• The Backlash comes at a critical time. The 2010 midterm elections will be as much about defining the future of the Republican Party as about beating the Democrats, with moderate party stalwarts like John McCain and Charlie Christ in political danger from right-wing rivals. This book arrives in time to discuss the legitimate risks in the looming election of empowering these extremist elements in our current climate.

• In 2011 and beyond the cacophony that began with health care reform will continue as the president introduces other hot button issues such as immigration reform, climate change, and bank reform.

In this hard-hitting expose, journalist Will Bunch reveals the secrets behind the Tea Party movement and extremist offshoots like the Oath Keepers and reveals how the blend of fear, entertainment and fringe ideas have given rise to media figures such as Glenn Beck. Bunch pulls back the curtain on the paranoid politics of a new generation of Congress members and campaigners, and shines the spotlight on the hucksters trying to cash in on populist anger.

From conspiracy theorists and their Obama “concentration camps” to secessionists, birthers to “independent” Tea Partiers, Bunch draws the connections between this new array of groups and their wild and sometimes competing causes, providing a full-bodied portrait of the far-right,  the issues motivating them, and the anger fueling them. He shows how events including the election of America’s first African-American president, the rise of social networking, and the rabble-rousing of volatile and controversial media personalities from Beck to local talk radio have created a perfect storm for far-right ideology to take hold. Demonstrating how the Internet enables these fringe elements to connect into a seemingly large and united group, Bunch shows how this “voice,” magnified by the media, is distorting the tone and content of public discourse.

Going beyond easy caricature, Bunch strips away layers of rhetoric to uncover the central motivating force for the far-right’s actions and words: Fear. Powerful, shocking, and thought-provoking, The Backlash is a sure-to-be controversial look at where our democracy is—and where it may be heading.