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The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy
“This is the first must-read of the 2024 election cycle if you want to understand the stakes.” –Nicolle Wallace
Former chief Republican strategist, Lincoln Project adviser, and bestselling author of It Was All a Lie , Stuart Stevens offers an ominous warning that the GOP is dragging our country toward autocracy—and if we don’t wake up to the crisis in our system, 2024 may well be our last free and fair election. Today’s Republican party is not a “normal” political party in the American tradition. It has become an autocratic movement masquerading as a political party. As Stuart Stevens argues in THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA, if we look away from that truth, we greatly increase the likelihood that the America we love will slip away, never to return.
Whenever a democracy slides into autocracy, there are five critical elements at financers, propagandists, party support, legal theories to legitimize, and shock troops. THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA examines each of these driving forces on the Right and makes clear how they are working in concert to end our democracy as we know it.
In the tradition of It Can’t Happen Here and On Tyranny , THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA is a blinking red distress call about the dark intentions lurking within Stevens’ old party and a rallying cry to beat back this perilous threat and save the Republic.
Former chief Republican strategist, Lincoln Project adviser, and bestselling author of It Was All a Lie , Stuart Stevens offers an ominous warning that the GOP is dragging our country toward autocracy—and if we don’t wake up to the crisis in our system, 2024 may well be our last free and fair election. Today’s Republican party is not a “normal” political party in the American tradition. It has become an autocratic movement masquerading as a political party. As Stuart Stevens argues in THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA, if we look away from that truth, we greatly increase the likelihood that the America we love will slip away, never to return.
Whenever a democracy slides into autocracy, there are five critical elements at financers, propagandists, party support, legal theories to legitimize, and shock troops. THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA examines each of these driving forces on the Right and makes clear how they are working in concert to end our democracy as we know it.
In the tradition of It Can’t Happen Here and On Tyranny , THE CONSPIRACY TO END AMERICA is a blinking red distress call about the dark intentions lurking within Stevens’ old party and a rallying cry to beat back this perilous threat and save the Republic.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 10, 2023
244 people are currently reading
1215 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Stevens
14 books85 followersAn American travel writer, political consultant and Daily Beast columnist. He is the cofounder of Washington, DC-based political media consultancy Stevens & Schriefer Group. He served as a top strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.
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December 18, 2024
Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of Autocracy: (noun): 1) the authority or rule of an autocrat; 2) government in which one person possesses unlimited power; 3) a community or state governed by autocracy
Stuart Stevens had a “come to Jesus” moment in 2020 when he began to realize that his political party drank the Kool-Aid of Trumpism and—-for many of his friends and former colleagues—-there was no going back to a state of sanity. He wrote about this disheartening revelation in his book “It Was All A Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”.
In his latest book “The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy”, Stevens has seen how, in a short three years, Trumpism has exploded into a Bizarro-world of anti-intellectual, anti-Constitution, and anti-democracy lunacy. His book is a dire warning that the presidential election in ten months is critical and will determine whether we even have a democracy a year from now.
Trump, according to Stevens, wasn’t born in a vacuum. He is less a person than he is an idea, one that was born long before Trump was even born. Nor will it mean the end of Trump if he loses the election in November, as if Trump (or the idea of him anyway) actually needs to seal the deal with an election. Trump (or the idea of him) has become a figurehead for a movement that began as early as the 1920s—-perhaps even earlier—-when racist white idiots in pointy hoods began to organize and gain ground among poor white uneducated farmers.
Now, militant and extremist white nationalists call Trump “daddy” and are “standing back and standing by” for when he calls for civil war. The uneducated farmers of yesteryear are now the uneducated white people in low-income areas, suburbs, or big cities who are terrified of the day (coming soon!) when white people in this country will be the minority, when the “majority-minority” of blacks, Latinx, Asians, and miscellaneous brown people will outnumber white people.
Experts who study this demographic shift may have some hope that a new era of true diversity and multiracial harmony will result, but it’s more than likely going to get a lot worse before it gets better. (https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/22/...)
Nationalism is going to get bloody. It already has. (See January 6, 2021.) It’s been building for a long time. Whatever democracy we have left in this country could be completely eradicated if Trump wins in 2024. If that unthinkable thing happens, the trend that has been happening everywhere else in the world—-Europe, Asia, Africa, South America—-will finally get us: autocracy. Rule of a small group of wealthy powerful men or, simply, one man. It’s also called a dictatorship.
Trump’s had a lot of help the last couple years, but the structural foundations of autocracy, according to Stevens, were started years, even decades ago.
The five “building blocks” of autocracy, according to Stevens are:
1)Propagandists: Since its launch in October 1996, FOX News—-the brain-child of mogul Rupert Murdoch and Republican consultant Roger Ailes—-has been the primary propaganda tool for the Republican Party. Sure, it wasn’t always so upfront about it. At one point, FOX News actually gave people news. Then, it started giving people “news analysis” disguised as news. Now, it just broadcasts complete and utter horseshit, and it doesn’t even bother to pretend that it’s news.
2)Support of a major party: The Republican Party used to have some semblance of respectability. There were, at one time, people with some integrity and honor who called themselves Republicans. Now, though, they are a party who considers domestic terrorists “patriots” and won’t even stand up or shake the hands of police officers who protected them when they needed protecting. Oh, and they spend more time kicking people out of their party who do have some semblance of integrity (See Liz Cheney) than they do anything useful for the country.
3) Financers: a.k.a. Rich White Assholes. (See Koch Brothers) People like Trump are always backed, financially, by people like Trump. If they have their way, we will see an end to regulations in all businesses and an end to protective governmental services like the EPA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the FDA. So we can all burn to death when the ozone layer disappears after we’ve cut down all the forests, and/or we’ll die of either more Three Mile Island-like accidents or high fructose corn syrup overdoses.
4) Legal theories to legitimize actions: “Yes, Mr. President, it is perfectly legal to create fake electors to throw off electoral college results, and Mike Pence absolutely has the authority to overturn the results of the election.”
5)Shock Troops: Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, Creativity Alliance, Tucker Carlson, those guys down the hall who totally have that weird “InCel” vibe.
