From Disinfopedia
PR Watch editors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber are working on a new book, titled Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America Into a One-Party State. As they did with their previous bestselling book, Weapons of Mass Deception, Rampton and Stauber aim to show how propaganda and public relations are undermining democracy and the public interest. Banana Republicans will investigate how the "right-wing conspiracy," as represented by the GOP and its mouthpieces in media, lobbying groups, and the legal system, is undermining dissent and squelching pluralistic politics in America.
The Problem
The U.S. budget surplus has turned into a massive deficit, billions of taxpayer dollars are funneled into the coffers of Halliburton, millions of jobs have been lost, fears grip the nation, and we are embroiled in two overseas military entanglements with no end in sight. Outside our borders, anti-American sentiment has reached unprecedented levels.
For the first time in living memory, a single party, Republican, controls every major institution of the federal government: the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate and House of Representatives--not to mention the "fourth branch of government," the mass media. How did this come to pass? Is it a good thing for the country?
Banana Republicans will investigate how the national GOP maintains its hold on power through the systematic manipulation of the electoral system, the courts, the media, and the lobbying establishment.
Topics to be Explored
- The rise of the far right
- The plumbers of public opinion
- Undermining elections
- The echo chamber
- Subverting the courts
- The one-party state
- Treating dissent as treason
- War on activism
- The loyal opposition
How you can help
You can help with the research for the book by contributing your knowledge to the articles linked to the "Banana Republicans" page. Of course, the actual content of the published book may differ from the summary in Disinfopedia, depending in part on the research and ideas that you provide.
Authors Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber will appreciate any information that you add, but will of course do their own fact-checking and synthesis, using their own research and analysis to determine which information is appropriate for inclusion in the book. While they will not be able to acknowledge (except in the aggregate) individuals who contribute information via Disinfopedia which is incorporated into the book, we hope that you will consider participating in what we see as an important experiment in developing democratic information systems.
As with past books written by Rampton and Stauber, all royalties and other proceeds from the sale of Banana Republicans will go to their employer, the non-profit Center for Media & Democracy.
Coming June 2004 from Tarcher/Penguin
