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American Playbook: A Guide to Winning Back the Country from the Democrats
Popular radio host and bestselling author Clay Travis offers a unique playbook approach to politics, outlining how Republicans can win elections and win back the country through the lens of sports metaphors.
Republicans are in a losing period. The last election should have been a wake-up call for the current moment. If the GOP wants to turn its luck around, it’s time to toss the old playbook and find new ways to win elections and attract enthusiastic voters.
Like a well-timed coaching hire, Clay Travis is here to break down exactly how the Republican party can turn a few losing seasons into a championship run. Whether it’s advice on how to exploit the weakest link on the opposing team, or how to capitalize on fast break opportunities in the press, Travis provides a surefire gameplan inspired by winning strategies in sports that will finally give conservatives an edge over the competition.
Republicans are in a losing period. The last election should have been a wake-up call for the current moment. If the GOP wants to turn its luck around, it’s time to toss the old playbook and find new ways to win elections and attract enthusiastic voters.
Like a well-timed coaching hire, Clay Travis is here to break down exactly how the Republican party can turn a few losing seasons into a championship run. Whether it’s advice on how to exploit the weakest link on the opposing team, or how to capitalize on fast break opportunities in the press, Travis provides a surefire gameplan inspired by winning strategies in sports that will finally give conservatives an edge over the competition.
- GenresPolitics
304 pages, Hardcover
First published August 8, 2023
4 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 18, 2023
Disclaimer one: After writing this review, I notice that a lot of it is negative. I kind of hate to do that because so far this is the only review of this book on here, and I didn't hate or even dislike it at all. It was not my intention to trash this book. Hell, the political advice content is five stars all the way; the Democrats must be stopped, or at least the progressive psychos who have hijacked their party need to be. Democrats and Republicans used to want the same thing (American exceptionalism) several years ago, but they just had different ways of getting there and different definitions of what that meant exactly. However, those days are gone. The Democrat party, at least the progressive wing of it which is running everything right now, is ashamed of America as it was founded and wants to completely tear it down. But I deduct one star for stylistic reasons explained below. Clay throws out the Davy Crockett quote "be sure you're right and then go ahead" multiple times. Well, I'm not 100% sure if I'm right (I'm not sure if there even is a right or a wrong here), but I'm gonna go ahead anyway. Hopefully some other people will come along with glowing five-star reviews that get multiple likes and drive my drivel into the depths of the review feed.
Disclaimer two: There's a review down there eventually, but I talk about myself for a couple of paragraphs first. This fits in well with the book because Clay likes to talk about himself too, so I'm really just following his example (though I confess it's happenstance here).
Five stars for the content, like I said, but I'm deducting a star because I'm a little confused by the book itself. I think it's because I'm overthinking it. I normally don't read political books, not even ones I agree with like this one. I do this because I discovered years ago that I can't handle politics responsibly. I'm a recovering news junkie, and I've been on what I call a news brownout for the past seven or eight years. (Execution of this plan has had varying degrees of success, but I've never had a full-blown relapse into looking at it online or on TV all day.) On my best days all I do is read the newspaper (something else Clay and I have in common is reading a physical newspaper everyday, though I think he reads three; he must read a million words a minute.) That gives me about half an hour a day to see what's going on in the world. If it's upsetting news, I can blow a gasket, get over it, and then I still have 23 1/2 hours left to live a normal life. I don't watch it on TV, check it on the internet, or anything... with one exception. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh and now I listen to Clay and Buck from time to time. I had avoided Rush for a while and would only check in when major events were happening, like the Republican National Convention in 2016, or whatever. Then when the mass hysteria pandemic hit, I started tuning in more regularly because the news was inescapable no matter what you tried to do, and I needed sanity and hope from somewhere. Rush, and later Clay and Buck, provided that. Since then I've found I can still tune in two or three times a week without getting bent around the axle. Sometimes I listen more, sometimes less, depending on what else is going on, but I do love the show. They have good camaraderie, it's informative, you hear news you don't hear from the mainstream media, and they seem to have a lot of fun doing it; it's not just a bitchfest. Plus, I love the bits when they're just talking about lighter topics, like movies or music. Clay and I are at the tail end of Gen X, and Buck is at the front of the Millennials which makes all of us Xennials: people who learned old world skills and values when we were children, but were young enough to pick up the new internet technology without difficulty. Ergo, we grew up with the same pop culture influences.
Back when Rush was running it, if I missed a show I could go to the website and read/skim the transcript and get what I needed rather quickly. When Clay and Buck took over, they continued that format, but later the transcripts were removed, and they provided a very brief summary to read which was nowhere near as good. Then the summaries stopped, and they didn't even list the topics that were discussed, and you had to listen to the audio to get anything. Then the audio was cut a bit and you had to be a VIP member to get everything, and later still you had to get a VIP membership to get just about anything. 12-3 on weekdays at work is my Clay and Buck time, and I don't really have time to listen to them at other points in the day. I have a life. It might not be much of one, but I do have one. I'd much rather read the transcripts because I could pick and choose if I were interested in the topic, and I could skim when they started repeating themselves (a bit of repetition is just the nature of a talk-radio show) and get everything I needed when time was limited. I wrote to the show a few times only to discover that the transcripts weren't coming back.
I'm also a Luddite (though not as much of one as Clay's dad who doesn't even have an e-mail address, and God bless the man for showing us how it's supposed to be done). I don't have a smartphone, and I plan to hold out as long as I can; my life is much simpler that way, and I value simplicity. I've seen what smartphones have done to my family, friends, and society in general, and I don't want to be a part of that problem. Even Clay recognizes the issue, and he talks about it a bit in this book. He used to be on his phone nine hours every day. He's managed to cut it back to six... I think; I can't find that section in the book, so I might be wrong on the numbers. He hopes to shave off a bit more in the future. But still, nine hours... Hell, even six hours... How much other stuff can you get done in six hours? I really can't talk much, though. Substitute smartphone with a computer, and I can be just as bad; it's the same issue, but with a different tool. The one benefit I have is that I'm not taking this habit out into society, and I have to be at home to indulge my addiction. It makes me really sad to see a family of four sitting at a restaurant, each of them with his/her head up his/her app, not paying a bit of attention to the other people at the table unless they happen to be texting each other, and if I ever find out that that's what's actually happening, I may just weep. And then there's this BS.