Stuart Stevens had a “come to Jesus” moment in 2020 when he began to realize that his political party drank the Kool-Aid of Trumpism and—-for many of his friends and former colleagues—-there was no going back to a state of sanity. He wrote about this disheartening revelation in his book “It Was All A Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”.
In his latest book “The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy”, Stevens has seen how, in a short three years, Trumpism has exploded into a Bizarro-world of anti-intellectual, anti-Constitution, and anti-democracy lunacy. His book is a dire warning that the presidential election in ten months is critical and will determine whether we even have a democracy a year from now.
Trump, according to Stevens, wasn’t born in a vacuum. He is less a person than he is an idea, one that was born long before Trump was even born. Nor will it mean the end of Trump if he loses the election in November, as if Trump (or the idea of him anyway) actually needs to seal the deal with an election. Trump (or the idea of him) has become a figurehead for a movement that began as early as the 1920s—-perhaps even earlier—-when racist white idiots in pointy hoods began to organize and gain ground among poor white uneducated farmers.
Now, militant and extremist white nationalists call Trump “daddy” and are “standing back and standing by” for when he calls for civil war. The uneducated farmers of yesteryear are now the uneducated white people in low-income areas, suburbs, or big cities who are terrified of the day (coming soon!) when white people in this country will be the minority, when the “majority-minority” of blacks, Latinx, Asians, and miscellaneous brown people will outnumber white people.
Experts who study this demographic shift may have some hope that a new era of true diversity and multiracial harmony will result, but it’s more than likely going to get a lot worse before it gets better. (https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/22/...)
Nationalism is going to get bloody. It already has. (See January 6, 2021.) It’s been building for a long time. Whatever democracy we have left in this country could be completely eradicated if Trump wins in 2024. If that unthinkable thing happens, the trend that has been happening everywhere else in the world—-Europe, Asia, Africa, South America—-will finally get us: autocracy. Rule of a small group of wealthy powerful men or, simply, one man. It’s also called a dictatorship.
Trump’s had a lot of help the last couple years, but the structural foundations of autocracy, according to Stevens, were started years, even decades ago.
The five “building blocks” of autocracy, according to Stevens are:
1)Propagandists: Since its launch in October 1996, FOX News—-the brain-child of mogul Rupert Murdoch and Republican consultant Roger Ailes—-has been the primary propaganda tool for the Republican Party. Sure, it wasn’t always so upfront about it. At one point, FOX News actually gave people news. Then, it started giving people “news analysis” disguised as news. Now, it just broadcasts complete and utter horseshit, and it doesn’t even bother to pretend that it’s news.
2)Support of a major party: The Republican Party used to have some semblance of respectability. There were, at one time, people with some integrity and honor who called themselves Republicans. Now, though, they are a party who considers domestic terrorists “patriots” and won’t even stand up or shake the hands of police officers who protected them when they needed protecting. Oh, and they spend more time kicking people out of their party who do have some semblance of integrity (See Liz Cheney) than they do anything useful for the country.
3) Financers: a.k.a. Rich White Assholes. (See Koch Brothers) People like Trump are always backed, financially, by people like Trump. If they have their way, we will see an end to regulations in all businesses and an end to protective governmental services like the EPA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the FDA. So we can all burn to death when the ozone layer disappears after we’ve cut down all the forests, and/or we’ll die of either more Three Mile Island-like accidents or high fructose corn syrup overdoses.
4) Legal theories to legitimize actions: “Yes, Mr. President, it is perfectly legal to create fake electors to throw off electoral college results, and Mike Pence absolutely has the authority to overturn the results of the election.”
5)Shock Troops: Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, Creativity Alliance, Tucker Carlson, those guys down the hall who totally have that weird “InCel” vibe.
May 30, 2024
So a guy who spent his time lying for republicans decided to be the guy outside the tent pissing in…and getting Dems to pay him money for his apostasy…
And he’s oh so upset with Donald Trump…he’s like a girl who lost her Taylor swift Eras tickets and is a howling mess…
His main lament is Jan6th…a political rally splintered into a riot where folks clashed with police and trespassed in a federal building…a ceremonial vote was delayed for several hours as a result…the protestors milled around, walked between the velvet ropes, took some lecterns and selfies and dispersed of their own accord…oh and of the hundreds charged and convicted the govt claimed none of the wrongdoers were insurrectionists.
“There is nothing about the practice of political consulting that is related to truth, objectivity” so after spending decades in this profession, now the author asks us to believe him…
The party he championed his entire professional career is racist…but that doesn’t explain how Obama got a greater percent of white votes than Gore,Kerry, or Dukakis, or how almost 30% of the counties that voted twice for Obama pivoted and voted for Trump.
“Romney called for a Muslim ban as Trump did” several times he references Trump’s ban on certain Middle East nations, nations that Obama’s administration had labeled failed states, a ban that was upheld by SCOTUS.
“As every government intelligence agency and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee concluded, Russian intelligence assets worked to elect Trump in 2016.”
He has the gall to quote the mueller report…yes, the Russians spent about 150k on Facebook ads, about 60% of which centered on the campaign of which about 60% of that was pro Hillary..these ads were spread across the U.S., not focused on swing states and many appeared after the election was over…a typical ad was Hillary arm wrestling Jesus…
“Yet after four years in the White House, Trump left office with 3 million fewer Americans employed.”
Is the author hoping we’ll forget about the Covid lockdowns?
“Tucker spread the “Great Replacement Theory” that non-whites were being brought to the United States to reduce the power of white Americans.”
7million+ illegals since Biden took over and they’re coming to replace all Americans..
The author spends pages decrying that conservatives no longer trust the media…perhaps he should read James Bennet’s long article on the inside take on how biased the NYT has become…
A nice touch here…he absolves the man who assaulted Rand Paul..
“A crank so unlikable that his neighbor finally had enough and beat him up.”
“The Night of the Long Knives, the murder of Trotsky, the Red Guards, and the Khmer Rouge—each was the result of a radical movement further purifying its core membership and ideology, and something very similar is taking place among today’s Republicans.”
