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A thought-provoking study by a leader of the Christian Right discusses the rise of American conservatism, the role of the Christian Right, and its agenda for transforming the nation. Read by Ralph Reed. Amazon.com Review
The Religious Right's emergence as a powerful political force owes alarge debt to Ralph Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition."Perhaps the finest political operative of his generation," is how theWall Street Journal once referred to him. The Christian Coalition wasformed in 1990 and has quickly become an important element in Americanpolitics. In Active Faith, Reed trumpets his cause and presents hisviews on how the movement can keep its clout. Much of his agenda focuses onadopting Christian values throughout society; even the religious right facesits critics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Disorganized
I'm in his camp politically, but this book didn't meet my expectations. It would make a nice diary, but that's about it, useless for research or for quotation in other works. Further, I found it utterly disorganized.

Persuasive defense of Conservative Activism
Ralph Reed's "Active Faith" is effective in refuting the attacks against Christian Conservative "activism" (i.e. speaking out about issuses just as all other Americans have the right to do) that seem to be on the rise recently (especially after the re-election of President Bush). For that reason, the book is timely, even though it was written about a decade ago.Reed's critics may not like him any better after reading his book, but his fair minded critics would have to give him credit for being much more fair and thoughtful than those who demonize Reed and other "activist" Christian Conservatives would have us believe.

A call to action for born-again Christians
Ralph Reed expertly makes the case that political and civic activism among Christians to combat the great social evils of our day is an unalienable component of being a believer inJesus Christ. From slavery, tosegregation, to abortion, Mr. Reed explains how Christians have been themoral foundation of stubborn opposition to these great evils of history andpresent times.

Furthermore, he unmasks how the bigoted modern left hastried to create a culture of intimidation against people of faith who darespeak out against the politically correct sacred cows of sexual license andthe barbaric killing of unborn babies. He also skillfully reveals howclassical liberalism, which was once a champion for the rights of thelittle guy, has been perverted in modern times into being an oppressor ofthelittlest guy, the unborn child.

Those of you who want the governmentto stay out of your "bedrooms" (while you have abortions, Isuppose - now that's kinky!) will want to take a pass on this one.

The Christian Right is neither
I see nothing in this book that has any connection to the unconditionallove Christ preached about, and even less that resembles the life which heled.

How can Reed ignore that Jesus stood with the poor and against thesocial structures that keep them that way - the same social structres Reedand his followers work night and day to keep?

Doesn't Jesus figure in here somewhere?
That Reed and his followers still claim that the "Christian"Coalition is a non-partisian organization, remains on of the biggest jokesin American politics in the second half of the 20th century.

Reed'sagenda bears little if any resemblance towards the message of Jesus Christwhose commitment to the poor and outcasts was a threat to the Pharasee's(the Reed's of Jesus' time).How anyone can read the Gospel's andsubscribe to this mean spirited agenda is one of the great mysteries of the1990's. ... Read more

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Inspired by their popular USA Today column, conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel show politicians of both stripes how to get beyond partisanship, restore civility, and move our country forward. Thomas and Beckel are a unique pair in today's political climate—pundits from opposite sides who not only talk to each other but work together to find common ground on some of the most divisive issues facing us, from the war in Iraq to gay marriage to the Patriot Act. Common Ground unmasks the hypocrisy of many of the issues, organizations, and individuals who created and deepened the partisan divide at the center of American politics, and makes a strategic case for why this bickering must stop.

Customer Reviews (1)

Common Ground - a MUST read for both the left and the right
Personally I'm a hard right conservative (and I LOVE Cal Thomas), but I think that anyone - regardless of your political preference, would love this book.Party Polarization is killing this country and this book gives some much needed insight into this problem and helps people like me understand the other side.It also teaches both sides basic concepts of finding Common Ground, ironically, the very well thought out title for this book.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who takes their politics seriously.NOTE:I bought audiobook version and discovered the publisher incorporated some sort of technology that prevents it from being ripped to MP3 (or any other format).Tried this on multiple computers, operating systems, etc.My goal was to rip the CD so I could listen to it on my iPod, but was unable to do so and had to listen to it on my car's CD player. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Well it wasn't a complete waste of time, but
The book had a lot of positive buzz about it when I origionally ordered it. I guess the best I can say is that it was an easy read and not too biased. I was hoping for a more scientifically based analysis of what drives the differences between conservatives and liberals. The book made an attempt to move the discussion in this direction but too often fell back on simplistic insights to decribe liberals and generalizations to positively portray conservatives. In general a disappointment but not a complete waste of time.

Research that would Fail a Stats 101 Course
I've re-analyzed the surveys that Schweizer reports (which are readily available online) using SPSS 15.0. Based on my replication, there are several interesting methodological "choices" that the author makes to draw such grandiose conclusions.

Even though the surveys measure political views using 'continuous' items (e.g., a response format that ranges from 1 ["Extremely Liberal"] to 7 ["Extremely Conservative"]), the author compares only the highest extreme (7) and the lowest extreme (1) throughout the book. From a statistical standpoint, this is problematic because it ignores trends in the middle and looks only at the relatively few people who place themselves at either political extreme (on the General Social Survey, this equals 4.7% of the sample, or 2,394 of 42,096 respondents; this number drops even lower when comparisons are made due to missing data in the comparison variables).

Here is a representative sample of the problems this causes: On page 20 Schweizer analyzes the General Social Survey and claims that 23% of liberals and only 14% of conservatives feel that Jews are especially violent. I re-ran this analysis (using Schweizer's exact methodology) and here are the results when you examine the whole political spectrum, going from 1 (Extremely Liberal) to 7 (Extremely Conservative):

1=22.7%; 2=12.2%; 3=9.1%; 4=10.8%; 5=14.6%; 6=11.8%; 7=14.1%

See any anomalies? Hmmm... That "Extremely Liberal" group looks funny, doesn't it? And it's nothing like groups 2 or 3--the folks who called themselves "Liberal" or "Slightly Liberal," respectively. The problem is that very few people identified themselves as Extremely Liberal. In this instance, that 22.7% is 17 of 75 respondents. So, on the basis of what 17 of 75 people said, Schweizer wants us to believe that Liberal ideas tend to make people anti-Semitic. You just have to ignore the fact that only 34 of 279 people (12.2%) who called themselves "Liberal" (group 2) agreed, which, by the way, is a lower percentage than that of people who called themselves "Extremely Conservative." But that's not worth mentioning, is it? Schweizer sure doesn't think so.

Are you getting a sense of the goofiness yet? Well, here's another example in case you still have blind faith in Mr. Schweizer:

On page 142 Schweizer uses the same survey (GSS) to show that Liberals use drugs and alcohol to cope with anger at "five times the rate" of Conservatives. Here we go again (Remember, 1 = Extremely Liberal and 7 = Extremely Conservative):

1=30.4%; 2=5.9%; 3=6.4%; 4=6.3%; 5=2.3%; 6=6.3%; 7=5.3%

Wow, that Extremely Liberal group is doped up, isn't it??? Well, that's because 7 of 23 "Extremely Liberal" people agreed that they drank or used drugs to cope with anger. That's right, SEVEN of TWENTY-THREE people. What about "Liberals"? Not so much. Only 8 of 135 agreed. Get the picture? Well, just in case, let's do one more:

On page 142 Schweizer uses the GSS to conclude that Liberals experience extreme rage more often than do conservatives (22% to 15%), based on their responses to a scale of rage that went from 1 (little rage) to 10 (extreme rage). Looking for those folks who rated their rage a 10 (the same way Schweizer does), here is the full political spectrum:

1=21.7%; 2=13.3%; 3=12.1%; 4=13.1%; 5=13.1%; 6=13.6%; 7=15.8%

Man, those "Extremely Liberal" folks are sociopaths, huh? Yup, all FIVE of them. That's right, 5 of 23 -- that's how Schweizer got 21.7%. And yes, Schweizer did wrongly round 15.8% down to 15% for the Extremely Conservative group for some reason. Perhaps 16% sounded too angry. (And again, let's just conveniently ignore the fact that smaller proportions of Liberals reported the same level of rage than did Conservatives or Extreme Conservatives.)

Schweizer says that the GSS is an authoritative survey and he's right. But when you chop up data any way you please, you can "prove" anything, even with the best survey data in the world. Trust me, using Schweizer's same goofy methodology and the same surveys, the "Extremely Conservative" folks look pretty bad on items related to attitudes toward Blacks, interracial marriages, segregated schools, whether whites have a "right" to live in all-white neighborhoods, and whether wives should have reproductive choices. But that's junk statistics, and it's not worth reporting, even here on Amazon for free. Unless, of course, the Hoover Institute wants to fund my new book project: "Acres of Fakers."

If you want to see if "liberalism" is related to how people behave socially, you should start by looking at how these various survey items CORRELATE with one another. At the very least, correlations would make use of all the data, and you can ask the question: Are people MORE angry the MORE liberal they claim to be? This seems to be the kind of question that Schweizer would love to answer, but apparently he didn't like the results. I've looked at the correlations and they are microscopic. For example, the correlation between political views and opinion of Jews as violent is .03. In other words, there are no meaningful relationships between how we rate ourselves along the political spectrum and the behavioral phenomena that Schweizer tackles in his book (at least not that I've discovered yet).

So in short, Schweizer's research is wrought with undeniable statistical errors and shortcuts. As such, this book is valuable in two ways: 1) it underscores the reason why the academic peer-review process is vital in true scholarly work, and 2) it also demonstrates the quality of "research" funded by the Hoover Institute at Stanford.

You will find yourself nodding and laughing in agreement
This books is eminently readable and exposes the deep hypocrisy between liberal's professed vision and what they actually practice. Each chapter is well researched and has a lot of statistics (which can sometimes get in the way of reading but are needed for factual backup).

