The Grouchy Historian
An Old-Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right-Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs
Published on 30. October 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-5011-6604-4 (ISBN)
Description
In "an unabashedly biased, deeply researched book" (SF Gate), Ed Asner-the actor who starred as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show-reclaims the Constitution from the right-wingers who think that they and only they know how to interpret it.
Ed Asner, a self-proclaimed dauntless Democrat from the old days, figured that if the right-wing wackos are wrong about voter fraud, Obama's death panels, and climate change, they are probably just as wrong about what the Constitution says. There's no way that two hundred-plus years later, the right-wing ideologues know how to interpret the Constitution. On their way home from Philadelphia the people who wrote it couldn't agree on what it meant. What was the president's job? Who knew? All they knew was that the president was going to be George Washington and as long as he was in charge, that was good enough. When Hamilton wanted to start a national bank, Madison told him that it was unconstitutional. Both men had been in the room when the Constitution was written. And now today there are politicians and judges who claim that they know the original meaning of the Constitution. Are you kidding?
In The Grouchy Historian, Ed Asner leads the charge for liberals to reclaim the Constitution from the right-wingers who use it as their justification for doing whatever terrible thing they want to do, which is usually to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. It's about time someone gave them hell and explained that progressives can read, too.
Ed Asner, a self-proclaimed dauntless Democrat from the old days, figured that if the right-wing wackos are wrong about voter fraud, Obama's death panels, and climate change, they are probably just as wrong about what the Constitution says. There's no way that two hundred-plus years later, the right-wing ideologues know how to interpret the Constitution. On their way home from Philadelphia the people who wrote it couldn't agree on what it meant. What was the president's job? Who knew? All they knew was that the president was going to be George Washington and as long as he was in charge, that was good enough. When Hamilton wanted to start a national bank, Madison told him that it was unconstitutional. Both men had been in the room when the Constitution was written. And now today there are politicians and judges who claim that they know the original meaning of the Constitution. Are you kidding?
In The Grouchy Historian, Ed Asner leads the charge for liberals to reclaim the Constitution from the right-wingers who use it as their justification for doing whatever terrible thing they want to do, which is usually to comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. It's about time someone gave them hell and explained that progressives can read, too.
Reviews / Votes
"A smart, often entertaining polemic." * Kirkus Reviews * "An unabashedly biased, deeply researched book that refutes the right-wing argument that the framers of the U.S. Constitution favored small government, limited taxation and minimal regulation. . . . The book's subtitle doesn't mince words." -- Edward Guthmann * The San Francisco Chronicle * "If Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and Teds Nugent and Cruz can call themselves Constitutional conservatives, then Asner can call them out on their so-called knowledge of America's bedrock documents. . . . Although it is, indeed, wry and witty, Asner's 'defense' is no mere entertainer's polemic." * Booklist *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5011-6604-4 (9781501166044)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ed Asner | Ed. Weinberger
The Grouchy Historian
An Old-Time Lefty Defends Our Constitution Against Right-Wing Hypocrites and Nutjobs
E-Book
10/2017
1st Edition
Simon + Schuster LLC
€15.81
Available for download
Persons
Ed Asner was a television legend, well known for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Lou Grant. He won seven acting Emmy Awards, and was nominated a total of twenty times. Asner also made a name for himself as a trade unionist and a political activist. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, from 1981-1985, during which he was an outspoken critic of former SAG President Ronald Reagan, then the US president, for his Central American policy. He died in 2021.
Ed. Weinberger began his career in the early 1960s with Dick Gregory and has written for such diverse comedians as Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, and Johnny Carson (for five years on The Tonight Show). He wrote for and produced The Mary Tyler Moore Show, co-created Taxi, Dear John, and The Cosby Show. He also executive-produced and created Amen, Sparks, and Good News. He has won three Golden Globe Awards, a Peabody, and nine Emmys. In 2000, he received The Writer's Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Los Angeles.
Ed. Weinberger began his career in the early 1960s with Dick Gregory and has written for such diverse comedians as Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, and Johnny Carson (for five years on The Tonight Show). He wrote for and produced The Mary Tyler Moore Show, co-created Taxi, Dear John, and The Cosby Show. He also executive-produced and created Amen, Sparks, and Good News. He has won three Golden Globe Awards, a Peabody, and nine Emmys. In 2000, he received The Writer's Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Los Angeles.