Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics

by Glenn Greenwald

A takedown of the GOP’s deceitful propaganda machine from the hugely popular blogger of Salon.com’s Unclaimed Territory and the author of the New York Times bestsellers How Would a Patriot Act? and A Tragic Legacy

Long since Americans were wooed by images of Ronald Reagan astride a horse, complete with cowboy hat and rugged good looks, the Republican Party has used a John Wayne mythology to build up its candidates and win elections. Their marketing scheme of evoking brave, courageous, heroic warriors has been so persuasive and strikes such a patriotic nerve, that many citizens have voted based on this manipulative imagery even when they’ve flat out disagreed with the GOP’s positions on key issues.

Glenn Greenwald puts this bogus GOP mythology under microscopic critique and successfully argues that none of these men is, in fact, a brave, strong moral warrior—far from it. Rather, most have dodged military duty, have strings of broken marriages and affairs, and live decadent, elitist lives, which they so ruthlessly condemn Democrats for doing. Such false archetypes—that GOP leaders are exclusively fit to command the military, represent traditional family values, and are fiscally restrained and responsible because they’re just regular folk like us—are so firmly entrenched in our culture as to allow the GOP to sit back and let their time-tested marketing ploy spin itself silly while avoiding debate on real issues. When they actually do voice opinions, it’s nothing more than a smear campaign of the supposed weakness and elitism of the Democrats.
To prevent this tired marketing scheme from succeeding again, Greenwald takes off the gloves and knocks down the hoaxes and myths, exposing the tactics the right-wing machine uses to drown out both reality and consideration of real issues. But he also calls on Democrats to shake off the defensive posture (“We love America too,” “We support the troops too,” “We also believe in God”) and start attacking the Republican candidates for the hypocrites they, in truth, are.

The first book to dissect the Republican Cult of Personality and leave it openly exposed in its unabashed, shameful depravity, Great American Hypocrites is a deeply necessary call-out to Democrats to attack the GOP with their competitor’s very own weapons.



Ever since the cowboy image of Ronald Reagan was sold to Americans, the Republican Party has used the same John Wayne imagery to support its candidates and take elections. We all know how they govern, but
the right-wing propaganda machine is very adept at hijacking debate
and marketing their candidates as effectively as the Marlboro Man.
For

The Republican nominee is an upstanding, regular guy who shares the values of the common man.
He divorced his first wife in order to marry a young multimillionaire heiress whose family then funded his political career.

Republicans are brave and courageous.
It’s a party filled with chicken hawks and draft dodgers.

Republicans are strong on defense and will keep us safe.
They prey on fears, and their endless wars make America far less secure.

The Republicans are the party of fiscal restraint and small, limited
government.
Soaring deficits, unchecked presidential power, and an increasingly invasive surveillance state are par for their course.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Government, The United States Of America, American History, United States

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger and author who worked as a constitutional and civil-rights litigator prior to becoming a contributor (columnist and blogger) to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics. He has also contributed to other newspapers and political news magazines, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The American Conservative, The National Interest, and In These Times.

Reviews

[Amora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greenwald is a fantastic progressive pundit that I love to read from. His articles on Substack are always well-researched and are deserving of much praise. His Twitter feed is also a treat. This book, while over a decade old, should be read by both conservatives and progressives. Conservatives should read it to learn how they can reform their party to actually reflect conservatives values. Progressives should read it so they can call out the Republican Party for its hypocrisy. Everyone can get something out of this book.

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glen Greenwald is a lawyer, so he's no stranger to research or putting forth a reasoned case based on a lot of diverse information.

This book is a well researched and pointed indictment of the hypocrisy endemic to the nation's political right.

I'd probably recommend it to right wingers, but reason and evidence mail fail to convince most of them that they are backing the wrong horse. Even in socially conservative terms, it appears that the left has a higher level of conformance to national norms than the emotionally constipated right wing. Most of our gays, for instance, are not only 'out', they're honest. The Larry Craigs, Mark Foleys, and David Vitters out there are not, but seem determined to force feed the morality they lack down the throats of the rest of the country.

This hypocrisy extends to the image making and press manipulation that the right has successfully performed for nearly every major American political debate, including constutional rights, war and war making, torture, fiscal policy, 'conventional' marriage, etc. and it has not only made a mockery of our political process, it has brought the country to its collective knees, morally.

While the approach in this book is ideal for someone with a tolerance for extensive support of an argument, often, Greenwald seems to belabor his points, driving in 100 nails when 10 would do.