But this isn't the place for that rant.
Where was I? Oh yeah, the website. As a result of all the changes, I started visiting the site much less because it wasn't of any use to me. I considered getting the VIP membership just to see what other benefits I could get, but I'm cheap and don't want to pay for something that used to be free, especially when the new costly thing isn't even as good as the old free thing; all I want is to be able to read the transcripts which don't exist anymore. But I get it. Clay and Buck are capitalists, and I support capitalism, and if they can make more money by making a change, then what the hell, go make the money. Of course, it could also be a matter of not being able to afford running it the way they used to; I don't have all the details. (Actually, I don't have any of the details; I'm passing judgement without a leg to stand on here.)
Then Clay announced you could get an autographed copy of his book for "free" if you signed up for an annual subscription for $50, and thus were they able to snag me. It turns out VIP members don't get to see transcripts either, and I don't see a whole lot which is useful to me, but I am allowed to send them direct e-mails, and I have wanted to do that a couple of times during the show to answer a question they posed. Maybe I'll be able to do that before my subscription runs out next year. We'll see. (Actually I'll have to cancel it since you're forced to sign up for auto-renewal. I hope they send out a reminder that you're about to get dinged.)
Regardless, I got the subscription and the "free" book. Normally when I get a new book, I don't read it immediately (Stephen King novels are an exception). But even though I have over 100 books on my TBR list, I launched right into this one because it's topical and relevant to the world today, and reading it a year and a half from now would be silly and almost pointless; I would've missed the boat. (I've had some books for 10 or 15 years and haven't gotten to them, so that scenario is a definite possibility.)
The information in this book was great, and I agree wholeheartedly with it. However, I'm not entirely sure what the target audience is. It purports to be advice for whoever ends up being a 2024 Republican nominee regardless of the office. I think if they follow the advice, they could probably win their respective races. But it's also more than that, and I'm not sure what the book is trying to be. Is it an advice book for political matters? Is it an advice book for life? Is it a memoir? Is it a book of anecdotes? Is it him getting some of his frustration out of his system? All of that is in here, but it could be better polished. Clay's writing style is conversational, and he mentioned he did that intentionally. It does make it easy to hear his voice as you read, but it doesn't always translate well on the page. In short, his writing style is not above reproach, and much of this read like a first draft with the typos buffed out. I don't think this would've made it to the printing press if it were written by somebody who wasn't an established media personality. If I, an unknown nobody, had submitted this for publication, the editor would've sent it back and said clean it up a bit, move this paragraph over here, you're repeating yourself 18 times here, here, here, etc. Cut out this bit of internal monologue; it interrupts the flow. Then again, it could just be personal preference, and like I said before, I don't read political books. Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with the genre, and they're all written like this. I still think another round of editing would've made it a better book, but I read a ton of classics, and I admit I can be a book snob. (I also think he was under a hard deadline for this, and really, how the man ever found time to write a chapter, let alone a whole book, is beyond me. He's on the radio three hours everyday, on TV shows everyday, coaches his sons' little league teams [or some sports thing], reads a ton, travels all over creation, is on his phone six hours a day, and still has a social life. It's pretty impressive.)
There was also some profanity peppered in. It wasn't much, but there were a couple of f-bombs. I have no problem with it personally and I use the word all the time in the right setting, but I imagine this would turn off some of his readers, especially since none of the profanity was necessary. Profanity offends some people, but I've never met anybody who was offended by the absence of it. Clay kind of addresses that in the first chapter, though. He said penis too many times on an early radio show. It upset a lot of listeners, but in the end they wound up picking up even more listeners. He's not afraid of rocking the boat and taking risks. I personally prefer a little more class in this kind of book, but it didn't make me want to put the book down. Really, it didn't upset me at all, but I did wonder how his more conservative readers would feel about it. I doubt any of them would put the book down either over the vulgarity, though it probably made them wrinkle their noses. However, I bet some threw in the towel when he talked about an infection he had at the base of his penis right before he was going on TV for the first time, or something. I don't remember the point he was trying to make with that bit even though he spelled it out, but that might be due to my sucky short-term memory. The point is I remember the story, but not the purpose of the story.
And that brings up another point. There were points to all of these stories that related to the subject at hand which is how Republicans could win elections. However, there were really long wind-ups to get to those points. This made for interesting reading, but was that his intention? Again, what is this book trying to be?
Another thing that was a little off-putting is that Clay seems to be an arrogant cockwagon, at least that's the impression I got from the book. Luckily me calling him that isn't going to upset him at all (though his mother might come after me in the comments if she has a burner account on here... Hello, Mrs. Travis. For what it's worth, I enjoyed your interview on Clay's Mother's Day show). Clay made it clear he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him except for the people he's close to. But in all fairness, he did call me a pussy for never having seen some movie any 80s kid ought to be familiar with, so we're going tit for tat here. (To be clear, I was not offended by the pussy comment and even laughed at it. Some of this is tongue-in-cheek [especially when he's talking about how humble he is; he can't possibly be serious about that unless he has no understanding of humility], and you just need to recognize when he's joshing you a bit. Enjoying jokes and humor without getting canceled is another theme in this book.) I think the work he does is great, and I agree with most of what he has to say on his show (and everything of substance he says in this book), but I'm not sure if we could ever be friends.