I especially liked the sections on liberals & money, anger, entitlement, victimology - things which I have seen up close in friends and family. I gave it to some of them and they could not refute the facts either.

Highly recommend for your summer vacation read.... ... Read more

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The distinguished author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory returns with a searing examination of a new generation of evangelical leaders who have hijacked the Christian faith on behalf of the Republican Party. Randall Balmer is both an evangelical Christian and a historian of American religion. Struggling to reconcile the contemporary state of evangelical faith in America with its proud tradition of progressivism, Balmer has headed to the frontlines of some of the most powerful and controversial organizations tied to the Religious Right. Deftly combining ethnographic research, theological reflections, and historical context, Balmer laments the trivialization of Christianity—and offers a rallying cry for liberal Christians to reclaim the noble traditions of their faith. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

An Insider's Perspective
A friend of mine who teaches at a conservative evangelical Christian college gave me this book and said, "I wish I could teach what this book reveals." This insightful and well-researched book by an evangelical Christian exposes the deceit and hypocrisy at the heart of the Religious-Political Right; how the quest for power has betrayed Christianity and threatened the democratic foundations of the U.S.... through manipulation of Scripture and religious-political propaganda. What's equally disturbing is that the "masses" who have responded to the rallying cry of the Religious-Political Right have blindly been caught up in the narrative of a lie... betraying their own faith, theology, and history. The author reveals seeds of hope within evangelicalism as the the true intentions of this movement are revealed. Although a plethora of books and articles have been written on this topic, this one ranks among the very best, along with Greg Boyd's "Myth of a Christian Nation" and Kevin Phillip's "American Theocracy," particularly because it is written by and "insider."

I got my brain back
Randall Balmer talks about how he has a "lover's quarrel" with the religious right because he was an insider for so long. He doesn't pretend to be objective - he's been hurt and betrayed by leaders he trusted - but he does provide a historian's perspective nevertheless. He really helped me verbalize what I had been thinking and feeling about several subjects, especially about voting Republican on the single issue of abortion.

He was part of a conference call in the early `80s when several religious leaders decided, consciously, on purpose, to begin rallying the troops around the issue of abortion and thereby get them to vote Republican. He makes the point that the Republicans have been in the majority position more than once since then and could have really done something about it,had they been sincere.But they have failed to do so.They cynically used that one issue to keep people voting for them no matter what other matters of importance (like peace and war, economic injustice, poverty, racial injustice, the environment, etc.) might be handled better by the other party.I felt manipulated to vote for President Bush both times because I couldn't imagine voting for a pro-choice candidate.When I woke up to that cynical manipulation (which shouldn't surprise me, as it's happened to me before in other contexts), I was finally able to use my whole brain and heart to make political choices. I am grateful to Mr. Balmer for speaking the truth as he sees it, and encouraging me to do the same.

Return to faith and good works
The author is an evangelical Christian who wants to "reclaim the faith from the Religious Right." (p. xii) He is also a professor of history at Columbia University. He insists the Religious Right has lost its way from the teachings of Jesus and the words of the Bible into a morass of narrowness, legalism, censoriousness, and misogyny. He wants to recall them to Jesus' love of the poor, the marginalized, and the downtrodden, and to the teachings and work of evangelicals of earlier centuries of American history.

That the modern Religious Right organized around the anti-abortion fight after the Supreme Court's Roe-vs-Wade decision Balmer calls a myth. In fact, in 1971 the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolutioncalling for legislation permitting abortion under conditions of rape, incest, or deformity of the fetus. The political awakening of the fundamentalists really dates to 1975. The occasion was the IRS attempt to revoke the tax exempt status of Bob Jones University for racist regulations. "The IRS attempt to deny tax-exempt status to segregated private schools, then, represented an assault on the evangelical subculture," (p.14).

Most of all, Balmer explains, the Religious Right is contradicting both its historical past and the tradition of the Bible. He describes Roger Williams as both the first Baptist and the founder of the principle of religious freedom. Williams invented and practiced the idea that religion could only be free by separating from entanglement with the state. It was Baptists who insisted on the first amendment and the Wall between Church and State. Contrary to their ideological forefathers, today's Religious Right expects the state to enforce their contentions against abortion and gays. Yet, in the New Testament Jesus says nothing about these issues, but plenty against divorce, which the religious have quietly accepted, and don't even inveigh against any longer. Most of all, Balmer laments that the Religious Right has made a devil's bargain with guns, war, and capitalism - forgetting their historic care for the poor, the mistreated, and the oppressed about whom Jesus had very much to say.

According to Balmer the search for tax finance for religious schools, and for political power has led the evangelicals astray and away from the best of their historic past. The church is best when separate from the state, promoting its moral vision, not attempting to enforce minority views on society.

Evangelicals from a historical perspective
No need to add to other kudos for this book. It was refreshing to see an historically accurate recounting of the evangelical movement, rightly pointing out some of its achievements and shining light on its political hijacking by a few cynical folks who wanted to take it away from its social liberal roots and use it for its on purposes.

The Religious Right and politics in the US
Randall Balmer's book is a fascinating discussion about the Religious Right in America and its influence on politics. He writes from the point of view of a self-confessed Evangelical whose upbringing mirrors that of many evangelicals in the US. However his personal stance on certain issues puts him at odds with the Religious Right, those who claim the mantle of evangelicalism, and this book looks closely at several areas of politics and theology where Balmer believes the Religious Right are wrong and where they are highlighting minor points and missing the vital overarching themes of the Gospel, such as care for the poor and outcast.

His subjects range from debates about women priests, homosexuality and abortion to the change in nature of traditional Baptist beliefs; from discussions about creationism and Intelligent design to the Religious Right's desire to remove the wall between church and state. Balmer's writing style is always easy to read with personal comments and insights along with reports of conversations. The usual suspects in this kind of book - Pat Robertson, Dr James Dobson and Jerry Falwell - pop up as examples of the extreme nature of some of the Religious Right and reading some of their words in black and white on the page is pretty frightening. Balmer isn't reticent about his own voting choices (being firmly a democrat) although he is by no means always positive about the democrats and their record in office, but the overall theme of the book - that the Religious Right are hijacking various issues as a power struggle and trying to influence the Republican party - is a persuasive one.

Like Englishman Stephen Bates's book on this theme, 'God's Own Country', the reader is left with a healthy fear of some of the excesses of the Religious Right, with the wholehearted hope that most people don't see evangelicals or the church like this, and with considerable concern for the future of evangelicalism in the US unless the moderates get themselves into the fray. Sobering reading.

[...]. ... Read more

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"They are wrong and we are right and I'm going to prove it to you!" -- Harry S. Truman, Democratic National Convention, 1948 A rousing political manifesto from "The New York Times" bestselling co-author of "All's Fair" One of Washington's most prominent Democratic strategists and co-author of the "New York Times" bestseller "All's Fair" offers a timely, accessible and entertaining response to the GOP's Contract with America -- just in time for primary season. With the Republican Congress blasting away at the federal government, James Carville, a top advisor to President Clinton, counterattacks. In "We're Right, They're Wrong," he uses his trademark mix of pointed argument, homespun wit, and historic lore to deflate GOP claims that nothing is amiss in America that budget-cutting wouldn't cure. Carville staunchly defends a strong government -- one capable of teaching, feeding, healing, defending and sheltering its citizens -- and provides Democrats and progressives with a politically astute program for building upon what's best about our nation. Filled with anecdotes and political myths, "We're Right, They're Wrong" is a succinct, witty, fact-filled trot for judging the long primary season.Amazon.com Review
James Carville, chief strategist of Clinton's 1992 War Room,puts the Democrats on the offensive again with this no-holds-barred response to the Republican "Contract With America".Witty, savvy,and just plain smart, this may be the most provocative book of the 1996campaign season. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (71)

If he only had hair he'd be perfect
seriously, he is still smarter and prettier than Ann Coulter. If he were only a bit more handsome,he'd probably be president himself. Much less irritating than Bortz, he is still a tiny bit smug; but why not, he's right most of the time. yes this book is dated, but it is still useful for nettling right wingers

Truth is disappearing commodity
Read this book - if for no other reason than to separate the fact from the misinformation and fiction.There is no other way to save the Nation.
Anyone who voted for the Shrub deserves the hardships and increased threat of terrorist attack resulting from his regime of smoke, mirrors and moronic mantras.

Carville tells it like it is - like it or not.This is a book for pragmatists

Bought this because of Kevin Bold
Another good book from Mr. Carville; I found it refreshing and truthful...

Belongs in the humor section
Or else the fiction section.

This book is the biggest collection of liberal lies ever told.

(BTW, "progressive" is just a polite word for "Marxist.")

UPDATE:Reviews which take swipes at other reviewers, mentioning them by name, are immature and inappropriate.Be sure to report them to Amazon.com!

All Style, No Substance
"We're going to take over the world...and then turn the Oval Office into a rock star's dressing room."

Thanks, James.

Too bad you wasted your considerable skills on the most incredibly self-absorbed man-child to ever reach this country's highest office. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (24)

A gentleman and a scholar..
It's interesting to now read this book with the benefit of hindsight.The articulate and thoughtful author is an obvious patriot and man of integrity (I was behind him during his brief Presidential bid), but many of his plans for reform now seem impractical/unattainable.

Thus, the best part of the read for me was not his plans for "remaking" America, but rather his knowledge of its political inner workings from his relationships as a participant.