Stylistically, in that regard it leaves something to be desired, but for pure info and analysis, he has done a great pre-2008-election service. Dedicated writers of letters-to-the-editor should read this for points of inclusion. The word needs to get out.

John McCain is W, Term 3. At this point, it is essential to make sure that his mythology is highlighted and neutralized and that we hold the press to high standards this time around. We shouldn't care if McCain is a great guy to have a beer with, but we should know how many centuries he thinks he'd like to keep us in Iraq.

Gift this book to anyone on the fence this fall. Refer to it often in written and public communications. Use it to inform yourself in the ways in which the press generates myth and participates in disinformation.

And while you are at it, hope against hope that it is just one of many arrows that will destroy the aspirations of the right to continue the destruction of our republic this fall.

[Todd Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing you should know, is that Great American Hypocrites came out in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election so the material is a bit dated. The second thing is that, you’re probably already aware of the rank hypocrisy exhibited by our political leaders. Thus you have:
- Draft dodging, chicken hawks who portray their veteran opponents as weak and fearful.
- Serial womanizers with a string of broken marriages who espouse ‘family values’.
- Small government advocates who want the state to intrude on personal medical decisions and who push for broad expansion of surveillance powers.
Nothing much has changed in the intervening 4 years and politicians and pundits continue to say whatever suits the political expediency of the moment, heedless of whether it contradicts earlier held views.

While Greenwald does a good job documenting numerous cases of hypocrisy in the book, he fails to draw any larger meaning from these events making this a screed that was once timely, but has since grown a bit stale. He also decries the politics of personal attacks in a book that consists largely of ... wait for it ... personal attacks.

As dishonest and appalling as this hypocrisy can be, it is really a symptom of the radicalization of the republican party into an ever more extreme right-wing regime bent on permanent and unopposed power. Since Goldwater lost his bid for the presidency, they’ve steadily moved rightwards, purging the moderate influences within the party. Along with this shift, their rhetoric has become more heated, polarizing and extreme.

Some are predicting that the right will pull back from the brink should Romney lose the election in a few weeks. But these individuals have not learned anything from the past 40 years. Romney’s loss will be blamed on the fact that he wasn’t “severely” conservative enough and the radicalization will intensify, and the party will become ever more theocratic and plutocratic ... to the detriment of the country.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Petulant indignation. Greenwald's book seems like a few keen observations padded out to book-length in a book past its shelf-life what with the 2008 election now behind us. Republican pundits/apologists/operatives want to be John Wayne; even John Wayne wanted to be John Wayne. But he wasn't, and they aren't, but their obsession with this iconic facade runs the gamut from deliberate hypocritical posing for personal gain to serious psychological underdevelopment, in every area from sexuality to warmongering to economic ideology.

Unfortunately, Greenwald writes like the uncool smart kid on the high school paper, shining the spotlight of logic and intelligence on the dominant culture at school and exposing all of its irrationality, injustice, and unfairness. And the audience is the other uncool kids, who already agree that its the popular kids who are the true losers. At book-length, Greenwald's blog style becomes burdensome, because he also writes like a lawyer with one key thesis and an overwhelming preponderance of evidence, all of which he is going to demonstrate to you in detail. So you get 15 examples of hypocritical television pundits, all on the same topic. Again and again.

I'm convinced. And I'm grateful to Greenwald for his tireless work shining light on violations of constitutional law by the Bush Administration. In the dark days before the election, knowing that bloggers were speaking truth to power and exposing lies, crimes, and hypocrisy among the powerful was incredibly invigorating. Now, post-election, books like this provide a few key insights, but don't make for very good reads.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but very little that's new to anyone who follows Greenwald's blog, or really any left-leaning political commentator. Greenwald's writing style in his books is identical to his style on his blog as well so, as a regular reader of the latter, it's difficult to shake the feeling of simply reading an extremely long blog post when cracking open one of his books. I'd recommend this book as a potential eye-opener to someone who actually buys the myths Greenwald exposes, but as an exercise in preaching to the choir, it's not entertaining or informative enough to be worthwhile, in my opinion, with two exceptions.

The first chapter is a comparison of the iconic figure of John Wayne to the actual man behind the legend. The man, unsurprisingly, doesn't live up to the legend. The final chapter focuses specifically on John McCain, contrasting the accepted media narrative about him with the actual facts of his life, information that should be useful in the months leading up to the 2008 elections.

