James Edwards, the congenial and insightful host of the Political Cesspool radio program, has just released his first book, Racism, Schmacism: How Liberals Use the “R” Word to Push the Obama Agenda. I read the book in manuscript, liked it a lot, and wrote this back-cover blurb,

Peter Brimelow once observed that “the modern definition of a ‘racist’ is someone who’s winning an argument with a liberal.” As James Edwards demonstrates in his enjoyable new book, this definition has recently been expanded to cover “conservative white person” and even “white person who meets with other white people in groups.” Linguistically speaking, the word is borderline babble; politically speaking, it’s a powerful weapon used to squash dissent and humiliate traditional Americans. Luckily, James is here to show us how to fight back. European Americans — the majority that dares not speak its name — should be proud of their identity and cultural heritage. Being “racist” means holding views that were once characterized as being “American."

I suggest that all AltRight readers pick up a copy of Racism, Schmacism -- or better yet, get a couple of copies and give them to your viscerally conservative friends and relatives. You know the type: the people who listen to Rush Limbaugh, maybe read World Net Daily, and are staunchly patriotic -- and who have a sneaking suspicion that something has gone horribly wrong with their country, even if they can’t articulate what it is exactly. (Such people probably don’t read AlternativeRight.com, or have shelves lined with Nietzsche, Alain de Benoist, and Hans-Herman Hoppe. But that’s fine. Movements work through the division of labor, and James commands a large and vitally important constituency.)

The power of “the R Word,” as James points out, can’t be underestimated. John McCain was willing to lose an election lest he be called a “racist” (which would have resulted if he really took Obama to the mat); large corporations -- even ones unable to turn profits -- are willing to spend billions on “diversity training” and hire untold number of unqualified people so as not to appear as bastions of white supremacy (or get served with a anti-discrimination suit); in terms of career-wrecking potential, the charge of “racism” probably ranks just below those of incest and murder.

The R Word is tossed around constantly at the elite levels of business, media, and academia, of course, but then, the term wouldn’t have nearly as much power as it does, if it didn’t hold a certain power in the minds of average white Americans, whom the elites can count on to cower and pull at their forelocks whenever “racism” is uttered.

Many in the Alternative Right (writ large) are interested in secession, radical traditionalism, political orders other than welfare democracy, and more. It’s important to remember that none of these are possible until normal Americans begin to understand that the ubiquitous “racism” charge is a tool used to attack them and denigrate Western heritage -- and isn’t about fair play, individualism, and the like. The R Word is, in many ways, the spearhead of contemporary social engineering.

For these reasons and more, Racism, Schmacism is an important volume -- and a powerful gateway drug.

On April 9, 2010, Newsweek ran an article entitled simply "Hate." In it the magazine called Fox News host Glenn Beck "the master purveyor of...[a] particular brand of sly paranoia" and attempted to link him to antigovernment and militia organizations. Another article in the same magazine argued that Beck validates liberals' worst fears about conservatives -- that they're "hyperbolic, demagogic, irrational, and slightly unhinged." Chris Matthews has stated that Beck's show is the one he can be sure he'd never go on and Cookie Roberts once called him "worse than a clown" and "more like a terrorist." Time Magazine's Joe Klein has accused Beck of coming close to committing sedition.

Even people usually silent about politics have trouble restraining themselves when Beck's name comes up.  To James Cameron, he's a "madman" and a "fucking asshole." The science magazine Discover referred to him as "an idiot." According to the Washington Post, over 200 advertisers are involved in a boycott of Beck's Fox News show.    

Robert A. Taft is generally seen by the Old and Alternative Rights as the last major national political figure, narrowly defined, that shared many of our principles. Evidence of the Senator's popularity can be seen in the existence of The Robert A. Taft Club and the fact that The Political Principles of Robert A. Taft by Russell Kirk, first published in 1967, has been re-released in 2010. Going back and reading the work, however, makes me wonder whether we're not seeing Taft and the Old Right through nostalgia colored glasses.

Robert A. Taft didn't enter national politics until his 50s. His father, former president William Howard Taft, implied on more than one occasion that he wished his son had more ambition. It wasn't until 1938 that Taft the son, motivated by the desire to make sure Roosevelt's New Deal didn't destroy the American way of life, left the politics of his native Ohio and joined the U.S. Senate. He would remain there until his death in 1953. Principles was Russell Kirk's interpretation of the Senator's political philosophy based on the latter's public statements, articles and one book, the A Foreign Policy for Americans (1951).