— hyperbolic, the groups he referenced killed millions…the only one killed on Jan 6th was ashli Babbit, a protestor shot for trespassing.
The repeated comparison to the Nazis
“That is the test my former party failed. What happened within the Republican Party in 2016 was a repeat of the rise of National Socialism in 1920s and 1930s Germany.”
Nothing could be more unlike america…
Germany had no history with democracy
—had hyper inflation
—had fought a war in the last decade that killed millions
—-was saddled with giant war reparations it felt were undeserved
—had a long history with socialism as evidenced with the popularity of the Nazis and the communists
Liz Cheney lost her primary by a 2 to 1 margin, an almost unprecedented occurrence in American politics. The author thinks she’s just grand.
Decries the billionaire class but seems to forget Mark Zuckerberg gave $400million to Dems in 2020.
Attacks DeSantis for going after Disney,
“A governor attacking the Happiness Company in Florida, a state in which tourism is its foundational industry, seems both deranged and self-defeating.”
Except courts ruled and DeSantis won.
Claims he actually believes that as Disney has lost billions they were about to launch a giant new park,
“Disney responded by canceling a billion-dollar expansion in Florida that would have brought thousands of jobs.”
The easiest questions to ask these folks is was the Steele dossier true? Did hunters laptop a Russian plant? What is a woman? Did Covid come from a zoonotic source?
Finally, I would say that as the same polls that showed Biden up by 5% just a few months ago now have Trump up by 5% and when 86% of Americans say they don’t believe Biden is mentally fit to be president…well he most be feeling so sad, angry, frightened…but that is for a Democrat…the author is a grifter and there could be nothing better for him than another Trump term…then he could rail at Trump while raking in all the $$$ from the useful dupes in the Democratic Party.
P.S. I didn’t buy this book…just grabbed it off the elibrary …the best moment after reading this propaganda was seeing that LA county, a place of six million people, did not have one soul queued up to read this…no one was even interested in reading this free book…
And he’s oh so upset with Donald Trump…he’s like a girl who lost her Taylor swift Eras tickets and is a howling mess…
His main lament is Jan6th…a political rally splintered into a riot where folks clashed with police and trespassed in a federal building…a ceremonial vote was delayed for several hours as a result…the protestors milled around, walked between the velvet ropes, took some lecterns and selfies and dispersed of their own accord…oh and of the hundreds charged and convicted the govt claimed none of the wrongdoers were insurrectionists.
“There is nothing about the practice of political consulting that is related to truth, objectivity” so after spending decades in this profession, now the author asks us to believe him…
The party he championed his entire professional career is racist…but that doesn’t explain how Obama got a greater percent of white votes than Gore,Kerry, or Dukakis, or how almost 30% of the counties that voted twice for Obama pivoted and voted for Trump.
“Romney called for a Muslim ban as Trump did” several times he references Trump’s ban on certain Middle East nations, nations that Obama’s administration had labeled failed states, a ban that was upheld by SCOTUS.
“As every government intelligence agency and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee concluded, Russian intelligence assets worked to elect Trump in 2016.”
He has the gall to quote the mueller report…yes, the Russians spent about 150k on Facebook ads, about 60% of which centered on the campaign of which about 60% of that was pro Hillary..these ads were spread across the U.S., not focused on swing states and many appeared after the election was over…a typical ad was Hillary arm wrestling Jesus…
“Yet after four years in the White House, Trump left office with 3 million fewer Americans employed.”
Is the author hoping we’ll forget about the Covid lockdowns?
“Tucker spread the “Great Replacement Theory” that non-whites were being brought to the United States to reduce the power of white Americans.”
7million+ illegals since Biden took over and they’re coming to replace all Americans..
The author spends pages decrying that conservatives no longer trust the media…perhaps he should read James Bennet’s long article on the inside take on how biased the NYT has become…
A nice touch here…he absolves the man who assaulted Rand Paul..
“A crank so unlikable that his neighbor finally had enough and beat him up.”
“The Night of the Long Knives, the murder of Trotsky, the Red Guards, and the Khmer Rouge—each was the result of a radical movement further purifying its core membership and ideology, and something very similar is taking place among today’s Republicans.”
— hyperbolic, the groups he referenced killed millions…the only one killed on Jan 6th was ashli Babbit, a protestor shot for trespassing.
The repeated comparison to the Nazis
“That is the test my former party failed. What happened within the Republican Party in 2016 was a repeat of the rise of National Socialism in 1920s and 1930s Germany.”
Nothing could be more unlike america…
Germany had no history with democracy
—had hyper inflation
—had fought a war in the last decade that killed millions
—-was saddled with giant war reparations it felt were undeserved
—had a long history with socialism as evidenced with the popularity of the Nazis and the communists
Liz Cheney lost her primary by a 2 to 1 margin, an almost unprecedented occurrence in American politics. The author thinks she’s just grand.
Decries the billionaire class but seems to forget Mark Zuckerberg gave $400million to Dems in 2020.
Attacks DeSantis for going after Disney,
“A governor attacking the Happiness Company in Florida, a state in which tourism is its foundational industry, seems both deranged and self-defeating.”
Except courts ruled and DeSantis won.
Claims he actually believes that as Disney has lost billions they were about to launch a giant new park,
“Disney responded by canceling a billion-dollar expansion in Florida that would have brought thousands of jobs.”
The easiest questions to ask these folks is was the Steele dossier true? Did hunters laptop a Russian plant? What is a woman? Did Covid come from a zoonotic source?
Finally, I would say that as the same polls that showed Biden up by 5% just a few months ago now have Trump up by 5% and when 86% of Americans say they don’t believe Biden is mentally fit to be president…well he most be feeling so sad, angry, frightened…but that is for a Democrat…the author is a grifter and there could be nothing better for him than another Trump term…then he could rail at Trump while raking in all the $$$ from the useful dupes in the Democratic Party.
