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Toxic to Democracy
Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, & Scapegoating
Does government healthcare mandate euthanasia for Grandma? Was Obama really born in Kenya and therefore an illegal President? How do right-wing political pundits contribute to the recent rash of violence linked to White supremacist ideology? Political Research Associates Senior Researcher Chip Berlet addresses these questions and more in his most recent work, Toxic to Democracy: Conspiracy Theories, Demonization, and Scapegoating.
Toxic to Democracy sheds light on the tenacity of conspiracy theories in American politics and the corrosive use of demonizing language that scapegoats certain groups. With the nation at a crossroads—the election of a Black President reveals both progress and backlash—this report is indispensible to understanding how right-wing pundits and militants alike are making sense of our world.
New Report! Marriage as a Cure for Poverty?
Social Science Through a “Family Values” Lens
By Jean V. Hardisty
 Dr. Jean V. Hardisty, founding director of Political Research Associates, exposes the questionable social science justifying George W. Bush’s campaign to promote marriage as a cure for poverty. Rightist academics and think tank researchers ignore data showing that pushing low-income women and men to marry might actually diminish a low income woman’s chances of rising out of poverty, and they rely on evidence and reasoning that do not meet scholarly standards.
“Even as the government defunded welfare programs, it diverted funding to experimental programs not supported by sound social science research,” Dr. Hardisty writes.
The report is a companion to Dr. Hardisty’s earlier report Pushed to the Altar: The Right Wing Roots of Marriage Promotion. Together they provide a blueprint of the Bush legacies that an Obama Administration must dismantle so that poverty fighting tactics are no longer in thrall to right-wing ideologies suggesting that a family is not complete without a father.
Pushed to the Altar: The Right Wing Roots of Marriage Promotion
 The George W. Bush Administration has abandoned proven poverty reduction strategies and instead is encouraging women - especially welfare recipients - to marry their way out of poverty. This groundbreaking new report by PRA President Emerita, Dr. Jean Hardisty, traces the influence of right-wing fatherhood groups and Christian Right organizations on the Administration's "marriage promotion" programs, and the channeling of millions of federal dollars back to these groups despite rules guiding the separation of church and state. Jointly published by Political Research Associates and the Women of Color Resource Center.
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