[Martine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything the GOP claims to be-they are not. John Wayne was a draft dodger and it goes rapidly downhill from there. Am I surprised? No- anyone that is capable of reading above a fifth grade level, this is not surprising. It has all been in the news at one time or another but this books gets it all into one neat place. Memorize this book and don't let the right wing hypocrites beat you down anymore.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greenwald is a one-man hit squad here, blowing up the myths of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan before heading into the shallower waters of Gingrich, W, Larry Craig and the gang. Great American Hypocrites is a fact-checked and undeniable condemnation of the chickenhawks and neo-cons who ran America into the ground in the name of "freedom." Great book!

[Nir Haramati · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Wayne to McCain, a revelatory and telling account of rotting American political Party systems, press that does not do the simple job of providing pertinent information, let alone a critical look at politics, and politicians that completely disregard and disrespect not only the most basic Democratic decrees, but their own historical legacy.

Certainly worth reading!!!

[Jeff Brailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are an American voter, this m ay be the most important book you read this year. You must read it before you go to the polls in November. Not only that, you must get your friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances and complete strangers you meet in the mall or supermarket to read it too.

[Bobby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I recently came across Glenn Greenwald's blog on salon.com. Take my advice: stick with his blog. This book was extremely disappointing. I felt like I was reading the Rush Limbaugh of the Left (and I consider myself to be liberal on certain political and social issues).

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of whiny and not that illuminating. All liberals hate John Wayne, man. I doubt I'll finish it.

[Zalman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the relatively minor weakneses (somewhat repetitive arguments), the book is right on in every respect, from cover to cover. It is too bad Greenwald's book will make the most sense to the choir, but I wouldn't necessarily assume that every fact and story in the book is already well known and accepted by sophisticated, like-minded readers, nor that his thesis will be rejected out of hand by anyone who voted Republican in the last election. Even if one essentially knows the score on the two-faced right wing politicians and the conservative media darlings who fawn on them and perpetuate their lies (while adding lots of their own), there is plenty of information here, and it is organized so it can be readily referenced and used in arguments. I also think (hope) there are still people out there who don't know all the stories and arguments, and could be swayed away from voting for the next "plain-spoken" "jes' folks" "family values" "limited government" neo-conservative hypocrite by reading this book. I'm not convinced that Obama winning the election in November is a slum dunk. I won't believe it until I see him taking the oath of office next January. In the meantime, any ammunition in the fight for a change of direction is welcome.

[Jon]

Greenwald gets in some good licks at John Wayne, Maureen Dowd, and other living and dead phonies. He also makes the key point that Republican chickenhawks actively resent and fear politicos--whether John McCain or George McGovern--who have actually served in combat. (Thus, not having served, while expressing hawkish views, may actually boost a politician's standing among voters--who may themselves have never been in the military--seeking to justify their own pro-war views.) There's also a good discussion of the sexual hypocrisy that's marked right-wing politics for at least the past 20 years. Sometimes Greenwald is too superficial, as when he cites Wayne's boast that he helped to drive Carl Foreman (the screenwriter best known for his work on HIGH NOON) out of the US, when in fact Wayne had nothing to do with this though, as Greenwald says, he claimed he did. In other words, Wayne didn't even have the courage of his convictions, jumping on the Hollywood anti-Red bandwagon only after that became a popular and safe thing to do. Greenwald's book leaves me wondering if the same old tactics that failed miserably in 2008 will work--perhaps with major adjustments--in 2012.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greenwald’s Great American Hypocrites is an attempt to paint the American Republican Party as indulgent in hypocrisy. He pins down the conservative rhetoric with five devices: 1) The John Wayne Syndrome, 2) How Great American Hypocrites Feed Off One Another, 3) Tough Guise, 4) Wholesome Family Men and 5) Small-Government Tyrants. Essentially, Greenwald asserts that Republicans are chicken-hawks who have amoral extramarital affairs and don’t follow through on what they say.

The book was a quick and easy read and it had some interesting things to say at times. However, I was a bit let down because I picked up this book after hearing Greenwald speak and his writing (while extremely focused) was not that valuable for me. He is obviously a good writer, and very passionate about this topic. But somehow this work felt like it was lacking something to me.

3 of 5 stars. 290 pages. Published in 2008.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love Glenn Greenwald, but this doesn't contain anything that any reasonably well-informed liberal doesn't already know, and it won't penetrate the skull of any confirmed conservative who isn't already leaning towards doubt. I won't say that it is preaching towards the choir, because there is a group who really should read it and absorb it if they can... the so-called media jackasses who swallow these moronic macho myths like free beer (and regurgitate it like the same.)
A Tragic Legacy was much more electrifying and pulled together myriad bits and pieces into a startling whole in a much more effective way.