I've heard most of what's in here before because I listen to the show, but one thing that was new to me was the bit about why the media seems so much more partisan than it used to. He's quite right that nonpartisan reporting is a relatively recent thing that started a few decades ago in the early 20th century then began to ebb again sometime in the late 80s/early 90s. But why did we revert to the old way? It's because the money news organizations make now comes from subscriptions instead of ads, so they can pander to their subscribers and don't even have to pretend to be fair and balanced. (Also, the Fairness Doctrine was abolished in 1987, though he didn't go into that. I have mixed feelings about that because it's nice to hear opposing views on the same show. However, it rubs against "freedom of speech" and "freedom of the press," and also Rush Limbaugh would never have been able to have his show if it were still in place, and we wouldn't have Clay and Buck as we know it today.) In the end, though, it comes down to money just like it does with everything else in the world. I'm glad the "why" for new media bias has been explained to me.
A few more random items of note:
I loved the history bits he included in his book since I'm also a "history nerd" as he terms it. Hell, I was a history major in college, though I haven't done anything with the degree.
Clay is a sports nut. I am not, so a lot of those references were lost on me, but I was still able to follow along.
I did read this with the dust jacket off, but not for the reason Clay supposes. I have no shame at all in being seen reading this in public. Hell, his name is on the spine, and so is the title, and my hands aren't so big that I could cover them. I always remove the dust jacket when I read a book for two reasons. I like for the dust jacket to remain clean, and I set it aside so it won't get dirty or damaged traveling around in my bag, setting on a table at a restaurant, etc. (I never go anywhere without a book, not even to the pharmacy, bank, fast food restaurant, or anywhere else where there's a chance I might be standing in a line for a few minutes by myself.) If the book gets slightly battered, it still looks nice in its pristine dust jacket when I put it back on the shelf. More importantly, though, is that dust jackets are an annoying inconvenience when actively reading a book. The book is always slipping out of it as I hold it, and I'm constantly having to tamp it back into place. Best to just set it aside.
Last bit apropos of nothing: I have a ton of bookmarks that I alternate, most of them homemade like laminated movie tickets, or reminders of places I've been, etc. If I have one that's related to the book I'm reading in even the remotest degree, I'll grab that one. This book gave me the perfect excuse to use my Donald Trump 2020 dollar bill.
(Front and back shown here.)
Thanks Clay!
And for everyone else, read this book. I have spoken (though I suspect some of my liberal friends on here wish I hadn't... and probably some conservative friends too, though for different reasons. Sometimes you just can't please anybody.)
Disclaimer two: There's a review down there eventually, but I talk about myself for a couple of paragraphs first. This fits in well with the book because Clay likes to talk about himself too, so I'm really just following his example (though I confess it's happenstance here).
Five stars for the content, like I said, but I'm deducting a star because I'm a little confused by the book itself. I think it's because I'm overthinking it. I normally don't read political books, not even ones I agree with like this one. I do this because I discovered years ago that I can't handle politics responsibly. I'm a recovering news junkie, and I've been on what I call a news brownout for the past seven or eight years. (Execution of this plan has had varying degrees of success, but I've never had a full-blown relapse into looking at it online or on TV all day.) On my best days all I do is read the newspaper (something else Clay and I have in common is reading a physical newspaper everyday, though I think he reads three; he must read a million words a minute.) That gives me about half an hour a day to see what's going on in the world. If it's upsetting news, I can blow a gasket, get over it, and then I still have 23 1/2 hours left to live a normal life. I don't watch it on TV, check it on the internet, or anything... with one exception. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh and now I listen to Clay and Buck from time to time. I had avoided Rush for a while and would only check in when major events were happening, like the Republican National Convention in 2016, or whatever. Then when the mass hysteria pandemic hit, I started tuning in more regularly because the news was inescapable no matter what you tried to do, and I needed sanity and hope from somewhere. Rush, and later Clay and Buck, provided that. Since then I've found I can still tune in two or three times a week without getting bent around the axle. Sometimes I listen more, sometimes less, depending on what else is going on, but I do love the show. They have good camaraderie, it's informative, you hear news you don't hear from the mainstream media, and they seem to have a lot of fun doing it; it's not just a bitchfest. Plus, I love the bits when they're just talking about lighter topics, like movies or music. Clay and I are at the tail end of Gen X, and Buck is at the front of the Millennials which makes all of us Xennials: people who learned old world skills and values when we were children, but were young enough to pick up the new internet technology without difficulty. Ergo, we grew up with the same pop culture influences.
Back when Rush was running it, if I missed a show I could go to the website and read/skim the transcript and get what I needed rather quickly. When Clay and Buck took over, they continued that format, but later the transcripts were removed, and they provided a very brief summary to read which was nowhere near as good. Then the summaries stopped, and they didn't even list the topics that were discussed, and you had to listen to the audio to get anything. Then the audio was cut a bit and you had to be a VIP member to get everything, and later still you had to get a VIP membership to get just about anything. 12-3 on weekdays at work is my Clay and Buck time, and I don't really have time to listen to them at other points in the day. I have a life. It might not be much of one, but I do have one. I'd much rather read the transcripts because I could pick and choose if I were interested in the topic, and I could skim when they started repeating themselves (a bit of repetition is just the nature of a talk-radio show) and get everything I needed when time was limited. I wrote to the show a few times only to discover that the transcripts weren't coming back.
I'm also a Luddite (though not as much of one as Clay's dad who doesn't even have an e-mail address, and God bless the man for showing us how it's supposed to be done). I don't have a smartphone, and I plan to hold out as long as I can; my life is much simpler that way, and I value simplicity. I've seen what smartphones have done to my family, friends, and society in general, and I don't want to be a part of that problem. Even Clay recognizes the issue, and he talks about it a bit in this book. He used to be on his phone nine hours every day. He's managed to cut it back to six... I think; I can't find that section in the book, so I might be wrong on the numbers. He hopes to shave off a bit more in the future. But still, nine hours... Hell, even six hours... How much other stuff can you get done in six hours? I really can't talk much, though. Substitute smartphone with a computer, and I can be just as bad; it's the same issue, but with a different tool. The one benefit I have is that I'm not taking this habit out into society, and I have to be at home to indulge my addiction. It makes me really sad to see a family of four sitting at a restaurant, each of them with his/her head up his/her app, not paying a bit of attention to the other people at the table unless they happen to be texting each other, and if I ever find out that that's what's actually happening, I may just weep. And then there's this BS.