P.S. I didn’t buy this book…just grabbed it off the elibrary …the best moment after reading this propaganda was seeing that LA county, a place of six million people, did not have one soul queued up to read this…no one was even interested in reading this free book…
November 5, 2023
As a Christian and an antiquarian Republican (born and raised on Long Island) of the Eisenhower / Rockefeller / Bob Dole type and as someone who has been studying the German conservative movement as well as the German / Austrian occult revival of the early 20th century, the rise of Italian fascism and German Nazism as well as the American Nazi movement, Alexander Dugin, Julius Evola, the American militia movement, and a number of other "dark arts," I found this book by an insider political operator formerly of the GOP DEAD ON as far as that party's (MY party's) threat to America's constitution.
It is chilling.
Stuart Stevens knows where ALL the bodies are buried.
[He was also, incongruently, a writer for one of my all-time favorite shows, "Northern Exposure"! ]
Bill B (Bethlehem, PA)
It is chilling.
Stuart Stevens knows where ALL the bodies are buried.
[He was also, incongruently, a writer for one of my all-time favorite shows, "Northern Exposure"! ]
Bill B (Bethlehem, PA)
October 28, 2023
If you are not or have not read this, shame on you. Everyone who cares about our constitutional republic and the future of our democratic systems needs to look at Trumpism, MAGA, and the autocratic movement of the GOP, through the lens of Stuart Stevens. It is not a good time to bury our heads in the sand.
January 3, 2024
If you’re planning to vote in local, State & Federal elections in 2024 & beyond, and I hope that EVERY eligible voter does, you must read this book. It’s written by a lifelong Republican strategist and media consultant, who comes to a dramatic conclusion …
‘Trump & Trumpism are as pure evil as has existed in mainstream politics …’
‘ … the only way to move forward with the possibility of two sane parties in America is to vote for Democratic candidates. Not voting or casting a protest vote is a vote for Trumpism.’
Our Democracy is at risk & it is up to us to save it!
‘Trump & Trumpism are as pure evil as has existed in mainstream politics …’
‘ … the only way to move forward with the possibility of two sane parties in America is to vote for Democratic candidates. Not voting or casting a protest vote is a vote for Trumpism.’
Our Democracy is at risk & it is up to us to save it!
June 13, 2025
I admit that at the start I was not dazzled by this new Stuart Stevens book. It had a lot of references and names and stories from the many other scary books about trump. I had read or heard mentions of these sources in print or on many podcasts and opinion stories. And it is true much of this is a rehash of what we already know.
So what is new here?
The background info he brings is fine but like I said if you were looking in this direction already you probably knew much of it. HOWEVER once Stuart comes out swinging for real, he really keeps coming. With a directness and force you didn’t realize you were missing. And really the facts are clear for any that have eyes and ears and with much force Stuart Stevens is shouting to get your attention.
Trump and Trumpism are as pure evil as has existed in mainstream politics, and when I look around, I, too, often see the institutions of America failing the moment. It doesn’t come in the active embrace of Trumpism but in a failure aggressively and unequivocally to reject an authoritarian movement of hate. My fear is that America is learning to accommodate Trumpism, and history is clear that is a gateway drug to democratic collapse. - Location 2284-2287
“Pure Evil” ? Is that too much?
I used to complain in my imaginary political dialogs about people who demonized previous Republican administrations or politicians. I mean sure I thought they were wrong and probably jerks, but that was as far as I would take it, BUT I think with the current situation his comment is not hyperbole. Again for those who have the eyes and ears to look a the facts.
To rise in the Republican Party, it is essential to show solidarity with those who wish to end democracy. - Location 2181-2182
He does have an outline of why he has his views and they make sense of the obvious (to me) craziness of modern Republicanism
Whenever a democracy slides into autocracy, there are five critical elements at work. All of these are active today in American politics.
The five autocratic building blocks are:
•Propagandists
•Support of a major party
•Financers
•Legal theories to legitimize actions
•Shock troops
- Location 94-98
And he uses known facts and stories to show this is the case.
I wish I could sit and talk with him for a while and ask what he would have said before about some of his current opinions. Like was he also so reasonable about guns?
Walking into a Starbucks with a semiautomatic weapon isn’t proving you have the right to bear arms; it is an assertion that you do not trust society to protect you, that there is no civil bond between you and the next person in line ordering a latte. - Location 2206-2207
And what did he previously think of the Federalist society in the “before times”? Because his take down of them is thorough and SO spot on it is scary. In fact I would say it is one of the core takeaways of the book.
I suspect he was previously fine with the Federalist Society before and probably all the never Trump Republicans were totally cool with them. Or maybe not, I never got a chance to talk with them
ANYWAY. Here it is even if it is a bit long for a Goodreads review.
Taken individually, none of these judicial actions is a death blow to democracy, but collectively, each builds on the previous one. It is a long game played with patience. A timeline tells the story:
1982: The Federalist Society is formed.
1986: Federalist Society superstar Antonin Scalia is nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Reagan.
1991: Clarence Thomas, a Federalist Society member, is nominated by George H. W. Bush.
2000: George W. Bush loses the popular vote to Al Gore but is elected by the electoral college. The Supreme Court rules 5–4 in favor of Bush in the infamous Bush v. Gore case.
2004: George W. Bush is reelected.
2005: Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society creates the Judicial Confirmation Network (later to become Judicial Crisis Network). He raises $15 million from undisclosed donors to run confirmation campaigns supporting Bush Supreme Court nominees.
2005: John Roberts, a Federalist Society member, is nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.
2005: Samuel Alito, a Federalist Society member, is nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.
2006: The Federalist Society expands its public relations campaign. Leo comments that “I spend probably close to $800,000 annually on a PR team at the Federalist Society, and we generate press that has a publicity value of approximately $146 million each year.”
2010: The Supreme Court rules 5–4 in the Citizens United decision that corporations have the right to spend unlimited money in U.S. elections. Four of the five deciding votes are cast by Federalist Society members.
2010: redmap is formed by Republicans to focus on redistricting state legislatures to maximize Republican benefit.
2012: With the help of undisclosed “dark” money made possible by Citizens United, conservative Paul Newby is elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court.
2012: North Carolina ends public financing of judicial nominations.
