. Basically the Libs and RW live in two separate worlds. Object is to eliminate the Lib world back to the blogosphere and doing social work. Libs make great social workers. That is what they should be doing.