But this isn't the place for that rant.
Where was I? Oh yeah, the website. As a result of all the changes, I started visiting the site much less because it wasn't of any use to me. I considered getting the VIP membership just to see what other benefits I could get, but I'm cheap and don't want to pay for something that used to be free, especially when the new costly thing isn't even as good as the old free thing; all I want is to be able to read the transcripts which don't exist anymore. But I get it. Clay and Buck are capitalists, and I support capitalism, and if they can make more money by making a change, then what the hell, go make the money. Of course, it could also be a matter of not being able to afford running it the way they used to; I don't have all the details. (Actually, I don't have any of the details; I'm passing judgement without a leg to stand on here.)
Then Clay announced you could get an autographed copy of his book for "free" if you signed up for an annual subscription for $50, and thus were they able to snag me. It turns out VIP members don't get to see transcripts either, and I don't see a whole lot which is useful to me, but I am allowed to send them direct e-mails, and I have wanted to do that a couple of times during the show to answer a question they posed. Maybe I'll be able to do that before my subscription runs out next year. We'll see. (Actually I'll have to cancel it since you're forced to sign up for auto-renewal. I hope they send out a reminder that you're about to get dinged.)
Regardless, I got the subscription and the "free" book. Normally when I get a new book, I don't read it immediately (Stephen King novels are an exception). But even though I have over 100 books on my TBR list, I launched right into this one because it's topical and relevant to the world today, and reading it a year and a half from now would be silly and almost pointless; I would've missed the boat. (I've had some books for 10 or 15 years and haven't gotten to them, so that scenario is a definite possibility.)
The information in this book was great, and I agree wholeheartedly with it. However, I'm not entirely sure what the target audience is. It purports to be advice for whoever ends up being a 2024 Republican nominee regardless of the office. I think if they follow the advice, they could probably win their respective races. But it's also more than that, and I'm not sure what the book is trying to be. Is it an advice book for political matters? Is it an advice book for life? Is it a memoir? Is it a book of anecdotes? Is it him getting some of his frustration out of his system? All of that is in here, but it could be better polished. Clay's writing style is conversational, and he mentioned he did that intentionally. It does make it easy to hear his voice as you read, but it doesn't always translate well on the page. In short, his writing style is not above reproach, and much of this read like a first draft with the typos buffed out. I don't think this would've made it to the printing press if it were written by somebody who wasn't an established media personality. If I, an unknown nobody, had submitted this for publication, the editor would've sent it back and said clean it up a bit, move this paragraph over here, you're repeating yourself 18 times here, here, here, etc. Cut out this bit of internal monologue; it interrupts the flow. Then again, it could just be personal preference, and like I said before, I don't read political books. Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with the genre, and they're all written like this. I still think another round of editing would've made it a better book, but I read a ton of classics, and I admit I can be a book snob. (I also think he was under a hard deadline for this, and really, how the man ever found time to write a chapter, let alone a whole book, is beyond me. He's on the radio three hours everyday, on TV shows everyday, coaches his sons' little league teams [or some sports thing], reads a ton, travels all over creation, is on his phone six hours a day, and still has a social life. It's pretty impressive.)
There was also some profanity peppered in. It wasn't much, but there were a couple of f-bombs. I have no problem with it personally and I use the word all the time in the right setting, but I imagine this would turn off some of his readers, especially since none of the profanity was necessary. Profanity offends some people, but I've never met anybody who was offended by the absence of it. Clay kind of addresses that in the first chapter, though. He said penis too many times on an early radio show. It upset a lot of listeners, but in the end they wound up picking up even more listeners. He's not afraid of rocking the boat and taking risks. I personally prefer a little more class in this kind of book, but it didn't make me want to put the book down. Really, it didn't upset me at all, but I did wonder how his more conservative readers would feel about it. I doubt any of them would put the book down either over the vulgarity, though it probably made them wrinkle their noses. However, I bet some threw in the towel when he talked about an infection he had at the base of his penis right before he was going on TV for the first time, or something. I don't remember the point he was trying to make with that bit even though he spelled it out, but that might be due to my sucky short-term memory. The point is I remember the story, but not the purpose of the story.
And that brings up another point. There were points to all of these stories that related to the subject at hand which is how Republicans could win elections. However, there were really long wind-ups to get to those points. This made for interesting reading, but was that his intention? Again, what is this book trying to be?
Another thing that was a little off-putting is that Clay seems to be an arrogant cockwagon, at least that's the impression I got from the book. Luckily me calling him that isn't going to upset him at all (though his mother might come after me in the comments if she has a burner account on here... Hello, Mrs. Travis. For what it's worth, I enjoyed your interview on Clay's Mother's Day show). Clay made it clear he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him except for the people he's close to. But in all fairness, he did call me a pussy for never having seen some movie any 80s kid ought to be familiar with, so we're going tit for tat here. (To be clear, I was not offended by the pussy comment and even laughed at it. Some of this is tongue-in-cheek [especially when he's talking about how humble he is; he can't possibly be serious about that unless he has no understanding of humility], and you just need to recognize when he's joshing you a bit. Enjoying jokes and humor without getting canceled is another theme in this book.) I think the work he does is great, and I agree with most of what he has to say on his show (and everything of substance he says in this book), but I'm not sure if we could ever be friends.
