Why Vitrol Matters

by Patrick Appel

Susan Herbst new book takes a hard look at incivility in politics. Molly Worthen finds a weak link in Herbst's argument:

The real danger—and the real cunning—of "incivility" such as Palin's is that it exempts her from dealing with complicated issues head-on. Her healthcare rhetoric shut down serious debate of the issue before it could begin, and implanted in her followers' minds an immutable image of a threat that does not exist (compounding the already considerable confusion...