A leftist tells us what he really thinks

I recently bought a copy of The Secret Knowledge by David Mamet. I've not read very much of this book yet, but I like what I'm reading so far. Mamet's prose is terse and could use the help of a good editor in places, but the content of what he says is profound. But this post isn't a review of this book, but a comment on something a reviewer calling himself Ben Bochner wrote on Amazon. Bochner's post was in response to another poster's critique of Bochner's negative review of the book itself, which can be found here.

Here is what Bochner had to say to the other poster:

Be careful, Mr. Wolf - you're not on Fox News now, your nonsense will not go unchallenged. The majority of Americans are buying into what Mamet is saying? The whole reason the Republican Party is in such trouble is because it only appeals to white people. A political party cannot muster a majority anymore in this country by only appealing to white people. The Republican Party is going the way of The Whigs - and Fox News ain't far behind.

When I first read this I didn't really know how to respond to it. Even now I find myself wondering whether Bochner actually realized what he was saying.

There is so much wrong with what he wrote that I don't even know where to begin. Bochner seems to believe that a person's political philosophy is not a function of the ideas they believe in, but their skin color. Stop and think about that for a moment. Is that not the most absurd and insulting thing he could possibly say?

He seems to believe, in all seriousness, that racial distinctions are not merely skin deep, but signify profound differences in the way human beings think, feel, and experience the world around them. In other words, the composition of their soul.

He seems to think that "white" people possess certain emotional and intellectual traits that make the Republican party attractive to them. Meanwhile other people who are not white, possess other traits that make this party unattractive to them.

The man is a fucking nut.

I'd call him a racist except to do so would drag out a very old and tired cliche that has been used to tell far too many lies and obscure far too many truths.

So I'll just say that he's crazy and ignorant and bigoted and leave it at that.