2013: The Supreme Court nullifies key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which John Roberts first opposed in 1981.
2016: Justice Scalia dies seven months before the presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to allow hearings or a vote on President Obama’s choice of Merrick Garland as Scalia’s replacement. McConnell says, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
2016: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $7 million to support the Republican senators running for reelection who refuse to hold hearings on Merrick Garland.
2016–2017: Groups controlled by Leonard Leo raise over $250 million from undisclosed donors.
2016: Donald Trump loses the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million voters but wins the electoral college.
2017: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $10 million in support of Trump.
2017: Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch, a Federalist Society member, to replace Justice Scalia. 2017: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $10 million supporting the Gorsuch nomination.
2018: Justice Kennedy resigns. Trump appoints Brett Kavanaugh to replace him. Kavanaugh, a Federalist Society member, worked for the two George W. Bush campaigns and in the White House, married Bush’s long-time personal assistant, and was nominated by Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Trump, a president who lost the popular vote, appoints the protégé of a president—Bush—who also lost the popular vote.
2018: The Leonard Leo organization “Freedom and Opportunity Group” donates $4 million to “Independent Women’s Voice,” which runs ads supporting Kavanaugh. Heather Higgins, the group’s president and chief executive, attacks the women who accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying, “If you have a weak standard of evidence, then what you are doing is guaranteeing that future nominations will all be last-minute character assassinations and circuses.” She is paid $311,000 annually as the leader of Independent Women’s Voice.
2019: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states are free to gerrymander without review by the state’s Supreme Court. “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.” Of the justices voting in support of the 5–4 ruling, three have been confirmed by a collection of senators who represented a minority of the country’s population. All are Federalist Society members.
2020: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dies thirty-eight days before the presidential election. Trump appoints Amy Comey Barrett to replace her. Majority Leader McConnell holds hearings and the Senate vote to confirm her after the presidential election voting has begun in many states. He denies this contradicts his previous refusal to hold hearings on the Merrick Garland nomination during an election year.
2020: Barrett is confirmed and becomes a justice of the Supreme Court. There have been five Supreme Court justices in U.S. history who were appointed by a president elected with a minority of the vote and confirmed by senators representing a minority of the country’s population. With Barrett’s confirmation, all five are currently on the Supreme Court.
2022: $1.6 billion is gifted to the Marble Freedom Trust, a Leonard Leo group.
2023: The North Carolina Supreme Court overturns a previous ruling and allows the Republican-controlled legislature to draw districts by any guidelines they choose.
The 2019 Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering provides no pathway for appeal. Justice Paul Newby, who was elected post–Citizens United, is now chief justice. What began decades earlier continues to play out, changing the legal basis of American elections. It is the Long Game played patiently and relentlessly with no like effort in opposition. The Republican attack on the electoral system with combined efforts to challenge election results, restrict voting, and control the counting of votes is following the successful blueprint used by the Federalist Society to change the judicial system.
Location 1794-1848
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me get a head start of this important book
So what is new here?
The background info he brings is fine but like I said if you were looking in this direction already you probably knew much of it. HOWEVER once Stuart comes out swinging for real, he really keeps coming. With a directness and force you didn’t realize you were missing. And really the facts are clear for any that have eyes and ears and with much force Stuart Stevens is shouting to get your attention.
Trump and Trumpism are as pure evil as has existed in mainstream politics, and when I look around, I, too, often see the institutions of America failing the moment. It doesn’t come in the active embrace of Trumpism but in a failure aggressively and unequivocally to reject an authoritarian movement of hate. My fear is that America is learning to accommodate Trumpism, and history is clear that is a gateway drug to democratic collapse. - Location 2284-2287
“Pure Evil” ? Is that too much?
I used to complain in my imaginary political dialogs about people who demonized previous Republican administrations or politicians. I mean sure I thought they were wrong and probably jerks, but that was as far as I would take it, BUT I think with the current situation his comment is not hyperbole. Again for those who have the eyes and ears to look a the facts.
To rise in the Republican Party, it is essential to show solidarity with those who wish to end democracy. - Location 2181-2182
He does have an outline of why he has his views and they make sense of the obvious (to me) craziness of modern Republicanism
Whenever a democracy slides into autocracy, there are five critical elements at work. All of these are active today in American politics.
The five autocratic building blocks are:
•Propagandists
•Support of a major party
•Financers
•Legal theories to legitimize actions
•Shock troops
- Location 94-98
And he uses known facts and stories to show this is the case.
I wish I could sit and talk with him for a while and ask what he would have said before about some of his current opinions. Like was he also so reasonable about guns?
Walking into a Starbucks with a semiautomatic weapon isn’t proving you have the right to bear arms; it is an assertion that you do not trust society to protect you, that there is no civil bond between you and the next person in line ordering a latte. - Location 2206-2207
And what did he previously think of the Federalist society in the “before times”? Because his take down of them is thorough and SO spot on it is scary. In fact I would say it is one of the core takeaways of the book.
I suspect he was previously fine with the Federalist Society before and probably all the never Trump Republicans were totally cool with them. Or maybe not, I never got a chance to talk with them
ANYWAY. Here it is even if it is a bit long for a Goodreads review.
Taken individually, none of these judicial actions is a death blow to democracy, but collectively, each builds on the previous one. It is a long game played with patience. A timeline tells the story:
1982: The Federalist Society is formed.
1986: Federalist Society superstar Antonin Scalia is nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Reagan.
1991: Clarence Thomas, a Federalist Society member, is nominated by George H. W. Bush.
2000: George W. Bush loses the popular vote to Al Gore but is elected by the electoral college. The Supreme Court rules 5–4 in favor of Bush in the infamous Bush v. Gore case.
2004: George W. Bush is reelected.
2005: Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society creates the Judicial Confirmation Network (later to become Judicial Crisis Network). He raises $15 million from undisclosed donors to run confirmation campaigns supporting Bush Supreme Court nominees.
2005: John Roberts, a Federalist Society member, is nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.
2005: Samuel Alito, a Federalist Society member, is nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush.