I've heard most of what's in here before because I listen to the show, but one thing that was new to me was the bit about why the media seems so much more partisan than it used to. He's quite right that nonpartisan reporting is a relatively recent thing that started a few decades ago in the early 20th century then began to ebb again sometime in the late 80s/early 90s. But why did we revert to the old way? It's because the money news organizations make now comes from subscriptions instead of ads, so they can pander to their subscribers and don't even have to pretend to be fair and balanced. (Also, the Fairness Doctrine was abolished in 1987, though he didn't go into that. I have mixed feelings about that because it's nice to hear opposing views on the same show. However, it rubs against "freedom of speech" and "freedom of the press," and also Rush Limbaugh would never have been able to have his show if it were still in place, and we wouldn't have Clay and Buck as we know it today.) In the end, though, it comes down to money just like it does with everything else in the world. I'm glad the "why" for new media bias has been explained to me.
A few more random items of note:
I loved the history bits he included in his book since I'm also a "history nerd" as he terms it. Hell, I was a history major in college, though I haven't done anything with the degree.
Clay is a sports nut. I am not, so a lot of those references were lost on me, but I was still able to follow along.
I did read this with the dust jacket off, but not for the reason Clay supposes. I have no shame at all in being seen reading this in public. Hell, his name is on the spine, and so is the title, and my hands aren't so big that I could cover them. I always remove the dust jacket when I read a book for two reasons. I like for the dust jacket to remain clean, and I set it aside so it won't get dirty or damaged traveling around in my bag, setting on a table at a restaurant, etc. (I never go anywhere without a book, not even to the pharmacy, bank, fast food restaurant, or anywhere else where there's a chance I might be standing in a line for a few minutes by myself.) If the book gets slightly battered, it still looks nice in its pristine dust jacket when I put it back on the shelf. More importantly, though, is that dust jackets are an annoying inconvenience when actively reading a book. The book is always slipping out of it as I hold it, and I'm constantly having to tamp it back into place. Best to just set it aside.
Last bit apropos of nothing: I have a ton of bookmarks that I alternate, most of them homemade like laminated movie tickets, or reminders of places I've been, etc. If I have one that's related to the book I'm reading in even the remotest degree, I'll grab that one. This book gave me the perfect excuse to use my Donald Trump 2020 dollar bill.
(Front and back shown here.)
Thanks Clay!
And for everyone else, read this book. I have spoken (though I suspect some of my liberal friends on here wish I hadn't... and probably some conservative friends too, though for different reasons. Sometimes you just can't please anybody.)
November 22, 2023
Listened to Audiobook. Intro and first few chapters had some sophomoric humor that was repetitive and just not funny. The book got better but breezed through a lot of the chapters that didn't really offer any new perspective. The book included some polling stats but I was hoping for something that went a little bit more in depth with a deeper strategy based on insight into demographics based on hard stats (polling, trends, etc)
I was totally caught off-guard to learn that Clay Travis has been dem most of his life (even campaigned for Al Gore) and that he only recently moved to the right after the disastrous Covid management and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
I was totally caught off-guard to learn that Clay Travis has been dem most of his life (even campaigned for Al Gore) and that he only recently moved to the right after the disastrous Covid management and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
October 17, 2023
Really good content and on the mark with his points of how to hold the hypocritical leftists accountable but way too redundant on so many points. Ok Clay we get it but you don’t have to repeat the same point 10 times throughout the book.
May 30, 2024
4 stars? YES! 4 $tar$!! This is surprising as I will spend this review complaining about American Playbook.
This is a popular book. I read half and tried to renew it but someone else had it on their waitlist (same as I did) so I had to wait. A - LONG - TIME! I had to re-read a little to remember where I stopped reading it. I also had to just read only this book in order to make the due date. (I know I'm weird but I like to read a dozen books at the same time, same for movies etc. (I've been reading "The Mascot" for 20 years a third at a time) ~ Yeah yeah yeah, I'm weird, I get it)
Also, I love F-Ball like the author, but (as of the destruction of college football Circa 2010 to present - goodbye Pac-10, Big 10, Big 8-12, I'll miss you) hate college ball unlike the author and love HS football as I suspect the author also likes and thus the analogy of the "Playbook"! & why it works for me. And now, THE RANT!
As usual. All the things this guy says for his Republicans to beat the Democrats (Lib-tards!) can be used by the democrats' to beat his Pub-tards! He suggests the right move a little more to the center. That most people are closer to the middle left - middle right than to either extreme. Woot woot 100% & a thousand points for Mr. obvious. The far right and far left are just friggin' nuts! And since I'm in the middle I must be a dick. (The new third party) Any idiot can (and righties do, see Shapiro, Carlson, and all right talk shows like his.) point out the worst excesses' of their opposition while conveniently overlooking their own. Clay Travis uses Ex. Abortion. Most Americans are not 100% no abortion (what the right has done in their states) and neither are they for abortions all the way, as in a 9th month abortion. (I am however in favor of 156 - 180 month abortions) While he never defends the Republican stance that is 100% no abortions (in the South anyway, also Arizona!) he just says that they should move a little more to the center while (I assUme) keeping to their not so secret hidden agenda. Good idea, do it BLUE!
Another huge problem I have with Clay Travis and the rest of his carbon copy (insert clever insult) is that there are no sources. NONE! ZERO BIBLIOGRAPHY! Like Tucker, read his "Ship of Fools", zero sources. "According to a Washington Post poll, just 28% of Americans believe men identifying as women should be able to compete in women's" sports. I agree 100%, but can't I get a footnote so I can look up the article? Why? Because people can take a study, cherry pick a "fact" and without the needed, intended, context ~ twist the intent of the article into a lie! It isn't so much that I disagree with anything he has to say, he makes great points, but does so by picking the low hanging "woke" fruit, I especially disagree as to how he gets there. He skips footnotes and sources entirely making anything he cites suspect.
Stating a fact in such a way as to cause a person to believe something twisted or false is still a lie. ""racial activist" Shaun King, who claim to be black despite zero evidence...I even offered 50K... if he would take a DNA test"". I know if this was me I'd be like Who TF is this asshole? But my ignoring him is a de-facto admission of something? Give me some context or at least let me try to find some by giving me access to the source where you drew that information. I don't even know if Mr. King is aware Mr. Clay exists!