A blueprint for sanity - pertinent on inauguration day
Bradley's thoughtful, common sense, pragmatic book is of course, like any political doctrine, ultimately opinion.Yet, he uses every Aristotelean method of argument to buttress his claim that the U.S. has lost its 'story' and provides ample evidence through statistics, historical records, personal experience, appealing to authority, and robust personal knowledge of politics, philosophy, sociology, and civics to offer a cure for the failure of the aberrant federal government that was in power from 2000 to 2008.Written in 2006, it seems like a play book for the new President's task of arighting the country's failures.He demonstrates that to be strong as a person or as a nation requires knowledge, planning, forethought, reason, and understanding--not mindless force or a pathological need to 'prove oneself.'He does not simply castigate the Bush administration; he provides ample evidence his own party has been lax in reforming social and political crises. See in particular his 8 reasons the Democrats don't do things right.As for self-styled hardliners like Bush, Cheney, Gingrich, poorly educated talk show hosts, and others who have no idea what they are doing--and the neo-con philosophers, who think they think, but don't, I find it ironic that these guys talk tough but do you think any one of them could have been the captain of one of the greatest NBA teams that ever existed (the early 1970's Knicks)?None of them could have had the intelligence or the balls (and I don't mean the ones you shoot hoops with)to deal with real men.Bradley shows us how to do it, without having to prove a damn thing.

wisdom for the ages
Deeply thoughtful and wonderfully wise, Mr. Bradley leads us through the major issues facing the United States in the 21st century with clarity, an engaging style, and the kindness/gentleness that we were taught to expect from our leadership. He proposes solutions that are sensible. I pray that his wisdom will be used to change our domestic and foreign policies in the coming years, for the sake of our great nation and its future citizens.

Great insights for Americans
Bradley has done a brilliant job of describing how Americans have gone stray by allowing our leaders to take us off on a tangent in conflict with our founders' vision. The situation isn't hopeless but rapid action is called for. Congratulations to the ex-senator for a vision of hope and possibility. Well done, Bill!!

tmost
I loved this book.
It is really revealing about what he is thinking.He has some pretty crazy ideas - like the fee-bate, the (new) gas tax, and it's explanation and plan for the money???It sounds good on paper, but I don't think it would ever fly. However, he is a really likeable guy and seems to be genuine in his efforts to make our country greater.I might even vote for him. ... Read more

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With her trademark passion, intelligence, and devastating wit, Huffington Post editor in chief Arianna Huffington tackles the issues that are crucial to this year s presidential election and, even more so, to the fate of the country.

Huffington makes the case that America has been hijacked from within by a radical element the lunatic fringe of the Right that has taken over the Republican Party. Despite holding views at odds with the majority of Americans, these zealots have given us an endless war in Iraq, a sputtering economy, a health care system on life support, a war on science and reason, and an immoral embrace of torture.

But they haven t done it on their own: they have been enabled by a compliant media that act as if there is no such thing as truth and are more interested in cozying up to those in power than in holding them accountable, and by feckless Democrats who have allowed themselves to be intimidated into backing down again and again.

Both a withering indictment and a hopeful call to arms, Right Is Wrong is an explosive, boldly incisive work that will help set the national agenda. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

My one complaint is that her conversion seems incomplete.
She comes off as saying that Reagan was a good president, rather than the unmitigated disaster that set us on the road to ruin.

Thought-provoking and right on target
Although I have admired Arianna Huffington for years, I was initially apprehensive about reading RIGHT IS WRONG in this year of 2010, since when it was published in 2008 we had the Bush Administration still in power, and this book frequently bashes George W. Bush, as well as other members of the right. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear all that over again, as now we have a promising new start with the Obama Administration. (Perhaps check out the new book The Promise: President Obama, Year One by Jonathan Alter.) However, once I got into this book I quickly realized what a GEM it is! So many terrific and cogent arguments here, including many details and perspectives that I did not know or had not thought of. Although there are some subjects dealt with here in which the situation has changed substantially since 2007-2008, such as the Iraq War, most subjects are essentially the same situation now, including global warming, health care reform, immigration, energy, and so on. Also, I like having a book to turn to for support when someone does not fully appreciate the absurdity of right-wing zealots in this country. I can just show them some sections in Arianna's book and say, "Here, read THIS and see what I mean!!" I especially admired the chapter condemning the Bush Administration's promotion of the torture of prisoners, which to me is one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the United States. Also, RIGHT IS WRONG is a real breeze to read and enjoy, because it covers a multitude of subjects and is also very funny. I don't know HOW she comes up with so many witty zingers! Also, if you're a thinking person, check out Arianna's web site, The Huffington Post!!

Huffington book
This is a very good book with a lot of vital information relating to corporate fraud.

Where are you coming from Arianna?
There is nothing new about this book.It is not worth the paper that it is printed on.Rather than pass it on, I threw it in the trash and feel bad that I spend MY HARD EARNED money on the book.
I think arianna would be good at writing novels since this actually is one.
No matter which side she's on at the moment she is dead wrong about too many things.The only thing I can really agree with, is that the Constitution of the United States is being trampled by both sides.I think it is time for all the Arianna's to stay home and raise a kid, rather than aborting them so they can have time to write such a silly worthless book.

Could Barely Keep Myself Interested
I question everything I read and this may be one of the most difficult and useless books I have ever read.Here's why:
1. The sentence structure is all over the place and reminds me of an angry person spoutting off in an email.
2. Citations are not easily cross referenced.
3. Facts are either incorrect or not referenced.Sometimes both.
4. There isn't a logical argument as to why her proposed solutions are better than others.Simply put, Arianna states that her conclusions are the only answer and any arguement against them isn't even worth the time of day.
If your are looking for a good Liberal vs. Conservative book, please don't waste your time with this book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Mostly unread but well-Red
The state censors in Tsarist Russia were, in the short term, justified in their decision to pass Marx's greatest work, Das Kapital, for publication in 1867, reasoning that it would not be read by workers because the text was so impenetrable that "few would read it and still fewer understand it". Fifty years later, however, they had come to regret their decision as Marxists (like Trotsky, who studied the book in exile in Siberia, and Lenin, who read it at age 18) took the Russian workers' movement to victory.

Francis Wheen's story of Das Kapital charts the writing and the impact of the book, which had a laboured (overdue by at least 21 years) passage to the publisher.The first volume of Das Kapital was the only one to appear in Marx's lifetime.It took nearly four decades for the remaining three volumes to be assembled by Engels for publication.

The literally painful progress of the opus (Marx's infamous carbuncles caused him to finish volume 1 standing up) was a result, says Wheen, of Marx "never being able to resist a distraction", including "polemical pamphlets and articles, and wasteful feuds and score-settling".

Domestic interruptions also hampered progress in London where Marx spent over three decades of his political exile, facing evictions for non-payment of rent, irate creditors banging on the door ("I don't suppose anyone has written so much about `money' when so short of the stuff", he joked), continual illnesses, a brood of children to lavish attention on and to grieve over when some of them died young.

Overdue but worth the wait is Wheen's assessment of Das Kapital.Wheen does a fair job in limited space of capturing the major elements of the Marxist economic analysis of capitalism - surplus value (the extraction of profit from the labour of the worker), the human alienation that results from this, the permanent boom-bust cycle of capitalism.

Wheen is also judicious in assessing the common criticisms of Marx's predictions in Das Kapital, particularly the imminent demise of capitalism which Marx gleefully saw in "every flutter in the markets or rash of bankruptcies", have self-evidently proved premature, notes Wheen, adding, however, that "when one studies his work as a whole", Marx wavered between expectation (of capitalism's longevity) and hope (of its near death).

Reading Das Kapital has never been easy, despite its richness as a literary experience.Wheen classes Das Kapital as "radical literary collage", mixing mythology, literature, factory inspectors' reports, fairy tales and mathematical formulae in a modernist "fractured narrative" which is often mistaken by Marx's critics for "formlessness and incomprehensibility".Das Kapital could have been a "conventional economic treatise" but Marx made it into a work of art, its dramatic pathos, satire and imagery (with vampires a favoured Gothic motif) central to what Wheen sees as the book's ultimate aim - "penetrating the veils of illusion to reveal the exploitation by which capitalism lives".

Wheen, however, is silent on what to do with any new-found Marxist wisdom.What to do about the "instability, alienation and exploitation" of capitalism?Well, its your lot, mate, is the best answer Wheen seems to have.Wheen's obligatory vilification of Lenin as the authoritarian, elitist political progenitor of Stalin shows that Marx's liberal admirers, too, have a no-go area when it comes to using Das Kapital against capital.

Quick read about the man behind Das Kapital
Karl Marx spent much of his life writing Das Kapital (publishing only the first volume before his death, and never seeing any translations in English).He was clearly cursed with a genius that allowed him to write a text an entire century before its time.Rather than spoil the story, I'll leave the details to your hungry mind.

Westerners have largely been taught that Marx and Socialism/Communism are evil.Much of the blame can be placed at the feet of Lenin.However, Marx was just a man who observed working conditions around him, and developed a theory on how these workers would, one day, become liberated from their chains of bondage.

Marx was rather surprised that his work was so popular in Russia.He wrote his theories using English workers during the Industrial Revolution.

A good 90-minute book.I recommend it!

Good book
A interesting read for me, as i can't get myself to stick with "The book"

An eloquent summary of Marx
"Marx's Das Kapital" is noted Marx-sympathetic journalist Francis Wheen's contribution to Atlantic Magazine's series on book biographies. It's short, merely 120 pages of actual text, but it does the job well. Relying strongly on prominent secondary literature about Marx, such as David McLellan's excellent biography (Karl Marx, Fourth Edition: A Biography) and S.S. Prawer's equally fascinating study of Marx' use of literature and literary references (Karl Marx and World Literature (Oxford Paperbacks)), Wheen summarizes the background of Das Kapital, how it came to be, as well as its content and its reception.

Wheen is at his best in the journalistic parts, when he can give colorful and well-done descriptions of Marx's life and activities, his relation to Engels, his trials and tribulations while working on the magnum opus, and in commentary on Marx's books and style. On the other hand, his grasp of Marx's economic theories is very weak and likely to make things more confusing, especially since he misses the point and meaning of Marx's Theory of Value entirely. Also dubious is that he appends a chapter on 'afterlife' of the book, which is mostly an attempt to summarize all of the later Marxist tradition (from an anti-Leninist viewpoint) in a few pages, a task so impossible that its attempt is fruitless and uninformative.

