INDCJournal: Guess the List

June 15, 2005

Guess the List

Posted by Bill

Former CBS newsie Bernard Goldberg (the insider that harped on liberal media bias before the blogosphere was even a tiny gleam in Glenn Reynolds' enamored eye) is coming out with a new book titled "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America : (and Al Franken Is #37)." I love the reference to Franken's book that slaps Limbaugh in the title.

From a press release:

A slow poison is running through America's veins, says Bernie Goldberg. It's a poison that is turning America into a far nastier place than it ought to be, a more selfish and cynical place, a less decent and civil place. It's easy to believe that it's nobody's fault; that this is just the way society has evolved. But that's not true. There are specific individuals who, in various ways, are screwing things up in this county - people who are changing America in ways that erode its very ethical and moral underpinnings.
100 People is about those villains - about the various poisons they spread and the damage each does. In short, this is a book about the very real people who are doing us very real harm - people who, Goldberg says,need to be held accountable.

That's certainly a provocative description, but who's on the list?

The release only leaks a few names and standard anti-populist archetypes:

In a series of short, punchy, sometimes funny chapters, Goldberg introduces the specific types: the Schlockmeisters, the Pinstripe Crooks, the Intellectual Thugs, the Hollywood Loudmouths, and the American Jackals, (a.k.a. The Out-for-Themsleves-Screw-Everyone-Else Lawyers). Then Goldberg names 100 of the worst - from people like Jerry Springer and Ludacris to Michael Moore and Al Franken.

Now, Bernard Goldberg is far from a conservative, so I have to assume that he takes some swipes at the Sean Hannity's and Randall Terry's of this world. And aside from the few names in the release, I have to wonder who else makes the cut. Will Goldberg bite the cable news hands that currently feed him?

Any guesses? Who makes your list?

UPDATE: Captain Ed:

The release gets more specific, naming Ludacris, Jerry Springer, and Michael Moore along with Franken as recipients of Goldberg's dubious honors. Having read his other works (Bias was one of my inspirations for this blog), I know that Goldberg will not spare the fringies on the Right, either. I suspect that Fred Phelps and Pat Robertson might inhabit a couple of slots, and perhaps more mainstream people like Sean Hannity might get a mention from the classically liberal Goldberg.

Tom Delay, Michael Moore and Howard Dean make my off-the-cuff cut.

Posted by Bill at June 15, 2005 12:33 PM | TrackBack (4)

Comments

Left:
Krugman
Teddy K
Barb Boxer
Sean Penn

Right:
O'Reilly
Michael Savage

Left and Right:
Bobby "Kleagle" Byrd

Posted by: T Marcell at June 15, 2005 01:48 PM

Well, where to start? Paul Krugman seems like a good candidate...

Somewhat relevant to this, we're having a hate-fest over at Gates of Vienna that everyone should come over and join: In Defense of Hatred.

Posted by: Baron Bodissey at June 15, 2005 01:56 PM

Given the number of leftists, rightists, and Canadians he's pissed off this year, I'll be disappointed if Jeff isn't named in the top 50.

And, damned proud if he is.

Posted by: TallDave at June 15, 2005 02:58 PM

s/b Jeff, except that I suck at typing.

Posted by: TallDave at June 15, 2005 03:00 PM

Assuming that the eight faces on the cover are on the list (check on the Amazon link and click the cover), you can also add to Goldberg's list the following:

* Moore (of course)
* Howard Dean
* Al Sharpton
* Michael Jackson
* Eminem
* Teddy Kennedy
* Barbra Streisand
* Sen. Robert "Klan, What Klan?" Byrd

Posted by: Bill Peschel at June 15, 2005 04:35 PM

Georger Soros better damn well be on there.

Posted by: jmaster at June 15, 2005 05:24 PM

John McCain. His campaign finance reform bill is every bit as dangerous as anything in the Patriot Act.

Posted by: Matt Moore at June 15, 2005 05:36 PM

Ludacris? Oh please! What exactly has he done to get included on Bernie's list?

You could say that he's vulgar. Misogynistic, perhaps. But is he any worse than the other rappers out there? At least he's not "in the system" (that I know of, anyway). Shyne, C-Murder, Lil' Kim, Young Buck and others are either in jail or waiting to go to jail. Why aren't they on the list? (Maybe they are but I doubt it).

Posted by: Daniel at June 15, 2005 07:40 PM

This will be a good test to show us what Goldberg is; Respected Author or Partisan Hack. Obviously, Goldberg is correct in saying that the level of nastiness and vitriol in political discourse has increased. While hardly an original concept, actually documenting those responsible is a great idea, which puts him solidly into the Respected Author category. Mind you, if he tries to pin it mostly on the left, he'll manage to slide into Hack, and deservedly so

Posted by: Dave Ruddell at June 16, 2005 09:39 AM

Given that these are supposed to be the "poison that is turning America into a far nastier place than it ought to be", I assume that this isn't a list of obnoxious politicians which is mostly all of them. Rather this is a list of those narcissistic standouts.

I have in the top 100:

Ralph Neas (people for the american way-out)
Nancy Keenan (her mother didn't listen to her)
Kim Gandy (neither did her's)

and pretty much everone who used "lie" or "lied" to speak about anything political

Posted by: Neo at June 17, 2005 10:28 AM

I'm guessing INDC Bill's schlong makes its appearance. Oh, and Michael Moore.

Posted by: pigilito at June 17, 2005 10:34 AM

top ten from Seatle Times review of the book

Top 10 of "100 People"

1. Michael Moore, filmmaker

2. Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times

3. Ted Kennedy, Democratic U.S. senator, Massachusetts

4. Jesse Jackson, Democratic African-American activist

5. Anthony Romero, American Civil Liberties Union's executive director

6. Jimmy Carter, former Democratic president

7. Margaret Marshall, chief justice, Massachusetts state Supreme Court

8. Paul Krugman, columnist at The New York Times

9. Jonathan Kozol, education scholar and author

10. Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way

Posted by: frasefra at July 6, 2005 02:28 PM