Letters

By Our Readers, Molly Ivins & Eric Foner

This article appeared in the June 30, 2003 edition of The Nation.

June 11, 2003

Link to original article.

SHIITES, SUNNIS & IVINS

Washington, DC

I was unpleasantly surprised to see the normally sagacious Molly Ivins branding Tom DeLay and his Texan confreres as "Shiite Republicans," meaning (according to Ivins) "they don't compromise, they don't deal, they don't look for the middle way" ["Tales of the Texas Border," June 9]. While DeLay deserves all manner of epithets, Ivins's word choice, however humorous in intent, reproduces the false equation in our media ether between "Shiite" and "fundamentalist" or "extremist."

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About Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins, a syndicated newspaper columnist, is co-author of Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (Random House) and, most recently, Bushwhacked (Random House). more...

About Eric Foner

Eric Foner, a member of The Nation's editorial board, is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University and editor of Our Lincoln, a collection of essays recently published by W. W. Norton and author of Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. more...
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