However, Wheen is quite good at putting Das Kapital in its historical context, in emphasizing the rhetorical and literary qualities of the book and of Marx' thought in general, and the book also contains some fascinating quotes and remarks from pro-capitalist economists and businessmen who have come to see, to their own astonishment, that ol' Marx was a better analyst of the system they wish to support than anyone else. Let us hope the reader of this booklet will be inspired by this to attempt to delve into Marx & Engels' own works, which constantly show their relevance in new and unexpected ways. As Wheen demonstrates, this is precisely as Marx had intended it.

Resurrecting Marx
If you're anything like me, you have neither the time, nor the patience to delve into Karl Marx's monstrous Magnum opus of political economics, Das Kapital. Fortunately, Francis Wheen has done us a great service by giving us this fantastic "biography" of a book that changed the world. The book is superbly written, and the audio version, eloquently delivered by Simon Vance, is equally good. It is a concise work; the CD version is 3.5 hours, while the printed format is only about 144 pages. My CD version is separated into three sections. The first section details Marx's life and the circumstances that led him to write such a groundbreaking book. The second section is a succinct exposition of Das Kapital. Wheen aptly outlines and dissects the basic principles of Marx's revolutionary economic theory, objectively pointing out both Marx's errors, as well as his numerous insights, many of which have proven true. While his prophesies of the collapse of the capitalist system have obviously not come to pass, Marx offers more insight into the "nature of the beast" than anyone else before, or since.

The final section deals with the book's lasting influence and Marx's legacy. Wheen points out that in most "Marxist" countries, Marx's ideas were never thoroughly researched and interpreted, their leaders simply took their own interpretation, made it an unquestionable dogma, and that was that. Ironically, it's been in western capitalist societies where Marx, due to the freedom of scholars to study him, has been more thoroughly understood. "Marxism as practiced by Marx himself," Wheen writes, "was not so much an ideology, as a critical process, a continuous dialectical argument." More simply put, Marx was not a Marxist.

Wheen clearly has a great amount of respect for Marx. And while he is quick to point out certain lapses in logic or prognosis, he maintains that Marx was one of the most brilliant thinkers of the 19th century. In fact, he predicts that we have not seen the last of Karl Marx, and boldly suggests that in the end, he may turn out to be more relevant than most would expect. All in all, I would recommend this as a great introduction to Marx or even a refreshing new look at an old subject. 5 stars. ... Read more

Product Description
“We have to fight back.” —Al Franken


The Left is angry—angry at President George W. Bush, the war in Iraq, the “right-wing media,” and more. And as National Review investigative writer Byron York reveals in this stunning, meticulously reported book, liberal activists have harnessed that anger to build the biggest, richest, and best organized political movement in American history.

Indeed, the Left’s failure to oust President Bush in 2004 has obscured the fact that this new movement has transformed American politics. York documents the staggering scope of liberals’ efforts—the record sums of money spent, the “shell game” financial maneuvers, the close coordination between “nonpartisan” groups and the Democratic Party, the revolutionary approaches to fund-raising and reaching out to voters, the pioneering use of movies and websites as campaign tools, and more.

The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy provides a startling behind-the-scenes look at this powerful liberal movement. York brings the reader into secret powwows at Soros’s Hamptons estate, into the Chinese restaurant where MoveOn is born, to a gala event where Al Franken rants about the evils of the right wing, to fund-raisers where liberals openly mock the election laws they’re ignoring, to the movie premiere where Michael Moore is feted by top-ranking Democrats, into the Washington restaurant where Democratic operatives hatch their plan, and to many other spots along the way.

One thing above all becomes clear: Despite their failure to win in 2004, liberals will only keep improving the well-oiled political machine they built.


A Main Selection of the Conservative Book Club


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (51)

surprised me
at how non-partisan this book was. Don't get me wrong, this guy is not a Democratic cheerleader but it's not the polemic I was expecting from the title. The author is wise enough to realize that the left thinks the media has a conservative bias and the right thinks the media has a liberal bias - everybody wants to be a victim I guess. He occasionally admits problems within the GOP and except for the Patriot Act off-Broadway play, he is not overly vitriolic.

The book concentrates on the goings on of the left just before the 2004 presidential election. So writing a review just after the 2008 presidential election definitely gives a different perspective on the book. Ironically, McCain's campaign finance reform put the Democrats in worse shape than the Republicans and this book chronicles how liberals decided to advance their ideology through new means. He informs the reader of the creation of various entities that could receive funding as long as they were non-partisan (yeah, really). He discusses Michael Moore's 9/11 movie, George Soros' patronage of moveon.org, Air America Radio, and Fox News criticisms. There is one chapter on a left wing fringe play that accuses Bush of desiring to establish a theocracy. I thought this chapter would have been better left out as it detracted from the book because the Patriot Act was not so much a media movement as a strange conspiracy.

His thesis in all this is that liberals were preaching to the choir in all this and hence made little difference in the 2004 election. For example Farhenheit 9/11 was mainly viewed by people already sympathetic to its ideas and hence few minds were changed because of it.

Somewhat prophetically (this book was written in 2005), the author warns that the failures of Democrats in 2004 may be successes in 2008 if their marketing continued (which I guess it did). He points out that the Kerry campaign was dominated by whites and did not tap into the large Democratic sympathetic black populace.

Another edition of this book would be interesting to see how the liberal media push affected the results of 2008. Possibly all the 'closed loop' campaigning of 2004 seeped out into a larger audience.

What's behind the desperate struggle to defeat ourselves in Iraq.
Byron York is one of my favorite writers because he reports.No diatribes.No insults.No hysterics.He just reports facts and when he gives his opinions, they are never overstated.There is no name-calling (The title is a quote from the liberal activists who are the subject of the book.) and no conclusions without supporting facts.In fact, York respects his readers enough to let them draw their own conclusions most of the time.

If you think that the campaign reform laws took money out of politics, you really need to read this book.Unfortunately, most of what they did was take political parties out of politics and make them more politically beholden to groups who now control most of the money spent in campaigns and can therefore dictate the policies of the parties, who have heretofore made their own policies and run on them.Having positions and platforms imposed by big money donors was supposed to be why campaign finance reform was needed, but expecting politicians to support such laws without a loophole in reserve shows incredible naivete.The loophole the Democrats were counting on may end up turning into a sinkhole that consumes them or imprisons them for years to come.

I have found plenty of authors and radio and TV hosts all across the political spectrum who will shout accusations, hurl epithets and insults and state opinions as facts, but it is a rare one who can simply report details in as clear and cogent a manner as Mr. York.I wish all political books were as well written and reasonable as this one.

It's too bad people don't read more
I wish more people would read and research politics and determine their own "truths".There's too much reliance on a news media that, for the most part, slants everything to the left.I don't think people should believe something just because they're told to.I would like the critics of this and other similar books to actually dispute things with counter-arguments and facts instead of simply using Liberal talking points that they read that morning on their favorite nonsense-ranting web sight or the New York Times.
I challenge every American to read books like this AND books written by angry liberals.Approach both with a sense of skepticism, research for yourself in history, fact, and common sense.Make up your own mind about things because I'm firmly convinced that the lies and deceptions will fall apart under close scrutiny.Try to find a liberal that encourages you to do your own research . . ..

Do not be carried away by error
York gives us the inner workings of the far left and the financial supporters of the Democrats.Thisquick and disturbing read is well written and informative.He is able to get up close and personal by attending the Democrat/left wing rallies and functions.At times, fought to gain an interview with people such as Podesta and Franken. Byron also clears up some of the conspiracy theories made up by Moore and others.Gossip:"Do not spread slanderous gossip"--Leviticus 19:16

This is the new movement funded by George Sorros and "move on".A new Democrat party is fashioned.Why question Sorros when he has the money.Keep in mind what the beliefs of the big Democrat money supporter are.

Byron also covers the 527 loopholes and abuses, (the do anything to win campaign.) He concentrates on a small group of individuals.Hillary, Dean, Kerry and Moore are also hit upon.He expounds on the Competition between conservative talk shows, and why liberal shows don't work.I don't put NPR in this same category, hence recommend tuning in on occasion, especially PBS.Even though they are biased, PBS does not tend be slanderous.I don't agree with the federal funding of stations, but that is for another time.

Instead of putting their full effort into the election of John Kerry, they focussed more on taking down Bush.The party for the poor?Where is the funding coming from?Support campaign finance?

Byron may spend a little too much time filling pages with movie statistics, but here is an interesting factoid:"Fahrenheit 9/11 and the passion of Christ were remarkable indicators of how Americans would vote."

Liberalism--Apostasy:"Do not be carried away by error"--2 Peter 3:17

Vast Vast Conspiracy
It was Hillary who started this (now deservedly mocked) idiocy about "vast" conspiracies.Yes, Hillary, those evil Republicans forced Bill to abuse his power to get cheap sex (one word Bill: Hookers).

As to the book, the Left is not interested in honest discussion of issues - period.Its current controllers/purveyors are simply preachers of a substitute religion for the religiously homeless secular masses who seek meaning through "belief" and "membership" rather than through hard won reason and lonely individualism.

How much hatred and fanaticism and conspiracy theory crap does one hear coming from the Left vs. the Right these days?Its about 100-to-1 coming from the Left.

The irony, of course, is that it has always been the swing voters who make the difference in national elections, and swing voters put just as much importance on mental stability and intellectual consistancy as they put on "issue correctness."

