Killing the Messenger: The Right-Wing Plot to Derail Hillary and Hijack Your Government

The "vast right-wing conspiracy" to destroy Hillary Clinton is back, according to this trenchant j%E2%80%99accuse by an apostate who used to belong to it. Brock gained fame as a conservative journalist with the book The Real Anita Hill, a hatchet job (which he disowns) on the woman who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment; he%E2%80%99s now head of the liberal watchdog outfit Media Matters%E2%80%94parts of the book read like a fund-raising prospectus for the group%E2%80%94and a fervent Clinton-for-president booster. His unabashed mission is to defend Clinton from right-wing detractors such as Rush Limbaugh, the Koch brothers, Fox News, and even some liberal outlets such as the New York Times, which he tars with a longtime anti-Clinton bias. With a media insider%E2%80%99s expert eye, Brock details how talking points and innuendos originating from GOP strategists filter down through conservative websites, books, and talk shows and into the mainstream media. He presents lucid, entertaining debunkings of anti-Clinton memes, arguing that she did nothing wrong during the Benghazi attack, broke no e-mail rules as secretary of state, and is neither an out-of-touch elitist nor the man-hating "feminazi" of sexist jibes. Brock%E2%80%99s rhetorical venom and naked partisanship will alienate some readers, but his sharp-eyed reporting makes for a spirited challenge to business-as-usual political discourse. (Sept. 15)