Blowing Smoke

Bill O'Reilly's famous campaign against today's ubiquitous greeting, "Happy Holidays," is not just about remembering the true meaning of Christmas. He has told his audience that secular conspirators have a "secret plan" to "persecute" Christians and eliminate Christianity. And O'Reilly is not the only one crying persecution. The success of these conspiracists has nurtured a self-propagating industry of rightwing paranoia, which is wreaking havoc on American political discourse.How Bill O'Reilly Saved Christmas 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. In a lively and engaging style that makes readers both laugh and cringe, prominent blogger Michael Wolraich explores the current political environment as he pursues answers to two questions: Why is this happening? And what can we do about it?