This is wise, especially with the presidential politics, because many (if not most) issues presidents end up dealing with are new (temporal) issues which cannot be predicted ahead of time. ... Read more

Product Description
At this defining moment in our history, Americans are hungry for change. After years of failed policies and a failed politics from Washington, this is our chance to reclaim the American dream. Barack Obama has proven to be a new kind of leader—one who can bring people together, be honest about the challenges we face, and move this nation forward. Change We Can Believe In outlines his vision for America.

Throughout this audiobook you will find bold and specific ideas about how to fix our ailing economy and strengthen the middle class, make health care affordable for all, achieve energy independence, and keep America safe in a dangerous world. Change We Can Believe In asks you not just to believe in Barack Obama’s ability to bring change to Washington, it asks you to believe in yours. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (64)

Mid-Term Report Card for President Obama
A month before the 2010 mid-term elections is as good a time as any to see how our new president is doing. This book provides and unmistakable metric for evaluating the president's performance, so far during the first half of his term. It also puts clearly on the record BHO's rhetorical positions and platform. And thus, it serves as the perfect metric for evaluating BHO's success, so far. And while it would be unfair and premature to prejudge him on everything he has promised, just half way through his first term, it is not unfair to judge him on those aspects of his promises that he has kept and that have already been implemented as Obama successes. That in my view is the primary utility of this book.

The good news is that, President Obama (against severe opposition from Republicans and from corporate lobbyists), has managed to keep many of the campaign promises listed in his platform on pages 23-24, to: reform health care, curb Wall Street excesses, create a federally-funded stimulus program to help bring the nation out of the recession, and to remove American troops from the needless Iraq war. He has also pledged to eliminate the Bush/Cheney tax cuts for the rich, while not raising taxes on the middle- and lower-classes.

The bad news is that in each of these instances of his success, BHO has strove for and achieved only the absolute minimum. This lack of courage to get into the battle and defend progressive ideals, has left a bad taste in the mouth of his progressive base. By repeatedly capitulating pre-emptively to Republican pressure, demagoguery, and negotiating tactics - BHO has unnecessarily given away everything dear in the "progressive store;" and has done so often without even putting up a fight. In short, without anything in return, BHO has unnecessarily squandered away his political capital and his main political advantage: the mandate awarded to him through the election process.

For example, his healthcare reform (page 19, and 44-46), like the Cheney/Bush reforms before them, was written "of," "by" and "for" the Insurance, drug and Pharmaceutical companies.The best proof of this is that all of their stocks jumped dramatically upon enactment of the program. And even though "Obamacare" (as those on the Right derisively call it) is advertised as providing healthcare for 34 million previously uncovered Americans, in point of fact all it does is give them the right to purchase exorbitant health insurance at whatever rates the insurance and drug industries wants to charge. But more importantly, page 45 of this book says that the Obama healthcare bill will bring down cost by $2500 per family and improve quality. The truth is that even during the first year of "Obamacare," healthcare costs for everyone have continued to rise at the astonishing clip of 15-30% per year.

On curbing Wall Street excesses, again we see the same Obama tactics used repeated of taking the low road of least resistance and "going for the minimum". And again the reality of what was accomplished does not measure up to the rhetoric used in this book to advertise the success. None of the loopholes that created the financial meltdown were fixed. They were simply tightened a bit and "smoothed over" with a few "limp-wristed" transparency measured. No one was fined or jailed, and the "credit default swaps," and the building of Bernie Madoff like Ponzi schemes can continue unabated.

But worse than this, on the federal stimulus package, BHO was bullied into allowing the Wall Street Bankers to have their way. And now, not only is Wall Street back to pre-crisis level profits and bonuses, but are aslo up to the same old tricks again. Never has BHO appeared weaker than when he is standing by watching as Wall street holds the jobs for working Americans and small businesses hostage to further relaxation of rules and greater tax cuts for the rich.

On removing troops from Iraq, the language in the terms of reference for withdrawing have been finessed so skillfully, watered-down and made so fuzzy, that even a slew of lawyers from K-street cannot determine when we will actually leave Iraq, if ever? Candidate Obama ran, and won office as an anti-war politician, yet, as President he has adopted the Cheney/Bush strategy of increasing U.S. presence in Afghanistan. So far, the success (or failure)there lies well hidden under the "fog of war."

Thus we can see from this book that even on the things that BHO has accomplished, there always is an unmistakable taint: All of BHO's victories seems pyrrhic. In every case there is a disturbing trend of BHO lacking a enthusiasm for core principles that will commit him to fight for the causes of those who elected him. If this trend continues, the campaign slogans that bracket this book of "Audacity of Hope" and "Change that we can believe in," can be safely discarded and placed on the scrape heap of history and Obama can forget any thoughts of a second term presidency. Two stars

Eternal Vigilance
Barack Obama has an ability to sway certain types of people. His mellow voice, pleasing slogans and generalities, however, leave most astute analytical people unmoved. He sees the world through the eyes of his father: Successful countries and individuals have become prosperous only through the exploitation of the weak andpoor countries like Kenya. America, as his wife says, "is a downright mean country." Then why would his father (who he at times gives admiration and at other tiimes virtually disowns)come here?
Obama displays a disdain for and no understanding of free enterprise or modern economics. He in an intelligent and smooth operator (community organizer), but is no more than the fool of books and Marxist professors - and a very arrogant fool at that. He nor his ilk that surround him in Washington have real life private sector executive experience. They have never had to make a payroll nor have earned a dime that wasn't taken from the American taxpayer. In the future we must be eternally vigilant to guard against the Obamas of the world. Elections have consequences. And America should not become the nice socialist sandbox Obama would like to play in.

Plan for a Failed Presidency L Michel NY

superman couldn't accomplish all this.He was elected on hope and change and this book outlines how short of the goal and promise he has fallen.
Clearly uncertain of economic principles he has planned a course sure to fail and outlined it for all to see.

impress the gullible
the reason why this book is lucky enough to receive one star is because i am tired of him pointing his finger at the prior administration.
i gave him credit for his strategical campaign of "change".
his demagogue persuasive speeches got many inspired and hooked, like an addiction.
the many credulous voters were to occupied looking at him as the first african american, that they failed to look at his credentials.

tell me, why should i peruse this book when the nations job environment continues to hemmorage?
tell me, why should i peruse it when the deficit is horrible?
tell me, why should i look at this book when the stimulus package has been an abject failure?

the unemployment rate is at 9.7-10% strong! the secretary of
treasury, mr. giethner is having trouble sleeping at night.
remember read my lips "i will not tax families making 250,000 a year." now, he's agnostic.

now the spill.

it doesn't matter if you're a left/right wing. all americans are aware that obama's response was like a snail.

hay mr. oops! sorry, i meant mr. obama. your lease is about to expire. when it does, i am going to give you your book as a failure treat.

don't waste your brain cells and hard earn money on this book.
all you have to do is look at the white house.

Marxist & Environmental Extremist, History Forgetting Change You Can Believe In
Would You Pick These People As Your Advisors?Obama Did.Its Change but crazy change

- Anita Dunn, former White House Communications Director is on record statingMao Tse Tung & Mother Theresa are her two favorite philosophers.She actually defended the Mao statement

- Van Jones, former Green Jobs Czar, who claimed he became a Marxist while in prison. Was ousted only after signing petitions claiming Bush Administration carried out 9/11

- Cass Sunstein the Regulator Czar who questioned the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms & who's 2004 book states he believes animals should be permitted to bring suit, w/ human beings as their representatives

- Science Czar John Holdren who co-authored a book Ecoscience where he proposed population controls by putting sterilants in drinking water & forced abortions

- Energy Czar, Carol Browner was an official member of Socialist Internationals Commission For A Sustainable World Society til summer 08, a group who's key position is that rich countries must shrink their economies to address Global Warming

- Mark Lloyd, FCCDiversity Czar -he praises the "democratic revolution and rise to power" of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. Calls for white media execs to set down so minorities can take their place

- Tim Geithner.Failed to pay his taxes for 4 years.When caught by the IRS for 2 years, he paid them but not the other 2. Only paid them when appointed Sec. Of Treasury, which if you don't know, runs the IRS.His AIG ties are another disturbing matter you can look up for yourself.

After being associated with the vile Reverend Wright or terrorist bomber William Ayeres, their backgrounds come as no surprise to me.

============================
Would You Defend Tillman Act?

The Presidents State Of The Union Address public criticism Of Courts Decision On Citizens United Vs. Federal Elections Commission is wrong and ironic.
Aside from the decisions support of our 1st amendment that says that congress shall pass no law abridging the freedom of speech, it also threw out Tillman Act passed in 1907.
The act is named for Senator Benjamin Ryan "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman (1847-1918) (D-SC).He was one of the most despicable men to have ever served in the US Senate andis said to have done more to establish the Jim Crow system in the South than any other single person.In the post-War south, he was a leader of the "Red Shirts", a terrorist paramilitary group organized to attack and intimidate blacks and Republicans.
His Red Shirts' campaign of murder, violence, and fraud led to the defeat of South Carolina's integrated reconstruction Republican government. Arguing that, "The negro must remain subordinated or be exterminated,"He openly called for the murder of blacks in order to, "keep the white race at the top of the heap."
Elected South Carolina Governor in 1890, he then created South Carolina's 1'st literacy test for voters and he promoted a number of property and educational requirements for voting.For his services, South Carolina sent him to the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1895 until his death in 1918
His intent in the Tillman act was aimed to cut the power of northern industrialists, Republicans, whom Tillman hated in part because of their more liberal attitudes on race.That the President should publicly challenge the Supreme court over this matter is unprecedented, that he should decide to defend the Tillman act and all it was intended to represent, is sad and ironic. ... Read more

Product Description
Former White House counsel John Dean evaluates the current state of the three branches of government, and finds serious problems with them all due to Republican rule.Amazon.com Review
The former White House counsel faults Republican mismanagement for the current state of the government

John Dean has become one of the most trenchant and respected commentators on the current state of American politics and one of the most outspoken and perceptive critics of the administration of George W. Bush in his New York Times bestsellers Conservatives Without Conscience and Worse than Watergate.

