John Avlon
John Avlon
John Phillips Avlonis an American journalist and political commentator who is the editor in chief of The Daily Beast and a CNN political analyst. He is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics, which critically appraises both traditional American centrism and the more recent radical centrism. He is also the author of Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. Former President Bill Clinton said that the book Wingnuts "offers a clear and comprehensive review of...
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people ugly resentment
When people tap into this politics of resentment, it usually ends ugly.
country crazy america
By pumping up hyper-partisanship, our country (America) is playing with forces that can easily get out of control. We are giving purpose and cover - and sometimes a sense of purpose - to the crazy among us. We are encouraging a culture of extremism
patriotism tales partisanship
One tell-tale sign of a Wingnut: they always confuse partisanship with patriotism.
needs debate term
We need to punch back against the extremes of both the left and the right and define the terms of the debate ourselves.
stupid law play
Godwin's law states that the longer any online debate goes on, the likelier it is that someone will play the Nazi card. It's the rhetorical equivalent of going nuclear and stupid at the same time.
party president problem
If you only take offense when the president of your party is compared to Hitler, then you're part of the problem.
opposites lines action
Politics follows the lines of physics: every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.
party media two
The two parties are still more polarized than ever before and the rise of partisan media is an important reason for it.
smart talking sick
The American people are smart. They've gotten sick of the predictable hyperpartisan talking points and canned anger.
country reality self
What might be good for ratings can be bad for the country. The hard-core partisans are self-segregating themselves into separate political realities. But the majority of Americans are starting to wake up to the game.
media talking play
Whats different now is that while political leaders used to give talking points to talk radio, now talk-radio hosts are giving talking points to political leaders. Its all part of the suffocating spin cycle were in. In media, politics and publishing, the conventional wisdom is to play to this base.
tense present-tense
Politics is history in the present tense.
believe party responsibility
I believe that the far-right and the far-left can be equally insane - but there's no question that in the first years of the Obama administration, the far-right has been far crazier. In part, this comes from parties being out of power - without the responsibility of governing to ground them, the activists and the ideologues take over.
tyrants important calling
It's important to remember that Bush Derangement Syndrome on the left - comparing him to Hitler, calling him a terrorist and a tyrant - preceded Obama Derangement Syndrome on the right.