2006: The Federalist Society expands its public relations campaign. Leo comments that “I spend probably close to $800,000 annually on a PR team at the Federalist Society, and we generate press that has a publicity value of approximately $146 million each year.”
2010: The Supreme Court rules 5–4 in the Citizens United decision that corporations have the right to spend unlimited money in U.S. elections. Four of the five deciding votes are cast by Federalist Society members.
2010: redmap is formed by Republicans to focus on redistricting state legislatures to maximize Republican benefit.
2012: With the help of undisclosed “dark” money made possible by Citizens United, conservative Paul Newby is elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court.
2012: North Carolina ends public financing of judicial nominations.
2013: The Supreme Court nullifies key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which John Roberts first opposed in 1981.
2016: Justice Scalia dies seven months before the presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to allow hearings or a vote on President Obama’s choice of Merrick Garland as Scalia’s replacement. McConnell says, “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
2016: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $7 million to support the Republican senators running for reelection who refuse to hold hearings on Merrick Garland.
2016–2017: Groups controlled by Leonard Leo raise over $250 million from undisclosed donors.
2016: Donald Trump loses the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million voters but wins the electoral college.
2017: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $10 million in support of Trump.
2017: Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch, a Federalist Society member, to replace Justice Scalia. 2017: Leonard Leo’s Judicial Crisis Network spends $10 million supporting the Gorsuch nomination.
2018: Justice Kennedy resigns. Trump appoints Brett Kavanaugh to replace him. Kavanaugh, a Federalist Society member, worked for the two George W. Bush campaigns and in the White House, married Bush’s long-time personal assistant, and was nominated by Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Trump, a president who lost the popular vote, appoints the protégé of a president—Bush—who also lost the popular vote.
2018: The Leonard Leo organization “Freedom and Opportunity Group” donates $4 million to “Independent Women’s Voice,” which runs ads supporting Kavanaugh. Heather Higgins, the group’s president and chief executive, attacks the women who accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying, “If you have a weak standard of evidence, then what you are doing is guaranteeing that future nominations will all be last-minute character assassinations and circuses.” She is paid $311,000 annually as the leader of Independent Women’s Voice.
2019: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states are free to gerrymander without review by the state’s Supreme Court. “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.” Of the justices voting in support of the 5–4 ruling, three have been confirmed by a collection of senators who represented a minority of the country’s population. All are Federalist Society members.
2020: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dies thirty-eight days before the presidential election. Trump appoints Amy Comey Barrett to replace her. Majority Leader McConnell holds hearings and the Senate vote to confirm her after the presidential election voting has begun in many states. He denies this contradicts his previous refusal to hold hearings on the Merrick Garland nomination during an election year.
2020: Barrett is confirmed and becomes a justice of the Supreme Court. There have been five Supreme Court justices in U.S. history who were appointed by a president elected with a minority of the vote and confirmed by senators representing a minority of the country’s population. With Barrett’s confirmation, all five are currently on the Supreme Court.
2022: $1.6 billion is gifted to the Marble Freedom Trust, a Leonard Leo group.
2023: The North Carolina Supreme Court overturns a previous ruling and allows the Republican-controlled legislature to draw districts by any guidelines they choose.
The 2019 Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering provides no pathway for appeal. Justice Paul Newby, who was elected post–Citizens United, is now chief justice. What began decades earlier continues to play out, changing the legal basis of American elections. It is the Long Game played patiently and relentlessly with no like effort in opposition. The Republican attack on the electoral system with combined efforts to challenge election results, restrict voting, and control the counting of votes is following the successful blueprint used by the Federalist Society to change the judicial system.
Location 1794-1848
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me get a head start of this important book
October 28, 2023
Must reading to save our country
This is urgent and essential reading for every American who still treasures all that is good about our country, once globally respected as the light of Western civilization.
This is urgent and essential reading for every American who still treasures all that is good about our country, once globally respected as the light of Western civilization.
December 27, 2023
This is a scary book. I think that is necessary. The attack on democracy should be scary to every single American. It is essential that voters know what happens with the choice they make when they vote.
November 22, 2023
Stevens speaks from experience. He may have turned his back on the current GOP, but he knows how they think and how they act.
He looks back on his years working for 'real' Republicans, you know...the sane ones. The ones who lost elections and conceded.
He lists five building blocks of autocracy...and he outlines how the GOP is currently uses these blocks, these levers of power, to change our country to an autocratic minority-rule wasteland.
What are the five?
Propagandists (Think FOX and NewsMax. Limbaugh)
Support of a major party...the GOP went from believing they could manage TFG to being managed BY him.
Financiers the money men...Thiel, Kochs, Leo Leonard...oh, the damage they've done for power
Legal theories -- gerrymandering, voter suppression, America as a 'republic' where only white property owners voted, Federalist Society, independent state legislature theories, Ginni Thomas and Cleta Mitchell
Shock Troops -- think J6. BUT, a study of those arrested for J6 are NOT who we thought they were...More by Robert Pape of U of Chicago...I've found and downloaded the report. But his study may mean this climate of violence and force is more embedded into our culture than we thought
Stevens cites and quotes writers I've been studying, and he synthesizes their works into his OWN ideas...
Folks, we're in big trouble.
He looks back on his years working for 'real' Republicans, you know...the sane ones. The ones who lost elections and conceded.
He lists five building blocks of autocracy...and he outlines how the GOP is currently uses these blocks, these levers of power, to change our country to an autocratic minority-rule wasteland.
What are the five?
Propagandists (Think FOX and NewsMax. Limbaugh)
Support of a major party...the GOP went from believing they could manage TFG to being managed BY him.
Financiers the money men...Thiel, Kochs, Leo Leonard...oh, the damage they've done for power
Legal theories -- gerrymandering, voter suppression, America as a 'republic' where only white property owners voted, Federalist Society, independent state legislature theories, Ginni Thomas and Cleta Mitchell
Shock Troops -- think J6. BUT, a study of those arrested for J6 are NOT who we thought they were...More by Robert Pape of U of Chicago...I've found and downloaded the report. But his study may mean this climate of violence and force is more embedded into our culture than we thought
Stevens cites and quotes writers I've been studying, and he synthesizes their works into his OWN ideas...
