Post by Dylan on Jul 15, 2005 7:53:03 GMT -5
www.time.com/time/columnist/sachs/article/0,9565,1082999,00.html
Posted Thursday, Jul. 14, 2005
Vignette StoryServer 5.0 Fri Jul 15 00:28:19 2005
Galley Girl: Questions for Bernard Goldberg
Our books correspondent talks with the pundit about politics, culture and Courtney Love
Bernard Goldberg has been on a spirited crusade against the left for three books now —the number one New York Times bestseller Bias, the bestselling Arrogance, and his latest book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. Goldberg, an Emmy-winning journalist, is a former correspondent on the CBS program 48 Hours. Galley Girl spoke by phone to him in Miami.
GG: You used to be a liberal. What happened?
BG: What happened? Liberals happened. I want to make a distinction between your run-of-the-mill liberals and the cultural elite liberals, who really speak for liberalism in America today. Most liberals obviously are decent people. They go to work every day, they care about their families, maybe they give money to charity. Fine. I have no problem whatsoever with anybody in that group. But the people who are speaking for liberals in the world of politics, the chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean; or the cultural liberals, like Michael Moore; the Hollywood elites who confuse intelligence with celebrity—they think because they’re famous, they’re also smart. I listen to them and I say, I don’t want to be part of that group anymore. Even when I agree with them, which is more often than you would think, I no longer want to be seen as being part of that group. It isn’t because of their politics, which I think are misguided; it’s because they come off as snobby and elitest. I think they look down their nose at ordinary Americans.
GG: How did you compile your list?
BG: I really think that there are a lot of people out there, liberals as well as conservatives, Democrats as well as Republicans, who say that this country has just gotten too angry in recent years, too nasty and certainly too vulgar. There’s this tendency to believe that this stuff just happens in societies—societies just evolve; nobody’s to blame. I don’t believe that. I think people are to blame. These aren’t the 100 worst people in America; they’re 100 people who in my view are screwing things up. And some of the names are there for fun. I mean, Courtney Love...
GG: You called her a “ho”! That’s serious.
BG: I called her a “ho.”
GG: What’s a “ho” as opposed to a sleeper?
BG: There’s a world of difference. You know the stuff that she’s done. I figured one word for Courtney Love ought to take care of it.
GG: Somehow, I’m not amazed that Howard Stern is on your list.
BG: The reason he’s on the list because he’s supposed to be a shock jock. Here’s the bad news: he doesn’t shock anybody anymore. Thanks to Howard...this kind of sludge just washes over us. And that’s the danger. That’s the serious part of the book. I’m not the Church Lady. I don’t care what people say in private; I don’t care what they do in private. But we’re talking about the public arena.
Posted Thursday, Jul. 14, 2005
Vignette StoryServer 5.0 Fri Jul 15 00:28:19 2005
Galley Girl: Questions for Bernard Goldberg
Our books correspondent talks with the pundit about politics, culture and Courtney Love
Bernard Goldberg has been on a spirited crusade against the left for three books now —the number one New York Times bestseller Bias, the bestselling Arrogance, and his latest book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. Goldberg, an Emmy-winning journalist, is a former correspondent on the CBS program 48 Hours. Galley Girl spoke by phone to him in Miami.
GG: You used to be a liberal. What happened?
BG: What happened? Liberals happened. I want to make a distinction between your run-of-the-mill liberals and the cultural elite liberals, who really speak for liberalism in America today. Most liberals obviously are decent people. They go to work every day, they care about their families, maybe they give money to charity. Fine. I have no problem whatsoever with anybody in that group. But the people who are speaking for liberals in the world of politics, the chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean; or the cultural liberals, like Michael Moore; the Hollywood elites who confuse intelligence with celebrity—they think because they’re famous, they’re also smart. I listen to them and I say, I don’t want to be part of that group anymore. Even when I agree with them, which is more often than you would think, I no longer want to be seen as being part of that group. It isn’t because of their politics, which I think are misguided; it’s because they come off as snobby and elitest. I think they look down their nose at ordinary Americans.
GG: How did you compile your list?
BG: I really think that there are a lot of people out there, liberals as well as conservatives, Democrats as well as Republicans, who say that this country has just gotten too angry in recent years, too nasty and certainly too vulgar. There’s this tendency to believe that this stuff just happens in societies—societies just evolve; nobody’s to blame. I don’t believe that. I think people are to blame. These aren’t the 100 worst people in America; they’re 100 people who in my view are screwing things up. And some of the names are there for fun. I mean, Courtney Love...
GG: You called her a “ho”! That’s serious.
BG: I called her a “ho.”
GG: What’s a “ho” as opposed to a sleeper?
BG: There’s a world of difference. You know the stuff that she’s done. I figured one word for Courtney Love ought to take care of it.
GG: Somehow, I’m not amazed that Howard Stern is on your list.
BG: The reason he’s on the list because he’s supposed to be a shock jock. Here’s the bad news: he doesn’t shock anybody anymore. Thanks to Howard...this kind of sludge just washes over us. And that’s the danger. That’s the serious part of the book. I’m not the Church Lady. I don’t care what people say in private; I don’t care what they do in private. But we’re talking about the public arena.
