Rating: 
Summary: A Sad Day
Review: David Brock confirms what others had written about there being a dedicated group of people bent on destroying the office of the presidency and moderate and liberal candidates. Unfortunately, the waters have been so poisoned that neither party or political advocates can ever go back to an agree to disagree belief system. We will have to leave that to the next generation of politicians to fix if they are able to.Aside from the gossip, Brock's story is about how fanaticism and ambition of one man led to ruin and harm of our society. It is his need to repent that illuminates the danger of embracing the win by any means necessary mentality. It is a cautionary bio of how a fanatic rationalizes every wrong thing and continues to descend further into a hell surrounded by contemporaries who become reflections of his own self; a self that he despises and loathes. The beginning of the end comes when he tells the truth that strays from what his contemporaries believe. As long as Brock lied to further the aims of the fanatics, they embraced him. Once he tells a different truth, he is attacked and cast out. This is not unlike David Horowitz's story, "Native Son". He also became a fanatic which robbed him of all objectivity and believed his cause was above the law. Unlike Mr. Brock so far, Horowitz has embraced the neo-conservative fanaticism and uses the same disgusting tactics he used to advance the left to advance the right: lies, innuendoes, and smears. Which leads me to the reason why I cannot give Mr. Brock five stars. Mr. Brock is using the same tactics to discredit people on the left only now it is his former friends (they really weren't according to him as if that is a justification for revealing there many shortcomings). He judges himself harshly so that does minimizes the attack on others somewhat. However, it is still not enough to be distrustful of such an ambitious man. If Mr. Brock is sincere in his shameful past actions, then he should donate the proceeds of this book to charity and disappear from the political scene much like Anita Hill has done. I believe that Mr. Brock has done a great service by exposing the operation of this subversive and unethical group who have ruined all civility in politics. They are still out there cranking out the hate and seeking to destroy anyone who disagrees with them by any means necessary. The manipulation of the mainstream press and actions by neo-conservatives can no longer be defended by pundits who denied the vast right wing consipiracy ever existed. So far, the press has their head buried in the sand but we now know that they have been lazy and too quick to elevate these people to positions of high exposure. If anyone doubts this, direct them to "Blinded by the Right". Perhaps this will lead to a real changing of the tone in Washington. At the very least, "Blinded by the Right" shatters the wall that the conservative pundits and press hid behind. They have much explaining to do. Too bad no one is asking them questions about what they have done.
Rating:
Summary: The biters bit.
Review: The reactionary right wing has created a monster, and its name is David Brock. As one of the pioneers of the art of right-wing character assassination, Brock is uniquely well qualified to expose the tawdry inner workings of the various lavishly funded entities -- magazines, think-tanks, radio shows -- that have become the preeminent source of "information" for a huge number of Americans. Yet this "information" consists largely of gossip, innuendo, and outright lies. During Brock's entire tenure at "The American Spectator," his work was never fact-checked. The cases against Anita Hill and both the Clintons were based largely on sheer fabrication, perpetrated by a movement whose sole ideological underpinning was -- and is -- anti-Clintonism. From Richard Mellon Scaife to Bob Tyrrell to Ted Olson to Matt Drudge, Brock profiles a rogues' gallery of ruthless, hypocritical, and ultimately soulless masters of media manipulation. Now these people have become the Establishment they once professed to despise, and their methods have become S.O.P. for most of the so-called free press. Which is why this book and its author are now on the receiving end of precisely the same sort of poison-pen attacks in which he used to specialize. Nothing makes a biter madder than being bit.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: Today is 3/16/02. It has come to my attention that the Washington Post is going to write a "review" of this book in the 3/17/02 edition of the paper. This "review" will be written by an employee of the American Spectator and will be a slam of the book. Don't believe the hype. This book is great and it is a must have for anyone interested in what goes on behind the curtain.
Rating: 
Summary: SAD, PATHETIC AND SLEAZY
Review: A truly sad mea culpa from a sleazy, pathetic man who admits what some of us have long suspected - that David Brock is a pathological liar whose work needs to be sealed off by the EPA. Personally, I find his work as an attack dog for the left as tedious and tendentious as anything he did as a hitman for the rabid right. Don't make the same mistake I did - save your money.
Rating:
Summary: The Journey of David Brock-A Tale to Be Well Heeded
Review: When opening Brock's Book, I fully expected,an apologetic"left-leaning" version of the Anita Hill character assassination. Oh, contrare! "Blinded" was,indeed, well written,impeccably researched and documented,and downright understanding in his treatment of his former friends and patrons of "The Movement".
Brock could've easily revealed the names of the closeted gay House Impeachment Manager and the well known Conservative Talking Head/Pundit,but chose to demur instead. He could've delved in to the nitty gritty nasty details of heart-to-heart conversations with Ingraham and Coulter,but chose restraint instead. If only they would use such judgement.
Having read this book and then reading Mrs. Justice[Gini] Thomas'
fire breathing Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, makes one want to laugh,laugh,and laugh some more. I guess "everbody's outted",now.