In his eighth book, Dean takes the broadest and deepest view yet of the dysfunctional chaos and institutional damage that the Republican Party and its core conservatives have inflicted on the federal government. He assesses the state of all three branches of government, tracing their decline through the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II. Unlike most political commentary, which is concerned with policy, Dean looks instead at process--making the case that the 2008 presidential race must confront these fundamental problems as well. Finally, he addresses the question that he is so often asked at his speaking engagements: What, if anything, can and should politically moderate citizens do to combat the extremism, authoritarianism, incompetence, and increasing focus on divisive wedge issues of so many of today's conservative politicians?

With the Democrats now in control of both the House and Senate, the stakes for the 2008 presidential election have never been higher. This is a book for anyone who wants to return government to the spirit of the Constitution.

Questions for John Dean

Amazon.com: Broken Government is a book unabashedly about governmental "process," which, I'm sure your publisher told you, is not considered the sexiest of topics. But you make the case that voters are actually often more concerned with process than with policy. Could you explain?

Dean: Actually, my wife was the first to tell me that "process" is not sexy. In fact, if you think about it, process can be quite sexy. Allow me to translate into a different context. Dating, seduction, and courtship are all types of processes, while the object of one's efforts is a policy decision. The kind of car you drive is a policy decision, but the way you drive it is a process matter. To take the leap to government--the machinery of government is the process, while what we do with that machinery is policy. Most Washington insiders are more interested in process than they are policy because it is truly the name of the game. In making the case that many voters are actually more concerned with government process than policy, something I have intuitively known for a long time, I relied on empirical research which was uncovered by a team of political scientists at the University of Nebraska. In addition, early responses to the book have confirmed that voters are deeply interested in these operations, when they have discovered what the book is about.

Amazon.com: You assess the state of each of the three branches of government and conclude that Congress, after the Democrats took over from your former party, the Republicans, at the beginning of this year, is "broken but under repair." Congress's approval ratings have remained even lower than the president's. Do you think they are fixing their broken institution?

Dean: Congress has traditionally had the lowest approval ratings of all the branches. In the book I explain why this is the case, along with the irony that most voters give their own representatives and senators high approval ratings, claiming it is merely the rest of them they don't approve of. After explaining the repairs that the Democrats have instituted since regaining control of the legislative branch, I explain that it is a Republican tactic to do all within their power to not allow the Democrats to get public credit for making Congress work again. Indeed, Republicans won control of Congress in the 1994 election after years of doing all they could to literally destroy Congress--it was really quite remarkable how they attacked the institution that they were part of, but it worked. Voters concluded that Democrats could not run Congress. After the GOP took control in 1995, they ran Congress not as a deliberative body but in a dictatorial manner that literally excluded Democrats, which meant over half the nation was not represented in Congress. Not surprisingly, by 2006 the efforts of the GOP to make their Congressional majority permanent through blatantly corrupt means and methods had backfired, and enough voters realized what was happening to take away control.

Now the GOP is back to trying their best to make the Congress not function, so that voters will put them back in control. The reason approval ratings are sinking is the GOP is succeeding--and the Democrats inexplicably refuse to talk about what the GOP is again doing to the process, and the media is not reminding voters. If Democrats continue to ignore process issues, if they refuse to make them an issue in 2008, not only will they lose but so will democracy as we know it.

Amazon.com: The battles between the White House and the Democratic Congress over the release of documents to congressional oversight committees raise all kinds of echoes from the Nixon era. How strange is it to see your old assistant in the Nixon White House counsel's office, Fred Fielding, return to the White House as point man in fighting some very similar skirmishes with Congress over executive privilege?

Dean: I cannot imagine why Fielding, whom I brought into the government in 1971, returned to the Bush/Cheney White House as counsel. I suspect his friend Dick Cheney leaned hard on him, for they needed help. Fielding has credibility on Capitol Hill, and while they may not like his stonewalling them, they know he is doing his boss's bidding and they understand that he is no doubt trying to get his boss to do the right thing. Fielding has never worked on the Hill, and his entire worldview of government is from the White House. When all is said and done, I think Fred will be viewed not as his own man, but just another who drank the Kool-Aid. I also know Pat Leahy and John Conyers, who chair the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, who are even more seasoned at the Washington game than Fielding. So it is going to be an interesting battle in the days ahead.

Amazon.com: What's particularly striking is that the White House appears to be winning those battles, or at least stalemating them successfully. What do you think this administration learned from Watergate? Why do you think they have been able to hold the line against congressional oversight?

Dean: No question that this administration learned from Watergate, and the landscape has changed significantly in the past three decades. When I returned to writing I never contemplated I would be writing political commentary, but when others were not talking about what was so obvious to me, I felt I had to do so. Republicans have taken Nixon's disgraced tactics and approach to presidential power as their starting point. They have learned that if caught, deny it. If that doesn't work, ignore the fact you have been caught and just keep doing it, and claim you have the inherent power to do so. They can get away with it because right-wing talk radio and Fox Cable News have become the cheering section that did not exist during Watergate. As for oversight, during the first six years of the Bush/Cheney administration, the GOP-controlled Congress could not even spell the word "oversight." Only now are we approaching real tests of whether the Democratic Congress will go the distance to get the information they are entitled to have.

Customer Reviews (41)

Liberal Rant?Hardly...but for some, the truth about the GOP hurts...
Some right wingnuts will call this a liberal rant.Let's not forget that Dean was White House council for GOP President Nixon -- and knows the GOP and all its faults like the Thomas Bros know their maps.

This is extremely well-written, and it takes an insider to be able to expose a lot of these truths.

Republicans will shriek, screech and get poopy-pants if they have the courage to read something this honest about their party and platform.And then, they'll cloak themselves in dark denial.

They have only themselves to blame for the catastrophic condition this country is in now.They'll try to point the finger of blame at Obama, now, for trying to clean up the mess left behind by Dumbya, the worst president in American history.But, the only fault I can give Obama is, well, insanity -- the insanity of choosing to follow right after 8 years of Dumbya, overlapped by a decade of a fully GOP-controlled Congress, which brought us to this economic disaster.Obama will be judged almost entirely by his ability to clean up a huge calamity created by GOP mismanagement and fear-based politics.

The GOP knows no shame, and will never own the facts that Dean uncovers in his very comprehensive book.

Infuriating and frustrating - but not author's fault
Dean provides ample evidence of how our government has, indeed, been broken. I knew some of the stuff he wrote about already, but there were plenty of other situations he discussed that I had had no idea about.Just confirmed to me that things are even worse than I had already thought. But none of this Dean's fault - he's just reporting, and in a very well-written manner. I appreciate his collecting all the data to present in a cohesive context. Now I just wish more citizens would read this book, realize what's been happening and continues to happen, and take steps to turn things around before it's too late.

Broken Government - Of Course We Knew It
It's not complicated.Thinking Americans knew the Bush administration in compliance with Senate and House Republicans were intent on breaking down our government of the people into government for the selected few - and they made significant strides in that direction.Dean documents this process in a readable, yet precise and unchallengable fashion - with the truth!

John Dean's Got it right!
The title of Mr. Dean's work speaks for itself. It is an indepth look at the three Branches of our Government and how Republican extremists have undermined the Legislative, Judical and Executive branches. Mr. Dean writes with knowledge and gives examples of the how's and why's particular members of the Republican Party, who have a authoritarian viewpoint, have smashed all three branches to create something not akin to the workings of the Constitution.

The book is easy to follow and builds with each branch of the government the ways members of the extreme right of the Republican Party have set out to destroy bi-partisan efforts to listen to the voice of the people of this country. Mr.Dean's last chapter recommends to his readers ways to avoid the disruption of our way of life by the Rightwing of the Republican party. I highly recommend Mr. Dean's work and the other two books he has written regarding the disintergation of middle road Republicans from the time of Senator Barry Goldwater.

John Dean is right
John Dean is correct that many people who were confirmed as judges lied to be confirmed. Check out the confirmation speeches that John Roberts gave and the ruling that opened Pandora's box with allowing corporations to give as much money as they wish to corporate puppets in Congress. ... Read more

Product Description

In Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right, Goldberg speaks for the millions of Americans who are saying: Enough! Enough of lunatics like Rosie O'Donnell who think "Radical Christianity" is "as big a threat to America as Radical Islam." Enough of the hyperbolic liberal rhetoric comparing Bush to Hitler and Abu Ghraib to a Saddam Hussein torture chamber. And please, enough of the military-hating crazies who run San Francisco!

Customer Reviews (106)

Goldberg's semi-comedic evaluation of the American political scene!
I have to say, whether one would agree or disagree with much of what Bernard Goldberg has to say (and I'm much more the former), he certainly doesn't lack for a defined viewpoint on the issues... nor for an endless array of targets.

"Crazies to the Left of me, Wimps to the Right" is much like most of Goldberg's past efforts, in that brings the complexities of the mired political scene down to a level that common Americans can understand. While some of what he says might be a bit simplistic, or "overly optimistic" as he says of some of his thoughts here, on the details involved in some of these issues, he never loses touch with what he's talking about.

Unlike some of his past efforts, though, he doesn't just take aim at the elitist and liberal-minded intelligentsia. He has more than a few choice words for the supposed conservative movement, or more specifically, the Republican party. He's pretty much even-handed in his denouncement of how both of America's political parties have failed the people and the nation, albeit in different ways. While some might take issue with his "solutions" not being much of them, he certainly is spot on with the short-comings of both sides of the political spectrum, especially concerning how the radicals of both sides have run each of their camps into utter ruination.