Covid. Covid and the "Democrats" freedom suspension, stealing, nakedly unconstitutional, forced vaxing etc. I hate it too! I also think it was a massive over-reach, a massive assault on freedoms, unfair, blah blah blah... Except it wasn't the Democrats. IT WAS THE WORLD!!! From the authoritarian China, to the socialist (Republican for communist) Europe, the WORLD reacted the same way! Clay Travis has some serious blinders on.
Travis says "science" - men are not women, because biology. Well that is just grand. Does this mean Republicans will accept the science of climate change? In my world where the sky is an octagonal off shade of rainbow color, the Democrats' and Republican's are two sides of the same coin. They both use science but only when it suits their agenda, they could both stand to come to the middle where the truth for most Americans lies, they both need to do more to promote themselves and less to attack the fruitcakes on the other side. I could go through this text line by line but you have as much time for that as I do.
Why 4 stars? What can I say? Humor goes a long way and this guy has charisma. I also can't argue with a lot of what he says because he spends his time attacking defenseless positions and leftie fruitcakes! It's easy to bat a 1000 when the balls on the tee!
I'll have to fix this review later. My Library computer time is up. Aloha.
This is a popular book. I read half and tried to renew it but someone else had it on their waitlist (same as I did) so I had to wait. A - LONG - TIME! I had to re-read a little to remember where I stopped reading it. I also had to just read only this book in order to make the due date. (I know I'm weird but I like to read a dozen books at the same time, same for movies etc. (I've been reading "The Mascot" for 20 years a third at a time) ~ Yeah yeah yeah, I'm weird, I get it)
Also, I love F-Ball like the author, but (as of the destruction of college football Circa 2010 to present - goodbye Pac-10, Big 10, Big 8-12, I'll miss you) hate college ball unlike the author and love HS football as I suspect the author also likes and thus the analogy of the "Playbook"! & why it works for me. And now, THE RANT!
As usual. All the things this guy says for his Republicans to beat the Democrats (Lib-tards!) can be used by the democrats' to beat his Pub-tards! He suggests the right move a little more to the center. That most people are closer to the middle left - middle right than to either extreme. Woot woot 100% & a thousand points for Mr. obvious. The far right and far left are just friggin' nuts! And since I'm in the middle I must be a dick. (The new third party) Any idiot can (and righties do, see Shapiro, Carlson, and all right talk shows like his.) point out the worst excesses' of their opposition while conveniently overlooking their own. Clay Travis uses Ex. Abortion. Most Americans are not 100% no abortion (what the right has done in their states) and neither are they for abortions all the way, as in a 9th month abortion. (I am however in favor of 156 - 180 month abortions) While he never defends the Republican stance that is 100% no abortions (in the South anyway, also Arizona!) he just says that they should move a little more to the center while (I assUme) keeping to their not so secret hidden agenda. Good idea, do it BLUE!
Another huge problem I have with Clay Travis and the rest of his carbon copy (insert clever insult) is that there are no sources. NONE! ZERO BIBLIOGRAPHY! Like Tucker, read his "Ship of Fools", zero sources. "According to a Washington Post poll, just 28% of Americans believe men identifying as women should be able to compete in women's" sports. I agree 100%, but can't I get a footnote so I can look up the article? Why? Because people can take a study, cherry pick a "fact" and without the needed, intended, context ~ twist the intent of the article into a lie! It isn't so much that I disagree with anything he has to say, he makes great points, but does so by picking the low hanging "woke" fruit, I especially disagree as to how he gets there. He skips footnotes and sources entirely making anything he cites suspect.
Stating a fact in such a way as to cause a person to believe something twisted or false is still a lie. ""racial activist" Shaun King, who claim to be black despite zero evidence...I even offered 50K... if he would take a DNA test"". I know if this was me I'd be like Who TF is this asshole? But my ignoring him is a de-facto admission of something? Give me some context or at least let me try to find some by giving me access to the source where you drew that information. I don't even know if Mr. King is aware Mr. Clay exists!
Covid. Covid and the "Democrats" freedom suspension, stealing, nakedly unconstitutional, forced vaxing etc. I hate it too! I also think it was a massive over-reach, a massive assault on freedoms, unfair, blah blah blah... Except it wasn't the Democrats. IT WAS THE WORLD!!! From the authoritarian China, to the socialist (Republican for communist) Europe, the WORLD reacted the same way! Clay Travis has some serious blinders on.
Travis says "science" - men are not women, because biology. Well that is just grand. Does this mean Republicans will accept the science of climate change? In my world where the sky is an octagonal off shade of rainbow color, the Democrats' and Republican's are two sides of the same coin. They both use science but only when it suits their agenda, they could both stand to come to the middle where the truth for most Americans lies, they both need to do more to promote themselves and less to attack the fruitcakes on the other side. I could go through this text line by line but you have as much time for that as I do.
Why 4 stars? What can I say? Humor goes a long way and this guy has charisma. I also can't argue with a lot of what he says because he spends his time attacking defenseless positions and leftie fruitcakes! It's easy to bat a 1000 when the balls on the tee!
I'll have to fix this review later. My Library computer time is up. Aloha.
November 4, 2023
It is not perfect, but pretty good. He confesses to being a former Democrat (of all things....) all the way through even two terms of Obama (!). But apparently Clay Travis does try to think for himself, which is fortunate not only for himself, but now for the rest of us as he articulates his observations—and actual experience—of deceit and corruption by the cabal of news and entertainment media, (anti-)social internet businesses, and the Democrat Party members with official jobs in the U.S. government (whether elected or appointed). See especially the Appendix (pages 285-293), which is a reprint of his testimony to Congress in the spring of 2021.
