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jonmhansen's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and sad read, this. Stuart Stevens, longtime political consultant for the Republican party, writes his "I didn't leave the party, the party left me" tale:
This was my tribe. I did not think them perfect; no man may be a hero to his valet or political consultant. I never pretended to see even glimmers of greatness in most of them, but I did hold out for an assumption of decency. They have proven me wrong, and the sadness I feel is difficult to express.Main takeaway is that Republicans won't give up their authoritarian racist ways until they start losing elections. Let's see what happens.
jaredpence's review
3.0
Stevens seems angry, especially in audio book format. His arguments are compelling and I was persuaded that Trump is the culmination of the direction the Republican Party has been headed in for the last 50 years, not an aberration. Stevens’s experience and confessional guilt about participating in Republican campaigns gives him loads of credibility and makes him fully believable. The argument he makes about the impending demise of the Republican Party (if they don’t shift their approach of upholding themselves as the white, racist party) was also convincing. I felt a little frustrated that his complaints against Trump often focused on criticizing his character (he talked about how Trump paid off a pornstar and talked about wanting to date his own daughter a lot). I wish that instead of focusing solely on Trump’s moral bankruptcy Stevens equally emphasized Trump’s harmful policies since many of the Trump defenders I know seem willing to overlook his lack of ethics and morals because they support his policies. I think part of Stevens’s point is that that willingness to overlook morals is precisely the corrupting problem of the Republican Party (they alway choose party and power over country and ethics), but it seems to minimize racist, classist, and disingenuous policies which are perhaps even more harmful than the hypocrisy and selfishness that characterize Trump’s personality.
miguelf's review against another edition
4.0
There’s a Subreddit called r/Leopardsatemyface which is dedicated to “someone who has a sad because they’re suffering consequences from something they voted for or supported or wanted to impose on other people”. It’s full of memes and social media posts, mostly with people who regretted their longtime GOP supporter or otherwise supported Trump specifically. Stevens could be the patron saint for this sub as his book is basically a gigantic mea culpa for having wasted his life fighting for and right wing causes. He’s a political insider who is ready to dish the dirt on what he saw and experienced as a GOP operative, and with chapter titles like “The Long Con” and “Machinery of Deception” it’s pretty easy to see where he currently views the modern day GOP. I wish I could say that I was shocked or surprised that the party of social responsibility and family values is so often filled with those of the lowest character, but that this has been such a glaring fact for so long it’s not really revelation, but to hear it from one of their own is somewhat interesting.
colleenbee's review against another edition
4.0
The cover looks a bit sensationalized, but that’s really my only criticism. This was a well written indictment of the Republican Party.
arensb's review against another edition
5.0
This book belongs on the same shelf as the Republican post-mortem analysis of Mitt Romney's defeat in 2012. It's an unflinching look at how, over the last 50 years, the GOP has changed from a party of ideals and values into a party that exists solely to cling to power for its own sake.
Stevens shows how Republicans embraced the Southern strategy of exploiting racism for partisan gain, and never looked back.
If you're not familiar with the history of American politics, this will enlighten you. If you don't watch the news, this will appall and enlighten you. If you do know history and follow the news, you can still admire Stevens's deftness with language, and the way he so concisely lays bare much that's wrong with the Republican party and American politics in general.
Stevens shows how Republicans embraced the Southern strategy of exploiting racism for partisan gain, and never looked back.
If you're not familiar with the history of American politics, this will enlighten you. If you don't watch the news, this will appall and enlighten you. If you do know history and follow the news, you can still admire Stevens's deftness with language, and the way he so concisely lays bare much that's wrong with the Republican party and American politics in general.
shelfiegen's review against another edition
2.0
I don't disagree with the author... just feel like he didn't go far enough, I guess? Also, nice for him to "take responsibility" but also, he is making money from this book right? So admitting complicity is a nice start. but it is only a start...
aristotle910's review against another edition
4.0
If I’m being completely candid, I failed to read the description of this book before I had read it. I read this looking for a critique on Trump himself, rather than the entire Republican Party. Still, I found the work to be well studied, cited, and the argument was well backed up with a plethora evidence.
If you read this book, you’ll realize a lot of what’s wrong with Trump and the GOP. They prove that they are also masters of identity politics, and deceive their own supporters by painting themselves as good, Christian people; yet they vote the most un-Christian man into office, and even go as far as to profess that Trump is a God-given gift.
Stevens does a wonderful job of respecting some of the previous GOP presidents, and realized that even though he disagrees with them, at least they were cool, calm, and collected, unlike some people.
He also exposes the deficit spending that both parties are guilty for. He finds that all of the Republican presidents who promised to lower taxes, never did; conversely, they increased deficit spending, leaving us with a larger debt than when they came in. In Stevens’ point of view, leaders who claim to lower the deficit without raising taxes, are liars. The leaders who forthrightly came before people and told them blatantly that taxes would be raised, but only to get us out of the large deficit, are chastised and ignored. Thus, it has become a race of lies and petty politics.
I do disagree with Stevens on a couple of points. It is true that the Republican Party utilizes race to the maxim of their effort, but I do not believe Democrats are entirely innocent of this. I find Black republicans are often chastised and labeled as “Uncle Tom’s”. I find that neither side is free from ideological sin in that regard, nor do they allow Blacks to be true free thinkers. Either side they join, they are somehow betraying their history.
Stevens makes great refutations, and the sum of this novel is incredibly important, and a must-read.
4/5
If you read this book, you’ll realize a lot of what’s wrong with Trump and the GOP. They prove that they are also masters of identity politics, and deceive their own supporters by painting themselves as good, Christian people; yet they vote the most un-Christian man into office, and even go as far as to profess that Trump is a God-given gift.
Stevens does a wonderful job of respecting some of the previous GOP presidents, and realized that even though he disagrees with them, at least they were cool, calm, and collected, unlike some people.
He also exposes the deficit spending that both parties are guilty for. He finds that all of the Republican presidents who promised to lower taxes, never did; conversely, they increased deficit spending, leaving us with a larger debt than when they came in. In Stevens’ point of view, leaders who claim to lower the deficit without raising taxes, are liars. The leaders who forthrightly came before people and told them blatantly that taxes would be raised, but only to get us out of the large deficit, are chastised and ignored. Thus, it has become a race of lies and petty politics.
I do disagree with Stevens on a couple of points. It is true that the Republican Party utilizes race to the maxim of their effort, but I do not believe Democrats are entirely innocent of this. I find Black republicans are often chastised and labeled as “Uncle Tom’s”. I find that neither side is free from ideological sin in that regard, nor do they allow Blacks to be true free thinkers. Either side they join, they are somehow betraying their history.
Stevens makes great refutations, and the sum of this novel is incredibly important, and a must-read.
4/5
adamvolle's review against another edition
3.0
The book fulfills its dust-cover promise of letting you read a high-level Republican operator repent of his sins and excoriate his former comrades at length for their own, but don’t expect too much more; he offers only a few tantalizing peeks behind the GOP’s curtain (the best one is his discussion of how many Republican staffers are gay).
c100's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0