As he's done before, Goldberg hits on the issues, with a touch of sarcastic and cynical wit. He provides you with enough information to understand the situation and his feelings on it, but still manages to try and keep you entertained enough to keep turning the pages. He also pulls no punches in admitting this is how he sees things, or that this is some unbiased manifesto. Die-hard loyalists to either political party will obviously not like what Goldberg has to say, but for the rest of us, it's a somewhat informative and certainly thought-provoking looking into why so little seems to change in America, no matter which side seems to be at the controls. If you are truly fed up with the usual "game play" the political scene in America has become, Goldberg's book will read like the cliff's notes version of what needs to be fixed to change it.

More Proof that Conservatives can't be Funny
"Radical Christianity"--whatever that means--is "as big a threat to America as Radical Islam." Really? You really don't know what "Radical Christianity" means after 8 years of it? A collection of greedy radical Christians start a holy war and you don't see any danger in that crowd?

That's the kind of question that haunts the reader while suffering Goldberg's delusions. I picked this mess up while waiting for a local library program to begin and, a few hundred pages later, I still don't know what Bernard Goldberg is capable of comprehending. The boy sets a very low bar for stupidity, and still crawls under it. He's like a stupid man's Rush Limbaugh or a more-simpleminded Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly's idiot brother.

He tries to do a conservative Rodney Dangerfield, but comes off more like Archie Bunker. He does, often and loudly, prove the John Mill saying, "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."

Two thumbs up
I really enjoyed this book. Good humor with facts and opinions. His other book, '110 People,' is great, too.

great service
I bought as a gift - have not seen it well.Looks good and came quickly.

"A conservative, don't forget, is a liberal..."
"...who's been mugged by reality."-Bernard Goldberg

I first saw Mr. Goldberg on the O'Reilly Factor which I now regularly watch.So, obviously, I liked what he said enough to want to start reading some of his books.Funny, how many people are like me, once a democrat, now an independent like Bernie.

"But rest assured that the true believers will never budge.In their world, George Bush is worse than the terrorists.That's their story and they're sticking to it."Hmm.What'll the world come to if we start apologizing for terrorists and reading them, enemy combatants, their Miranda rights??? ... Read more

Product Description
"If a martian landed in America and set out to determine the nation's official state religion, he would have to conclude it is liberalism, while Christianity and Judaism are prohibited by law.

Many Americans are outraged by liberal hostility to traditional religion. But as Ann Coulter reveals in this, her most explosive book yet, to focus solely on the Left's attacks on our Judeo-Christian tradition is to miss a larger point: liberalism is a religion—a godless one.

And it is now entrenched as the state religion of this county.

Though liberalism rejects the idea of God and reviles people of faith, it bears all the attributes of a religion. In Godless, Coulter throws open the doors of the Church of Liberalism, showing us its sacraments (abortion), its holy writ (Roe v. Wade), its martyrs (from Soviet spy Alger Hiss to cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal), its clergy (public school teachers), its churches (government schools, where prayer is prohibited but condoms are free), its doctrine of infallibility (as manifest in the "absolute moral authority" of spokesmen from Cindy Sheehan to Max Cleland), and its cosmology (in which mankind is an inconsequential accident).

Then, of course, there's the liberal creation myth: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

For liberals, evolution is the touchstone that separates the enlightened from the benighted. But Coulter neatly reverses the pretense that liberals are rationalists guided by the ideals of free inquiry and the scientific method. She exposes the essential truth about Darwinian evolution that liberals refuse to confront: it is bogus science.

Writing with akeen appreciation for genuine science, Coulter reveals that the so-called gaps in the theory of evolution are all there is—Darwinism is nothing but a gap. After 150 years of dedicated searching into the fossil record, evolution's proponents have failed utterly to substantiate its claims. And a long line of supposed evidence, from the infamous Piltdown Man to the "evolving" peppered moths of England, has been exposed as hoaxes. Still, liberals treat those who question evolution as religious heretics and prohibit students from hearing about real science when it contradicts Darwinism. And these are the people who say they want to keep faith out of the classroom?

Liberals' absolute devotion to Darwinism, Coulter shows, has nothing to do with evolution's scientific validity and everything to do with its refusal to admit the possibility of God as a guiding force. They will brook no challenges to the official religion.

Fearlessly confronting the high priests of the Church of Liberalism and ringing with Coulter's razor-sharp wit, Godless is the most important and riveting book yet from one of today's most lively and impassioned conservative voices.


"Liberals love to boast that they are not 'religious,' which is what one would expect to hear from the state-sanctioned religion. Of course liberalism is a religion. It has its own cosmology, its own miracles, its own beliefs in the supernatural, its own churches, its own high priests, its own saints, its own total worldview, and its own explanation of the existence of the universe. In other words, liberalism contains all the attributes of what is generally known as 'religion.'" —From Godless


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (960)

God loves liberals...
I'm a liberal, and I believe in God.It is by God's grace that fanatics like Coulter come off as illiterate and hateful.It is by God's grace that Republican hypocrites like Larry Craig are discovered with their pants down in airport bathrooms.It is by God's grace that poseurs like Christine O'Donell are exposed and humiliated by the ever-timid media.Gee, looks like anything I like can be attributed to a God acting in my favor, and against my opponents' favor, doesn't it???

Pathetic
If you want to immerse yourself in ignorance and hatred, buy this book.You will love it.

A good book for those who prefer to let other people think for them
This book was a poorly written long continuous rant by an entertainer. People suffering or being humiliated appears to excite Coulter as long as they are not conservative Christian republicans. She attacks anything she doesn't agree with, or her fans don't agree with, and assumes it must be destroyed rather than improved. She has realized people love something to get worked up about so she simply feeds the reader with a nice dosage of hate, exaggerations, and sensationalism. Hate sells. Non-liberals unable to critically think for themselves, or simply lack compassion for diversity, will love this book. It may also give them a false comfort of being "well-informed".
I'm not a liberal, I'm not a conservative. I am open-minded and I allow myself to change my mind as I'm presented new facts. I read this with an open mind. I knew there would be a lot of which I wouldn't agree. I was surprised to find she wasn't totally off base on some things. However, while some of her thoughts matched my own I still cannot say she had any great insights that I haven't already heard elsewhere or discovered myself.
Some topics I agreed with, but Coulter's offensive delivery of the material and endless exaggerations made reading the book difficult. She makes broad generalizations of entire peoples based off the actions of a few. (No Coulter, not all, if any, liberals want to teach Kindergarteners how to have anal sex.) She also makes many interpretations based off her preconceived notion that whatever a liberal is doing it must be evil. Whenever she questions a liberal act she seems to simply shut out any critical thinking and simply chooses the most sensational immoral reason for the act. (Liberals want to keep criminals out of jail and keep babies from being born, no exceptions.)
These problems alone make the book pretty annoying but her flow simply destroys the book. She uses a lot of uncommon words to give the illusion of being an intellectual, or smug, yet the structure of her paragraphs and arrangement of her thoughts directly contradict being intelligent. The book reads like a ranting of a High School student who relied heavily on a thesaurus. She jumps off topic mid paragraph, sneaks topics later on in her book and sometimes fails to finish a thought with any kind of reference.
This was a difficult book to finish. If not being obsessive about finishing what I start then I would have set this down after the first chapter. You're probably better off reading something else.

Godless
Insightful and compelling.Ms Coulter provides a clear eyed description of the calculated misinformation spread by the left to obfuscate their agenda to those unwilling to realy dig into the reality of their intentions.Trying to obscure their past by ignoring it, the actual events surrounding their efforts through the years is revealed openly in the light directed upon it by Ms Coulter.A worthy read.

Stunning!
Stunning!I loved this because of its grounding in Christian thought. How many authors these days are prepared to discuss international affairs from God's point of view (the only perspective that really counts) and do so with the analytical skill of a top trial lawyer. She covers a lot of ground destroying a range of cultural myths. She has also reversed my lifetime belief in evolution and Darwinism, a subject I have lent my puny weight to in hyperspace but will now have to revise. Many have tried to convince me that evolution is baloney, with arguments that I found illogical, but Ann Coulter has this week sliced through my intellectual shiboleths like a knife and turned me right around. For this at least I will never forget this book.
... Read more

Product Description
Welcome to the world of Ann Coulter. With her monumental bestsellers Treason, Slander, and High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Coulter has become the most recognized and talked-about conservative intellectual in years—and certainly the most controversial. Now, in How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must), which is sure to ignite impassioned debate, she offers her most comprehensive analysis of the American political scene to date. With incisive reasoning, refreshing candor, and razor-sharp wit, she reveals just why liberals have got it so wrong.

In this powerful and entertaining book, which draws on her weekly columns, Coulter ranges far and wide. No subject is off-limits, and no comment is left unsaid. After all, she writes, “Nothing too extreme can be said about liberals because it’s all true.” How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) offers Coulter’s unvarnished take on:

•The essence of being a liberal: “The absolute conviction that there is one set of rules for you, and another, completely different set of rules for everyone else.”

•John Kerry: “A reporter asked Kerry, ‘Are you for or against gay marriage?’ As usual, his answer was, ‘Yes.’ ”

•Her 9/11 comments: “I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity. The answer is: Now more than ever!”

•The state of the Democratic Party: “Teddy Kennedy crawls out of Boston Harbor with a quart of Scotch in one pocket and a pair of pantyhose in the other, and Democrats hail him as their party’s spiritual leader.”

•Her philosophy for arguing with liberals: “Tough love, except I don’t love them. My ‘tough love’ approach is much like the Democrats’ ‘middle-class tax cuts’—everything but the last word.”

•The “Treason Lobby”: “Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States.”

In this full-on Coulterpalooza, you’ll find the real, uncensored Ann Coulter. A special concluding chapter even includes the pieces that squeamish editors refused to publish—“what you could have read if you lived in a free country,” says Coulter. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) is a stunning reminder of why Ann Coulter’s commentary has achieved must-read status.

