Oh, Shut Up

A recent story in USA Today reported on an Associated Press/Ipsos poll that found, not so surprisingly, that Americans don't read much. The most widely quoted statistic was that one person in four read no books at all last year. This was widely noted when the story came out, and much lamented. But that's not what I want to talk about.

No, there was a companion story that I found more interesting, though not in a good way. In it, former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who is now president of the American Association of Publishers, was asked about a statistic from the study that seems to show liberals read more than conservatives. What she said was, basically, idiotic:

"The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: 'No, don't raise my taxes, no new taxes.'... It's pretty hard to write a book saying, 'No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes' on every page."... She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who "can't say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion."

Now see, it seems to me that if books are imperiled, the president of an association that seeks to promote books probably shouldn't go around insulting any potential readers. Because that is of course the only thing she accomplished: she insulted the intelligence of anyone who has ever thought of himself or herself as a conservative. (The late William F. Buckley, to pick only one example, was in no way a man who limited himself to sloganeering.)

Her quote is on its face utter nonsense, and it's no surprise that it drew an immediate, equally idiotic, response from the other side of the ideological divide.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Schroeder was "confusing volume with quality" with her remarks. "Obfuscation usually requires a lot more words than if you simply focus on fundamental principles, so I'm not at all surprised by the loquaciousness of liberals," he said.

Nice use of big words in a quote insulting people who use big words, but that's where the fun stops.

What it all demonstrates is that the culture wars rage on because too many people just can't let go. Ms. Schroeder can't stop being a Democratic Congresswoman, even though she hasn't actually been one for eleven years. She is still attached to her old "glory" days, and in the process is doing a major disservice to the very institution she's supposed to be promoting in the here and now. Conservative Mary Matalin said it correctly in the same article: "As head of a book publishing association, she probably shouldn't malign any readers."

No, Ms. Schroeder damn well shouldn't. The fact that people aren't reading is serious stuff, and she damn well ought to know better than to make things worse by pretending to be what she isn't anymore. Let's please drop the partisan bullshit and focus on what really matters, shall we?