max blumenthal

It's become common to hear that the Republicans are just "the Party of No," with no ideas beyond obstructing the Democratic agenda. But Arun Gupta of the Indypendent has a new piece out at Truthout.org where he questions that view. The Republicans have deftly turned being the "Party of No" into a positive stance: They signal to their base they are working to defeat an alien ideology while defending real Americans and traditional values and institutions. Arun joins Laura in studio to discuss his piece, the "Party of No" strategy, and where the Left is in all of this.

Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue: An American Life" comes out Tuesday, and she doesn't appear likely to fade from public prominence anytime soon. Pundits and political observers wrote her off after the Republican ticket's loss in 2008 and again after her rather unconventional exist from the Alaska governorship, but Palin remains popular with the Republican base and has demonstrated her ability to drive the discourse, whether it's her Facebook post about "death panels" or jumping into the race in New York's 23rd district. Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation, is co-editor of "Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare," which collects essays from around the progressive media analyzing the mysterious appeal of Sarah Palin, Rebecca Traister of Salon, Max Blumenthal, Daily Beast contributor, and Shannyn Moore of Smart Radio in Alaska to talk about the books, the Right, and why Palin just won't go away.

Author Max Blumenthal, popular for his politically satirical videos at prayer meetings, hate rallies, gun shows with the extremist right, talks to us about his New York Times bestseller, Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party. While conservatives rebuke Blumenthal's claims of how the waning republican party has been held together by its growing ultra-conservative stronghold, the book has received wide-spread praise for its explanation of how the wacky seeming Christian fundamentalist minority has came to control the GOP.

How did the mainstream media cover this week’s Iranian election, tea-bagger rally in D.C. or former President Carter’s comment about racism and politics in the U.S.? Our media panel, Max Blumenthal, Janeane Garafolo, and Kai Wright, discuss newsmakers’ hits and misses. And in this week's Got Docs?: Raymond Myles was a man of profound contradiction: gospel singer, hustler, prominent representative of the New Orleans Black Church, scorned gay worshipper. Now, he is the subject of Leo Sacks' A Taste of Heaven: The Heartbreak life of Raymond Myles.