Blowing smoke

A self-propagating industry of rightwing paranoia is wreaking havoc on American political discourse. TV and radio pundits warn their listeners that secular conspirators have a "secret plan" to "persecute" Christians and eliminate Christianity, or that the Obama regime is encouraging black kids to beat up white kids. Prominent blogger Michael Wolraich pursues answers to two questions: Why is this happening? And what can we do about it? Wolraich documents, dissects, and deconstructs the myths that underlie the conservative movement's growing reliance on persecution politics. It examines the psychological and sociological appeal of conspiracy theories as well as the history of these ideas from the Goldwater era through the campaigns against affirmative action and gun control to the contemporary era of talk shows, Christian activism, and anti-immigration sentiments.--From publisher description.