What's the Matter with Liberals?
Unlike in his book What's the Matter with Kansas?, Thomas Frank is here being ironic. As you would expect finding this article in the The New York Review of Books, what's "wrong" with liberals is they've just been too darn nice. On the other hand, to Mr. Frank the last few decades have been dominated by conservative cultural backlash. If only, he thinks, liberals would campaign on a more openly left-wing economic platform, they could win.
As if missing the very point he just made, he footnotes a rebuttal, pointing out that poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs. Immediately after this, he goes on to describe an expedition to Bush Country. In footnote 11, he says,
...in M. Halimi's article, unsurprisingly titled What's the matter with West Virginia?
Readers will find the fun in the footnotes. Frank says Frenchness is used on the right as shorthand to portray liberals as a culturally effete elite.
The NRA came up with an image that brilliantly encapsulated the whole thing: an elaborately clipped French poodle in a pink bow and a Kerry-for-president sweater over the slogan "That dog don't hunt."
As if missing the very point he just made, he footnotes a rebuttal, pointing out that poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs. Immediately after this, he goes on to describe an expedition to Bush Country. In footnote 11, he says,
I toured West Virginia in the company of Serge Halimi, an editor at Le Monde Diplomatique. Read more about what we saw ...
...in M. Halimi's article, unsurprisingly titled What's the matter with West Virginia?
posted by Terrence Berres at 12:27 PM
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