Folks, we're in big trouble.
March 1, 2024
Stuart Stevens was a GOP consultant. This was depressing, but necessary to read. While I was aware of the many issues/problems addressed in this book, it was important to hear it from someone "on the other side of the aisle." I also liked how it was presented; with background and what the concern is now.
Anyone who doesn't vote at this point, assuming they vote for no one (because they think Biden hasn't done enough at the border and/or Gaza; and yes they are right, but....) needs to suck it up and vote. Those in the middle and on the left need to start thinking long term, but short term. Look at what the GOP has been able to do playing the long game- they overturned Roe vs Wade, stacked the Supreme Court (and the other judicial appointments), etc. Compromise isn't a bad word.
Regardless, Nov 2024 is going to suck. Either Trump wins (and unless something happens between the time of the writing and the election- he IS the GOP Republican nominee; a party of mostly spineless fuckers who kiss Trump's ass) and we see an unprecedented crack down on people who disagree with him, further eroding of voting rights (ie making it even HARDER to vote), and a trend to autocracy (think Viktor Orban's Hungary or even Putin's Russia). Or Trump loses. Then I would not be surprised to see a repeat of Jan 6, 2021. And these individuals will be more emboldened.
Educate yourself on the issues. Get your news from multiple news sources. (The Guardian, The New York Times, Haaretz, The Washington Post, PBS to name a few). And make your voice heard.
Anyone who doesn't vote at this point, assuming they vote for no one (because they think Biden hasn't done enough at the border and/or Gaza; and yes they are right, but....) needs to suck it up and vote. Those in the middle and on the left need to start thinking long term, but short term. Look at what the GOP has been able to do playing the long game- they overturned Roe vs Wade, stacked the Supreme Court (and the other judicial appointments), etc. Compromise isn't a bad word.
Regardless, Nov 2024 is going to suck. Either Trump wins (and unless something happens between the time of the writing and the election- he IS the GOP Republican nominee; a party of mostly spineless fuckers who kiss Trump's ass) and we see an unprecedented crack down on people who disagree with him, further eroding of voting rights (ie making it even HARDER to vote), and a trend to autocracy (think Viktor Orban's Hungary or even Putin's Russia). Or Trump loses. Then I would not be surprised to see a repeat of Jan 6, 2021. And these individuals will be more emboldened.
Educate yourself on the issues. Get your news from multiple news sources. (The Guardian, The New York Times, Haaretz, The Washington Post, PBS to name a few). And make your voice heard.
March 3, 2024
"Our greatest mistake would be to believe that America will default to democracy."
Stuart Stevens, former Republican party operative and current Lincoln Project member sounds the alarm that the Republican party - with or without Trump - continues a march towards autocracy.
Not any new information in here but it is a clear and concise assessment of the Republicans that have moved from center-right to the extremism of January 6th and concerns of a continued threat of installing an autocratic ruling party. Republican actions around gerrymandering, the eroding of voting protections, free and fair elections and basic rule of law all point to a party that will stop at nothing to secure and maintain power. It's as undemocratic as you can get and they're not stopping.
"At every point when the Republican Party faced a choice between functioning as a normal American political party and an autocratic movement, it rejected the norm and moved closer to autocracy."
A fast and frightening read from a former insider.
Stuart Stevens, former Republican party operative and current Lincoln Project member sounds the alarm that the Republican party - with or without Trump - continues a march towards autocracy.
Not any new information in here but it is a clear and concise assessment of the Republicans that have moved from center-right to the extremism of January 6th and concerns of a continued threat of installing an autocratic ruling party. Republican actions around gerrymandering, the eroding of voting protections, free and fair elections and basic rule of law all point to a party that will stop at nothing to secure and maintain power. It's as undemocratic as you can get and they're not stopping.
"At every point when the Republican Party faced a choice between functioning as a normal American political party and an autocratic movement, it rejected the norm and moved closer to autocracy."
A fast and frightening read from a former insider.
March 2, 2024
Author Stewart Stevens, former Republican strategist, lays out the theory of the demise of Democracy, courtesy of the Republicans. Stevens lists five areas where Republicans are working to put an end to Democracy and change our country into a Autocracy with Trump at the helm. Those areas are: The Propagandists; The Support of the Party; The Financers; The Legal Theories; and The Shock Troops.
No matter how you feel, or believe, about the subject, do yourself a favor and read this book and educate yourself. It is over 200 pages long, but despite the serious nature of the text, it is relatively easy reading.
No matter how you feel, or believe, about the subject, do yourself a favor and read this book and educate yourself. It is over 200 pages long, but despite the serious nature of the text, it is relatively easy reading.
January 7, 2024
Scary Deconstruction of a Terrifying Movement.
Stevens delivers a very insightful analysis of the devolution of Trumpism into a Plot to undermine and tear down American Democracy and replace it with an Orban-style Autocracy. His credentials as a Fallen-Away GOP Election Consultant who has seen the Light, or more correctly the Darkness, of his old Party are impeccable, making his arguments even more credible.
He accurately identifies the multi-headed Hydra that constitutes this Movement: the Propaganda and its Disinformation Network, the Money its Financiers provide, the Party Organization that masks the illegitimacy of the “Legal Theories” it stands on, and the Shock Troops like the Proud Boys and 3%’ers that will provide the Dirty Work. If its aims were to be well and shrewdly executed the results would be devastating.
The Author’s words and the Narrator’s Tone are calming enough but the picture they paint was horrific and, sadly, thoroughly believable. Between now and 2024 we readers will be overwhelmed by Political screeds from both sides of the Political Divide. This one should demand our attention. Be Afraid. Be Very AFRAID! Four Stars. ****
Stevens delivers a very insightful analysis of the devolution of Trumpism into a Plot to undermine and tear down American Democracy and replace it with an Orban-style Autocracy. His credentials as a Fallen-Away GOP Election Consultant who has seen the Light, or more correctly the Darkness, of his old Party are impeccable, making his arguments even more credible.