“A fluent polemicist with a gift for Menckenesque invective...and she can harness such language to subtle, syllogistic argument.”--Washington Post Book World

“Ann Coulter is a trailblazer.”--Los Angeles Times Book Review

“She can zing one-liners faster than Zeus can throw lightning bolts.”--Kansas City Star

“You know those pundits who bore you to tears trying to balance everyone’s point of view? Coulter isn’t one.”--People

“A great deal of research supports Ms. Coulter’s wisecracks.”--New York Times

“The conservative movement has found its diva.”--Bill Maher

“Ann Coulter is a pundit extraordinaire.”--Rush Limbaugh

Also available as a Random House AudioBook and as an e-Book


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
This forceful, sarcastic, and often hilarious book offers tips on arguing with liberals, which include the following: don't be defensive, always outrage the enemy, and never apologize to, compliment, or show graciousness to a Democrat. Welcome to the world according to Ann Coulter. Ever combative, Coulter is unafraid to court controversy or confront her detractors head-on, whether they are mainstream journalists and talk-show hosts who have misquoted her without apology or "weak and frightened conservatives" craving liberal approval. Though the writing is often over-the-top, the book if full of one-liners that will delight conservatives, such as "the best way to convert liberals is to have them move out of their parents' home, get a job, and start paying taxes." But there is more here than just insults and countless jabs at Bill Clinton, and even her most devoted readers will find much new material in the book. Largely a collection of her syndicated columns from the past decade, How to Talk to a Liberal also includes columns that were never released or were rejected by editors--in Coulter's words, "what you could have read if you lived in a free country." --Shawn Carkonen

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

Ann Coulter on Election 2004
Ann Coulter has become a fixture among the country's leading conservative pundits with her take-no-prisoners approach making for controversial headline copy. She speaks out about Election 2004 in our exclusive interview.

Ann Coulter's Significant Seven
Ann Coulter kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Amazon Significant Seven. Read her answers here. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (713)

Prove Ann right, Read the One Star Reviews!
Brilliant, as always from Ann.Liberals never debate a point with Ann.Instead, they denigrate her, flaunting their literary ignorance by failing to grasp satire.Feeling the "golden rule" should be graded on a curve to ensure their fake moral superiority, liberal reviewers attack Ann, stupidly proving her very point-liberalism is a damnable lie incapable of logical defense.

If you've ever wondered why discussing anything with a liberal is so mind numbingly pointless, this book explains why.And it does so in a hilarious way!Unfortunately, liberalism lacks humor as much as it lacks credibility.A fun read, and the antidote to liberal insulation from their cherished willful ignorance.

wow.
unless senile is even a possibility at an age so young, or this lady mentally retarded?

Positively a "must"
Excellently written, and great use of references.Ann leaves nothing hidden; she uncovers and exposes the liberals and their political agenda.She tells it like it is with a sprinkling of puns and barbs throughout for some unexpected chuckles.I'll read anything Ann writes.I've become a total #1 fan~

Well written Ann!
This is the second book I have read by Ann Coulter. Love it! I see that Ann Coulter has her research well done. I'm still new at reading about politics so I often check the sources, citations etc...doesn't take much since all the information is provided and I can go on the internet:-) People who criticize the author are clearly not fact checking or reading the books.

It's hard for some people to accept that we have corrupt politicians in our government and that those that expose them are shot down with pure hatred, are called liars and other explitives. Remember, our politicians work for us. It should not be the other way around. We should know the truth and Throw The Bums Out!

I do love the authors wit and sarcasm. She is highly intelligent, beautiful, truthful, humorous, and successful. That's why her critics hate her so much! I love what she says on p.416, middle pp of "How To Talk To ALiberal (if you must)." I would love a huge poster size of that!

What?
When I picked up this book as a joke for a conservative friend (I'm a liberal) in the hospital, I decided to read it just for the laughs before I sent it to him. I don't think I've ever been more disgusted, I definitely should have gotten "Going Rogue" instead. This book consists almost entirely of her bashing liberals, quite un-creatively, by calling them every name in the book and repeatedly pointing out that this OF COURSE applies to ALL LIBERALS. I mean, who doesn't know that all liberals are unpatriotic, atheists, traitors, stupid, socialists, baby-killers, drug addicts, sexually promiscuous, and pro-gay rights? I mean liberals obviously don't have individual characteristic, because we are all the same? Right? (SARCASM, with emphasis on how idiotic that viewpoint is).

She even states at one point that you shouldn't be afraid to make ridiculous accusations of liberals, because it IS true. Umm... talk about someone disconnected with reality. I didn't even believe that people could actually serious believe in this, because to me it is beyond comprehension how one person could be so ignorant, but it turns out people actually do agree with her??? Probably the only thing I'll ever agree politically with my friend, besides abortion (yes I'm pro-life and liberal, Oh My Gosh what an Oxy-Moron... Not), is that Ann Coulter should go back to being obscure, as she so aptly described in her new chapter.

I can respect my conservative friends for having their various view points... I can not respect her or her insulting, radical and unintelligent views. Anyone with any sort of common sense should steer clear of this book, even as a joke. ... Read more

Product Description
John Dean, author of The New York Times bestseller Worse Than Watergate, takes a sobering look at how radical elements are destroying the Republican Party along with the very foundations of American democracy.

Unabridged CDs - 8 CDs, 9 hoursAmazon.com Review
In Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean, who served as White House counsel under Richard Nixon and then helped to break the Watergate scandal with his testimony before the Senate, takes a vivid and analytical look at a Republican Party that has changed drastically from the conservative movement that he joined in the mid-1960s as an admirer of Senator Barry Goldwater. Listen to our interview with Dean as part of our July 13 Amazon Wire podcast (along with interviews with Garrison Keillor and Henry Rollins) to hear how he originally conceived of the book with the late Senator Goldwater, and the social science research he drew on to put together his portrait of the "conservative authoritarian." (You can subscribe to regular Wire podcasts here.) And take a look at Dean's choices for the best books to read on the American presidency in ourGrownup School feature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (176)

Lessons in social interaction
I bought this in hardback soon after release. I still can't believe how much of this stuck with me. The authoritarian personality is obvious now when I see it {and it's variations}. The social aspect alone deserves 5 stars no matter your political bent. I agree with the destructive nature described here so a total win for me. Read this and you will be enlightened on certain paths topower and their structure.

Great Book, Price Too High for Kindle
If you've wondered about the obvious public results you see from Conservatives in Washington, this book will be an eye opener in reaching an understanding.Given that it's written by a Republican, it has some significant credibility (even though that Republican is John Dean) ... and in its reading, you'll understand why that is so.Authoritarian conservatism will be forever added to your lexicon.

The only negative I have on this book is the Kindle price.What are they thinking?Even the paperback edition is less than 1/2 the cost for the Kindle version.I was able to buy a used hardback edition for $6.98.I still do buy books for my Kindle, and it is, at best, annoying to me to look for alternatives.But this book is several years old, it's available in paperback and at 1/2 price bookstores and, additionally, from individuals.So why does this publisher try to squeeze blood from a turnip by asking $12.99 for a 1 user electronic (Kindle) edition?I've decided to call it "Wall Street Syndrome" ... pure greed.I'm not saying that, for some new releases at least, I wouldn't ever pay this much for a Kindle book ... but it's simply too easy to buy it for (much) less.I know that, on the surface, this pricing thing is not supposed to be Amazon's fault (Amazon says "it's the publisher") ... but I certainly do think that Amazon could take a hard stand (like Apple did for iPod $.99 music downloads) at, say, $9.99 for a max price on Kindle books.Just my $.02 ...

Great book, good read, bad marketing for Kindle.

Eye-opening book
This book has confirmed my observations of the current Republican party, autocratic, authoritarian, pinheaded, and misguided and how the party has swung too far to the right from its roots. The current rise of the "Tea Party" bears out his thoughts and predictions. Mr. Dean produced a thoughtful and well-researched book that lays it out for anyone who has the courage to examine his or her political views.The book makes one think, provided one has the ability to think and as long as you are not a disciple of the mainstream talking [pin]heads on talk radio. I want to thank Mr. Dean for his courage as a former Republican leader for this book.

explains a lot about our government
a textbook on the way the congress works and why we should stay alert or we will lose our freedom

Conservatives without Conscience
An enlightening and eye-opening book, that all Americans ought to read. It is highly informative and tells it like it is. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (43)

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. (PLEASE HELP STOP OUR NEW DICTATOR!!!!)
A MUST READ FOR ALL AMERICANS.

HELP STOP THE RUINIZATION OF AMERICA !!1

Useless Book - Something to Stir Up the Base?
This was a waste of time - unless you just like to hear our president and Democrats criticized without explanation - seems to be a kind of Rush Limbaugh rant against the current administration.Full of baseless accusations - FUD prevails (fear, uncertainty and doubt).Save your money if you do any thinking - this is a rancor based diatribe for the far right.

The Blueprint: Review
The Blueprint displays Obama's agenda in a way anyone could understand. It is written in a concrete languauge and in a form enjoyable to read. Sections of the book are short, and each chapter can easily be read in one sitting. I absolutely loved the book. Well worth the time!

Great read, but upsetting
This book is great!I loved it.The only problem is that it is very frustrating to read what is going on in our country.I am amazed more people are not angered by the the Obama Administration.It is appalling what they are getting away with.The book goes into a lot of detail so it is not a book you can sit and read quickly.There is so much information that it takes a while to absorb what it is saying.This is a must read for anyone who is concerned about where our country is going.

The title alone makes it worth getting, because we know it's true!
The left wing hates it, so that is another reason to purchase this book, but of course they never read it, and it is the title alone that has them losing their uninformed and closed Obamastepford drone minds. Not a review just wanted to rate the book. ... Read more