Only a few years ago, David Brock was just another right-wing, conservative reporter. But today, he is now a best-selling author, digging up the scandal and deceit behind the scenes of his former party.
And last night Brock, author of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, brought the scandals to the attention of Penn students and community members as part of a speaker series at the Penn Bookstore.
Although Brock is not new to the literary scene -- he has been an avid reporter for The American Spectator and published several books revealing the truths of political institutions -- this is his first book written as an ex-Conservative.
"I didn't intend to write a book about my experiences," said Brock, who broke with the Conservative Movement in 1997. "Since I had been an eyewitness to the roots of the anti-Clinton campaign, people would never believe this had happened until I took the time to write it down."
Brock's book provides an insider's view of how key Conservative leaders are engaged in unethical activity to give the Conservative Party more influence in the political scene.
"Sometimes, it's not so easy to recognize the motives going on around you when you're in it all," Brock admitted.
And when discussing his shift in political alliance, Brock said, "It was a recognition that what I was doing was wrong."
From Newt Gingrich to Clarence Thomas, Brock's book is full of stories about the current right-wing pundits. He provocatively reveals the well-funded Republican machine that he claims created a series of fake scandals to destroy Clinton and his reputation in the eyes of the American public.
"Obviously, Clinton had flaws, but every political leader has flaws," Brock said. "The scandals against Clinton happened because he was a threat to the destructive, Republican machine."
And when asked if his book was an attempt to create a Democratic machine to compete with Conservatives, Brock said he wouldn't mind if it did create that type of motivation.
"A lot of what the Conservatives Party does should not be imitated, like lying," he said. "But the Democratic Party is about 20 years behind, and we need to speak up."
Audience members agreed with Brock and showed their support as they eagerly waited to have Brock sign their very own copy of his book.
"I think it's an incredible book because it reveals the practices of a partisan attack machine," College sophomore Grant Ginder said.
"After working in Washington, politics seemed so complex," first-year graduate student Kara Coluccio said. "I wanted to find out what a Washington insider had to say."
