The Backlash

They think Obama Isn’t an American citizen. They think Obama wants to put Americans in Concentration Camps. They think Obama is the Anti-Christ. This isn’t just the Tea Party—Welcome to the Backlash. The election of Barack Obama provoked unparalleled anger on the far right that eventually twisted important national discussions and pushed ideas from the conservative fringe into the mainstream media. In this gripping exposÉ, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Will Bunch reveals the secrets behind the crusade against the president, exploring how forces like radical militia groups, the Tea Party, pro-gun zealots, and Glenn Beck have combined old-fashioned populist outrage with digital-age phobias to produce a wave of resentment that many have ridden straight to the bank. Pulling back the curtain on the paranoid politics of a new generation, Bunch exposes the opportunists who have embraced apocalyptic fearmongering, and shows how events such as the election of America’s first African-American president, the economic recession, and the rise of social networking have created a dangerous political moment that poses legitimate risks to democracy in America.