But since his awakening (NOT Wokening), he has given himself over to a lot of thinking about how the popular culture has evolved during his lifetime: how sports (his favorite subject) has become political, how families have been splintered by their age-related interests, and how major news corporations have (for whatever reason....) become propagandists rather than reporters of news. He decries Wokism, and he has been personally Cancelled. Pertinent to himself, he noticed that Democrat-sponsored government orders to close schools and selected businesses, mandate mask-wearing, hide the evidence of serious health risks from the mandated inoculations, and, of course, hide what information corporations may or may not report to the public (such as the infamous Hunter Laptop), is not at all “democratic.”
If that is what it took to bring him to our side, so be it. He will now help, with this book and he promises also with his talk-radio programming, to help us overcome the cancer amongst us. He calls it Leftist, but of course it must also be named Marxist. Perhaps Mr. Travis is so recently converted that he has not yet learned of a few insidious influences, such as The Wall Street Journal, which he praises. I gave up the Journal about the time he was testifying to Congress, because of its overt animosity to President Trump. (I recommend The Epoch Times for more actual investigative reporting.) He also promotes Fox News as an antidote for every other TV “news” program. Fox is still so-so, but it is owned by the same family as is the print WS Journal, so is definitely not as reliable as it formerly was. Have you not yet found Newsmax on your cable, Mr. Travis?
As this book appears in print, the USA continues a dangerous decline under possibly the most incompetent and corrupt executive branch of government since its Constitutional establishment. Let us hope that we can somehow avoid catastrophe—either from within or from without—for another full year before we even have a chance to put Mr. Travis’s good ideas into action. Meanwhile, we can at least recognize our national existential risk and maybe stop buying stuff “made in China.”
But since his awakening (NOT Wokening), he has given himself over to a lot of thinking about how the popular culture has evolved during his lifetime: how sports (his favorite subject) has become political, how families have been splintered by their age-related interests, and how major news corporations have (for whatever reason....) become propagandists rather than reporters of news. He decries Wokism, and he has been personally Cancelled. Pertinent to himself, he noticed that Democrat-sponsored government orders to close schools and selected businesses, mandate mask-wearing, hide the evidence of serious health risks from the mandated inoculations, and, of course, hide what information corporations may or may not report to the public (such as the infamous Hunter Laptop), is not at all “democratic.”
If that is what it took to bring him to our side, so be it. He will now help, with this book and he promises also with his talk-radio programming, to help us overcome the cancer amongst us. He calls it Leftist, but of course it must also be named Marxist. Perhaps Mr. Travis is so recently converted that he has not yet learned of a few insidious influences, such as The Wall Street Journal, which he praises. I gave up the Journal about the time he was testifying to Congress, because of its overt animosity to President Trump. (I recommend The Epoch Times for more actual investigative reporting.) He also promotes Fox News as an antidote for every other TV “news” program. Fox is still so-so, but it is owned by the same family as is the print WS Journal, so is definitely not as reliable as it formerly was. Have you not yet found Newsmax on your cable, Mr. Travis?
As this book appears in print, the USA continues a dangerous decline under possibly the most incompetent and corrupt executive branch of government since its Constitutional establishment. Let us hope that we can somehow avoid catastrophe—either from within or from without—for another full year before we even have a chance to put Mr. Travis’s good ideas into action. Meanwhile, we can at least recognize our national existential risk and maybe stop buying stuff “made in China.”
February 21, 2025
Initially I found Travis on sports talk radio a few years ago, standing as one of the only voices I could find in the world of sports that spoke logically and not through the lens of identity politics and woke ideology. He spoke directly, honestly, and with passion about pastimes as they were intended; as institutions of dreaming, meritocracy, and unity. This message, sadly, has been all but drowned out by the bullying, blustering nonsense that has swept the woke movement infesting once beautiful institutions and beliefs. In this book he brings both of these competing ideas into a clash, and coupled with astute observations of the cultural downfall of the past couple of decades (bolstered through the eyes of a budding historian), offers his predictions of how our nation might shed the lunacy and bigotry of these movements back to some semblance of American idealism.
This book is written perfectly from the heart, mixing sarcasm, astute observations, and reasoned predictions on contemporary shifts in the American zeitgeist to create a concise, and yet encompassing, treatise on how the dismantling of a morally defunct populist movement that has swept the Western world might be accomplished in the United States in the near term. While his wit is biting and hilarious and his observations are spot on, what marvels the most is how incredibly accurate his predictions and gameplan have turned out! Written not long after the '20 federal election and having read this in early '25, Travis hit bullseye after bullseye in this relatively simple work. He pulls no punches here, hitting hard on race grifting and baiting, the likes of which we see with Kendi, Coates, and a host of media personalities (especially in sports and news media), on how such movements have done more to pervert and radicalize the very communities they claim to support. He hits hard on gender ideology from the perspective of a classic feminist, frustrated with how modern feminism fails women rather than championing their causes (most notably through the lens of sports). And finally, he reasons from the perspective of yet another once member of a party that he has watched leave him harshly behind in pursuit of morally bankrupt, anti-American shifts towards post-intellectual Marxist ideologies. It is incredible how adeptly and yet concisely he tackles some seriously heavy topics, doing so from a non-partisan (despite the subtitle of the book) perspective that seeks only to have a nation he loves and believes in restored to its former glory, filled with people that might return to some sense of sanity to see this nation for what it objectively has been historically: a melting pot of dreams, sanity, and meritocracy.
I laughed, I groaned, and I pondered...and having seen hope possibly being restored almost exactly as he's laid out, I also question his potentially psychic abilities.