[Xysea · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I like Glenn's column in Salon, I am not always sure the extended version works out so well, so I fell short of giving this book highest marks.

I applaud his attempts to define the hypocrisy of the right; a fun job if done correctly. lol :P However, I don't really feel he broke new ground here, per se. A lot of these myths are only upheld by those invested in them, and a great many of them are not believed by the average person - for the most part.

But it's nice to see it all laid out so well. I only wish he'd given us a pocket list of bulletined points to keep handy for cocktail parties. :)

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Greenwald's blog for sometime I am accustomed to his discussion of the hypocrisy of the conservative American political party. As the election is now long over, Greenwald has moved on to put Obama's feet to the fire. That is intellectual consistency that I can get behind.

The man is a constitutional lawyer. He's a fan of the rule of law. Who wouldn't enjoy listening to a knowledgeable person discuss logical reasons for why our country was set up the way it was?

[Mark Flowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greenwald's basic argument--the hypocrisies and abuses of power of the Republican party in the 1990s and 2000s--is basically sound, and well documented. Unfortunately, his overheated rhetoric, which in his blog is usually palatable, becomes pretty hard to take at book length. Also, he is a bit too prone to ad hominem attacks (granted, the people he's reporting on may deserve them sometimes, but he would do better to take the high ground).

[Ryan Melena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information but overall a bit repetitive. The book could have been significantly shorter and still hit all the high notes. Glenn Greenwald is one of my very favorite bloggers and political commentators so maybe the information is more repetitive to me than to most. I'd love to see him release an updated version of this book taking the hypocrisy of our current Democratic congress, administration, and its stalwart supporters to task as he often does in his Salon blog.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evicerates the four big myths of 'Rebublicanism': 1-That they share the values of the common man, 2-They are brave and courageous patriots, 3- They are strong on defence, 4-they are the party of fiscal restraint and small limited government.

Greewald writes for Solon and I have been reading him for a couple of years. This cat is spot on!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book that explains the various hypocrisies of the Republican Right. There isn't anything ground breaking if you are already familiar with the sleeze of the Republican party, but the book is creatively intertextual, bringing in elements of blogging like block quotes, bold, and italics to the printed word.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overwhelming redundancy is grating, as he repeats himself throughout the text with the same rather obvious points. If it weren't for the brief and rare flashes of brilliance in the analysis, I would have easily given this a two (or one) star rating. Greenwald could definitely use a thesaurus, too - he used "effete" at least forty or fifty times.

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contained a fair amount of interesting facts in support of his thesis, and yet somehow, it was still EXTREMELY REPETITIVE. He could have said every single bit of this in a long essay that was still nowhere near book length.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenn Greenwald skewers the Republican Party, attributing their warmongering, lawbreaking and arrogance to personal hypocritical doublestandards.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blistering and entertaining polemic, focusing on John Wayne as the archetype for Republicans: divorced draft-dodgers who cheerlead for wars and traditional values.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.. It seemed more readable than this last one, but towards he did talk about the 08 election. Something that surely fascinated me.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glenn Greenwald usually has something interesting to say. This book is dated, as it ends before the election of 2008.

That said, it did have a lot of interesting historical info, especially regarding how the myth-making around certain conservative figures came to be starting with John Wayne (who is still worshiped by a segment of older men in particular.) These mythos were applied to a succession of men who didn't deserve the mighty tough-guy image at all, including GW Bush and now of course, Donald Trump.

And while the author's strong words against Chris Matthews and other news folks' falling all over themselves to laud GW Bush may rile some, I'm not shocked to read his characterization of mainstream journalists as lazy and mean-spirited. It happened nearly 20 years ago, but I still freshly recall sitting in a college classroom full of journalism students and a professor, all of them going into paroxysms of laughter because I had opposed a local radio station slaughtering a cow as an on-air stunt, and further, because I was a vegetarian. Many of them were indeed mean-spirited or at the very least joiners in the vicious "fun." Many of these students are probably well into their careers and are probably still nasty toward anything going against mainstream attitudes.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt like a mean-girl reading this. Like OMG Newt!!! You did WHAT to your dieing wife?? You slut!!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated but I love the part on the real John Wayne. He should’ve gone into ways for the Dems/Obama to fight back still.

[Korin: A Crone Running Amok · Rating 4 out of 5]

From John Wayne to Bush/Cheney, a look at the style over substance men of the Republican Party and what may be driving them.