Rating:
Summary: I don't like David Brock.
Review: Nevertheless, I don't think I could possibly be more critical of him than he is of himself in "Blinded by the Right." Mr. Brock's confessional has gotten far less attention from the media than some recent Conservative best-sellers, such as Bernie Goldberg's "Bias." In fact, I've heard very little about this book, aside from people saying, "well, he lied before. Why should anyone believe him now?" Well, he may be a confessed liar, but much of what he says can be confirmed in the public record (though you may have to dig for it--the so-called 'liberal media' haven't been particularly forthcoming with apologies for their abysmal coverage of the Clinton 'scandals.' Much of Mr. Brock's tale, however, is anecdotal, and cannot be independently verified. Is it true? Well, if someone, even a confessed liar, lies about me in a public forum, I'll call him on it. If he tells an unpleasant truth about me, I might be more inclined to ignore it and hope it went away. The silence from those named in Brock's tome is deafening.
Rating:
Summary: We already knew most of this; good to have validation
Review: Was he lying THEN or is he lying NOW? You will have to decide for yourself, but before you do you should do a little homework by reading THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT by Conason and Lyons, FOOLS FOR SCANDAL by Lyons, ONE SCANDALOUS STORY by Kalb, A VAST CONSPIRACY by Toobin, and there are many others. All of them pretty much corroborate Brock's story. I have recently seen conservative pundits try to dismiss Brock out of hand at this point as eagerly as they embraced him when he was cranking out Anita Hill-hating or Clinton-hating material, but their protestations fall pretty flat. The good news is that they aren't going to be able to ignore him. The political significance of this book is what rates it five stars. In other aspects it is between three and four. In a biographical format Brock is pretty unflinching when he comes to examining his own motivations and mindset. He isn't the first young idealist to be seduced into a values-shredding cult, nor will he be the last, but his trip in and out of the "movement" seems a little too clinical for me. Not that I don't believe it; but I am left to believe that if it weren't for the fact that he was a closeted gay man he would still be there cheerfully rubbing elbows with Ann Coulter and Bernie Goldberg cranking out right-wing hit pieces for the GOP. As it was, he borrows a metaphor to call it "being a Jew in Hitler's army." You don't need to be politically well read to know how the right wing feels about gays. I have to disagree with another reviewer who called Brock's narrative "precise." For this book's next edition, I think it should have more clippings (quotes from Brocks and other hit pieces), dates, and at least an index. In spite of all that the story is quite understandable, and compelling. I could not spot any inconsistencies. By his own account, Brock has much to atone for. This book is a good start, but there is much more to be done. This story is about how we was in the ground floor of a poisionous new trend in presidential politics. If that is ever going to be undone, the events in this book will have to become common knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: I'm only 80 pages in...
Review: But I'm already blown away. This book does not just "feed red meat" to people whose minds have already been made up (i.e. "Bias"). This is a well written, captivating story of losing one's soul for a cause that was at best less than noble, at worst sinister. Mr. Brock drops so many high profile names so quickly that my only criticism could be that people who aren't as familiar with politicians and DC reporters could get lost at moments, but that information does not detract from the story Mr. Brock tells. Basically, if you've voted or read a newspaper at least once in the last 15 years, than buy and read this book. You'll find it fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Blinded by the Money
Review: Having read Brock's books on Anita Hill and Hillary Clinton, and remembering his hatchet job on Clinton in the now defunct "American Spectator," I was not all-together surprised at the tone of this particular book. Half-way through "Blinded by the Right" I decided Brock's politics/books will probably always be aligned with whatever party or circumstance that will help him make a buck. I, for one, won't be surprised if he becomes a "conservative" once again when it will be financially to his benefit. Read this only if you can't think of anything else to spend time on.
Rating:
Summary: read it and be frightened
Review: If one is to believe one half of what the author says then Hillary Clinton's accusation of a right wing conspiracy to topple President Clinton was right. Brock details the financing and tactics of a the modern right wing which so hated and loathed the idea of a Clinton presidency that they wished to destroy him at every turn. When Reagan was president, the Democrats complained but did so within the framework of democratic dissent. The GOP right wing as led by Gingrich, the Christian right, Richard Mellon Scaife, the American Spectator magazine, Rush Limbaugh and so many others coordinated their efforts for maximum effect. Their initial concerns were of moderate Democratic policies. They also believed in revenge for both simply beating incumbent Bush 41, of defeating Bork for Supreme Court and of being liberal minded. One wonders from reading this book if our notion of fair play and honest debate was hijacked by the right wing which so believed in its own mantra that they would do anything to demonize those who disagreed with them. And, the sex scandals that Clinton brought on himself were only additional fodder for the cause; this group was out to destroy Clinton and his 'liberal' friends well before Lewinsky. This book makes for a good read and needs to be considered as a wake up call. The isolationists of the 30s, McCarthyites of the 50s, radicals of the 60s and White House criminals of the Watergate era have all returned to the Republican party of the 1990s. Brock details it; we read it and decide for ourselves.
| 