This book is written perfectly from the heart, mixing sarcasm, astute observations, and reasoned predictions on contemporary shifts in the American zeitgeist to create a concise, and yet encompassing, treatise on how the dismantling of a morally defunct populist movement that has swept the Western world might be accomplished in the United States in the near term. While his wit is biting and hilarious and his observations are spot on, what marvels the most is how incredibly accurate his predictions and gameplan have turned out! Written not long after the '20 federal election and having read this in early '25, Travis hit bullseye after bullseye in this relatively simple work. He pulls no punches here, hitting hard on race grifting and baiting, the likes of which we see with Kendi, Coates, and a host of media personalities (especially in sports and news media), on how such movements have done more to pervert and radicalize the very communities they claim to support. He hits hard on gender ideology from the perspective of a classic feminist, frustrated with how modern feminism fails women rather than championing their causes (most notably through the lens of sports). And finally, he reasons from the perspective of yet another once member of a party that he has watched leave him harshly behind in pursuit of morally bankrupt, anti-American shifts towards post-intellectual Marxist ideologies. It is incredible how adeptly and yet concisely he tackles some seriously heavy topics, doing so from a non-partisan (despite the subtitle of the book) perspective that seeks only to have a nation he loves and believes in restored to its former glory, filled with people that might return to some sense of sanity to see this nation for what it objectively has been historically: a melting pot of dreams, sanity, and meritocracy.
I laughed, I groaned, and I pondered...and having seen hope possibly being restored almost exactly as he's laid out, I also question his potentially psychic abilities.
February 5, 2024
4.5 stars. Prior to picking up this book I had never heard of Clay Travis, which is weird given how successful and well known he is. I saw the cover and the connection between sports and politics so I checked it out from my local library. I will say that the author sounds like Greg Gutfeld, who can be bodacious at times, and thinks like Andrew Breitbart, who was very savvy politically. Travis' message is very clear: America is worth fighting for and republications have the means to win overwhelmingly in the 2024 if only they develop the right playbook. He suggests a mix of traditional American values and beliefs with practical arguments for the issues of the day. He is very pragmatic in developing his playbook, using sports analogies to illustrate his points. The banter aside, Travis soberly gets down to specific details on policy, campaigning, and coalition building. This is a positive, forward-looking plan to recapture what is best of America, defeat the naysayers, and secure the future for our children and grandchildren. Once can almost hear the voices of Dinesh D'Souza, Ron DeSantis, and Tim Scott in his optimism based upon individual success stories. This is written in an easy to understand form and in a manner that uses the playbook as a frame of reference to make his argument.
December 21, 2024
Author Travis has written an intriguing book which reads easily and quickly in its presentation of the game plan that Republicans could use to take the Presidency back in the 2024 election. He uses the interesting narrative of how a sports team would go about defeating their opponent and transcribes that procedure to the political wars fought in a presidential election. Such gems as playing to your strength he equates with the Republicans pushing their freedom agenda as opposed to the Democrats using government and corporate control levers to get their way with the American people. Or being completely aware of the opponent's history while ensuring you, the Republicans, are fully aware of their history. This awareness will lead to your ability to neutralize your opponents' strength as you use facts and analytics to bolster your side's programs and policy objectives. In line with his sports motive, author Travis pushes the Republicans to play actions and political moves which the Democrats can not defend. They might include reminding the public of the Democrat's demand for abortions regardless of the term length or having the public pay for everybody's abortions or showing that their policies based on identity politics are wrong, ineffective and hurtful to the majority of citizens. It is chapters like this in which the book works through all the techniques the Republicans could use to successfully capture the 2024 Presidency, and even take a landslide victory. Clay Travis is very optimistic about the chances for a Republican victory in 2024 and his views are clearly expressed and cogently explained. This is a great read and is highly recommended.
December 19, 2025
As an avid Clay & Buck listener, I was excited to read Clay's book. Yes I read it in 2025 after the election he was writing the playbook to win. It was interesting to read what he said must be done to win the election. He reminds us repeatedly how humble he is, which humble people tend to do (right?). Humor throughout, sports analogies are strong, but valid arguments as this playbook will work in 2026 as well. Won't give the spoiler away but one of his stories of a conversation with his wife that I was crying with laughter. Clay, thanks for seeing the light and joining the Right side.
October 5, 2024
Clay Travis dares to be sensible. It's a crazy approach. Now, anyone left-leaning will say he's (insert insulting term of the day here)_______. But if you actually open your mind and listen (read) you would be hard pressed to disagree with his theories on America. (Unless, you've already been indoctrinated by the media {and China} to hate America)
So. I ask of you my comrades, go: read this book
So. I ask of you my comrades, go: read this book
July 8, 2024
It is one person's opinion of what needs to be done to win back the country. I was disappointed in the lack of documentation for the author's point of view. Also, the author made himself much of the arguments for his points that make him appear somewhat self-centered which did not help his arguments. Hard to rally behind him even though I like him as a commentator.
November 14, 2023
Overall a good book. To his point, I already listen to Outkick, Clay & Buck, and many other conservative talk shows so I can’t say I learned anything new. Could be a great book for the sports enthusiast who doesn’t pay much attention to politics but wants to learn a little more.
June 15, 2024
This book could have been so much better. There was hardly any “playbook” material, though there was ALOT of unnecessary sports stories and random commentary about unrelated things. Title is misleading. Don’t read it if you really want a playbook to win back the country from Democrats.
September 17, 2024
For the most part I enjoy Clay’s take and I don’t think he gets credit for how smart he is. Unfortunately, no matter your plan modern politics is somehow always decided on issues that don’t really matter to average Americans. 48 days until the Election!
August 24, 2023
Audible
September 19, 2023
Definitely recommend! Read in two sittings.
October 11, 2023
Not much new. I have heard him talk about all of these things so much. Not that he is wrong.
December 22, 2023
Read this book. I believe that if the Republicans follow Clay's playbook, we will win back America. Be optimistic and fight for what's right.
May 26, 2024
I enjoyed this book and believe Travis is correct in his plans to get the country back on track, but I was seriously disappointed to find out that he is pro-abortion
November 21, 2024
One of my favorite books, I read this when it came out and again before election season for the 2024 cycle. Pretty wild how the “playbook” laid out by Clay was so accurate.
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