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shoshin's review
informative
medium-paced
2.5
I don't really understand the point of this book. It didn't tell me anything I didn't know and seemed written to confirm what liberals already know rather than reveal what conservatives refuse to see. For someone whose entire job has been persuasion for his whole career, it's oddly lacking in persuasive content. Why write it if you aren't going to convince anyone of anything with it?
That said, it's a pretty good summary of all the reasons the modern Republican party deserves to lose elections. So I guess if that's what you're looking for, you've found it.
That said, it's a pretty good summary of all the reasons the modern Republican party deserves to lose elections. So I guess if that's what you're looking for, you've found it.
mabersold's review against another edition
4.0
While it didn't really tell me much I didn't already know, I appreciated the perspective from a former Republican campaign consultant.
fionak's review against another edition
I got a couple of chapters into this and started to feel like I'd heard it before, then I realized he was treading the same ground as Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics which I read a few months back and it was a way more entertaining and better written chronicle of this topic. So I doubt this will be worth my time to finish.
sarful's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
A searing indictment of the current Republican Party under Donald Trump. He chronicles how the GOP got to where it is today, by looking at its history from the 80s to today. And what you come away with, is party built on racism, hypocrisy, owning a narrative without policy or a record and winning. Really, winning, without a shred of anything more.
There were times I forgot he was a former GOP operative, he was so exacting in his indictment. But, he’s a conservative still, a conservative without a party. He viewed the GOP as center right, but like many GOP got caught up in winning over all. There’s nothing too surprising in this, if you’ve been paying attention to politics, but this takes on a different slant because of who the author is and his vast knowledge of those operatives and politicians he’d worked with and know, personally, how terrible they are. He even apologizes on occasion for how successful he was in getting terrible people into positions of power.
Quite the interesting, if not depressing, read.
A searing indictment of the current Republican Party under Donald Trump. He chronicles how the GOP got to where it is today, by looking at its history from the 80s to today. And what you come away with, is party built on racism, hypocrisy, owning a narrative without policy or a record and winning. Really, winning, without a shred of anything more.
There were times I forgot he was a former GOP operative, he was so exacting in his indictment. But, he’s a conservative still, a conservative without a party. He viewed the GOP as center right, but like many GOP got caught up in winning over all. There’s nothing too surprising in this, if you’ve been paying attention to politics, but this takes on a different slant because of who the author is and his vast knowledge of those operatives and politicians he’d worked with and know, personally, how terrible they are. He even apologizes on occasion for how successful he was in getting terrible people into positions of power.
Quite the interesting, if not depressing, read.
colin_cox's review against another edition
2.0
This is a tricky book. Stevens tells an attentive political media consumer everything they already know. Sure, to some degree, it is refreshing to hear a committed conservative say what Stevens says. Still, like many a Republican politician who criticized Trump in the twilight of their final term in office, Stevens's honesty carries little to no risk. It Was All a Lie was not written to persuade a Trump voter to abandon their fealty to Trump. No, It Was All a Lie is a book-length mea culpa that offers few meaningful solutions to our current predicament (to his credit, Stevens addresses campaign finance reform, so there is that).
What Stevens wants is a return to a more civil political environment. However, what those antiquated niceties mask is a slate of policies and policy positions that increase inequality, pure and simple. For example, many consider Senator Mitt Romney a principled conservative dedicated to fighting the hideousness of Trumpism. Yet, according to FiveThirtyEight, during the 116th Congress, Romney voted with Trump 78% of the time. What does it say about a political position (conservatism) if the principled member of that position agreed, via his vote, with Donald Trump, someone Stevens argues represents what is wrong with contemporary American politics? Regrettably, Stevens sees Donald Trump as the unfortunate conclusion to what the Republican party has become instead of seeing Donald Trump as the natural conclusion to conservative politics.
What Stevens wants is a return to a more civil political environment. However, what those antiquated niceties mask is a slate of policies and policy positions that increase inequality, pure and simple. For example, many consider Senator Mitt Romney a principled conservative dedicated to fighting the hideousness of Trumpism. Yet, according to FiveThirtyEight, during the 116th Congress, Romney voted with Trump 78% of the time. What does it say about a political position (conservatism) if the principled member of that position agreed, via his vote, with Donald Trump, someone Stevens argues represents what is wrong with contemporary American politics? Regrettably, Stevens sees Donald Trump as the unfortunate conclusion to what the Republican party has become instead of seeing Donald Trump as the natural conclusion to conservative politics.
avisholkoff's review against another edition
4.0
I'll let Stevens' thesis on page 95 speak for itself:
"All Republicans want to is beat the team that's playing the Giants. They aren't voters using using active intelligence or participants in a civil democracy, they are fans."
This book was a fascinating look at someone who worked on the inside of republican politics, debunking the party's ideology and goals. From coded racism to fraudulent "family values" Stevens exposed every policy/messaging and exposed it for its flawed and hypocritical nature.
The book is essentially a manifesto that exposes the significant hypocrisy of the contemporary republican party. It was an ideal length and had it been any longer I would've lost interest.
I also want to make clear that Stevens doesn't absolve blame, which made it worth reading. He argues that ever since Goldwater, the republican has functioned as an implicit white grievance party and that for whatever reason it wasn't until Trump, he realized it. He renounces it.
4 star, well 3.75 rating. It was good, though perhaps could have done without the bush apologist lines
"All Republicans want to is beat the team that's playing the Giants. They aren't voters using using active intelligence or participants in a civil democracy, they are fans."
This book was a fascinating look at someone who worked on the inside of republican politics, debunking the party's ideology and goals. From coded racism to fraudulent "family values" Stevens exposed every policy/messaging and exposed it for its flawed and hypocritical nature.
The book is essentially a manifesto that exposes the significant hypocrisy of the contemporary republican party. It was an ideal length and had it been any longer I would've lost interest.
I also want to make clear that Stevens doesn't absolve blame, which made it worth reading. He argues that ever since Goldwater, the republican has functioned as an implicit white grievance party and that for whatever reason it wasn't until Trump, he realized it. He renounces it.
4 star, well 3.75 rating. It was good, though perhaps could have done without the bush apologist lines
bethgiven's review against another edition
I'm a political moderate swimming in a conservative sea (I live in a red state, was raised by Republican parents, and attend a church that's historically aligned itself with the GOP). But the 2020 election was my breaking point, and it's puzzled me that those around me have doubled down in defense of the Republican party. How has our country gotten here?
This book, written by a former strategist for several prominent Republican politicians, was mean and sarcastic -- but it was also enlightening. Stuart Stevens explains the progression of events, starting with McCarthyism and the southern strategy back in the 1950s and 1960s, that led to the GOP's nomination of Donald Trump, a candidate both morally bankrupt and completely unqualified for president.
Yes, this book may be inflammatory, but it's also intelligent. It's not particularly hopeful, but it's truthful. For former Republicans feeling gaslit by their family and neighbors, this book felt validating.
This book, written by a former strategist for several prominent Republican politicians, was mean and sarcastic -- but it was also enlightening. Stuart Stevens explains the progression of events, starting with McCarthyism and the southern strategy back in the 1950s and 1960s, that led to the GOP's nomination of Donald Trump, a candidate both morally bankrupt and completely unqualified for president.
Yes, this book may be inflammatory, but it's also intelligent. It's not particularly hopeful, but it's truthful. For former Republicans feeling gaslit by their family and neighbors, this book felt validating.