He accurately identifies the multi-headed Hydra that constitutes this Movement: the Propaganda and its Disinformation Network, the Money its Financiers provide, the Party Organization that masks the illegitimacy of the “Legal Theories” it stands on, and the Shock Troops like the Proud Boys and 3%’ers that will provide the Dirty Work. If its aims were to be well and shrewdly executed the results would be devastating.
The Author’s words and the Narrator’s Tone are calming enough but the picture they paint was horrific and, sadly, thoroughly believable. Between now and 2024 we readers will be overwhelmed by Political screeds from both sides of the Political Divide. This one should demand our attention. Be Afraid. Be Very AFRAID! Four Stars. ****
January 11, 2024
At the risk of sounding line a member of the choir I really enjoyed (if cringe worthy agreement can be enjoyment) Mr. Stevens' book. Short. Sweet and generally to the point. He connects the dots on a lot of what I have personally seen going on from a voter's perspective with the insider's perspective.
I read this book shortly after finishing Neil Howe's "The Fourth Turning Is Here" and this book by Stevens fits right into that book's narrative. We are at a turning point in near-term history. The question remains - which direction is American society going to turn during the next few years.
I read this book shortly after finishing Neil Howe's "The Fourth Turning Is Here" and this book by Stevens fits right into that book's narrative. We are at a turning point in near-term history. The question remains - which direction is American society going to turn during the next few years.
March 26, 2024
Quite a chilling warning to wake up, listen, and vote accordingly. Sitting out or voting third party will not save us from autocracy.
What else to do? Reading this book is a good place to begin. Maybe even read it a couple of times.
What else to do? Reading this book is a good place to begin. Maybe even read it a couple of times.
March 7, 2024
my first ever non-fiction read by choice! stevens' tone and wit are sarcastic, razor-sharp, and excellently weighted to match this serious issue. i learned so much about structural corruption in the US, especially via big corporations.... cannot recommend this book enough, especially in lieu of the 2024 elections... oh god are we doomed
April 12, 2025
I found this even better than It Was All a Lie. Everything he says here has turned out to be what has happened & is happening. I wish Trumpers would read it and take off their cult glasses.
November 12, 2024
Fascinating and chilling. When someone who was on the inside of the Republican machine tells you how things have gone off the rails, you need to listen.
December 23, 2023
This is a fascinating read. Stuart Stevens spent a career helping the political campaigns of Bob Dole, Mitt Romney, George W. Bush and many more Republicans. He knows his subject. And he’s concerned, frightened and pissed about what has happened to his GOP. So he began researching some of the great histories of how autocratic governments have grown from democracies. To his amazement there are five basic conditions that must be in place for such a transformation to occur: propagandists, financiers, political party support, legal theories and goon squads. The book drills down on how each of these connections have emerged over the past several decades. He compares where we are right now in America to 1930’s Germany and it’s not a troupe. It’s eye-opening when these conditions are taken as a whole. I hope, for the sake of my children and children’s children, that many with consider this a must-read book.
December 25, 2023
The author was for many years a successful Republican strategist. He no longer recognizes the party he worked for. I waited a while to check this out but am glad to have read it. It starkly and in detail outlines how the present Republican has become a party that is no longer democratic but firmly authoritarian. They are intent in destroying the country as a a democracy. He outlines how we got here. It is not a pleasant read. It is necessary to recognizes the peril we face because it is nearly too late. Make time to read this one.
December 18, 2023
This book does an excellent job of explaining how Trump’s fascist movement came about; what it is; how it works; who pays for it; what it means; and where it’s going. The USA is in dire peril, and it may become a fascist police state in a few months from now, whatever the voters wind up doing. It’s a terrifying, important book. Its author is that rare thing: a repentant swine, a man who made his living trampling the hopes of millions by supporting George W Bush and his ilk, who brought us the stolen election of 2000; the end of the Bill of Rights in the Orwellian “Patriot Act”; and the end of the American commitment to the Geneva Convention against torture. Now, in late middle age, he has woken up to a life wasted in cynical opportunism. This book is his penance and his timely alarm bell as the country he helped to ruin is facing its most dangerous crisis since the Civil War. Thanks, I guess.
June 27, 2024
Stuart Stevens, one of the original Never Trumpers, spares no one, including himself, in “The Conspiracy to End America.” In this spare volume, he lays out five building blocks used by those looking to subvert democracy with the idea of creating an autocracy: propagandists; support of a major party; financers; legal theories; and shock troops.
Stevens does a masterful job of showing how each of these undermines traditional American democracy and how they work together to create an electorate that is ill informed, overwhelmed, and afraid, so much so that they welcome the idea of a strongman coming to power, as only he will be capable of solving intractable problems.
This is an important book for all who want to defend democracy, and Stevens is ideally suited to lay out these arguments. He worked on many Republican campaigns, including Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. He knows the players, what they say in front of the cameras and the truths they tell when the cameras are out of the room. He acknowledges the racism that lies at the heart of much of Trump’s support, as his backers rail against immigrants, convinced that they are violent criminals or terrorists.
Instead, a new wave of domestic terrorism is likely, as Trump supporters believe their candidate’s lies about how the 2020 election was stolen and they must fight to take back their country. By undermining faith in institutions, Trump is creating a smoldering fire of resentment and anger that could erupt as it did on January 6, 2021.
Voices like Stuart Stevens’s help voters better understand the stakes in the upcoming election. In “The Conspiracy to End America,” his arguments are simple but irrefutable. Democracy is at risk, and books like this help make the case that the Republican party itself is beyond saving, that only the Democratic party believes in liberal democracy now. The choice is simple, and we’ll soon know which path the United States will take. I appreciate Stevens’s willingness to step up, to tell the truth, and to tell it well. I highly recommend this books.
Stevens does a masterful job of showing how each of these undermines traditional American democracy and how they work together to create an electorate that is ill informed, overwhelmed, and afraid, so much so that they welcome the idea of a strongman coming to power, as only he will be capable of solving intractable problems.
This is an important book for all who want to defend democracy, and Stevens is ideally suited to lay out these arguments. He worked on many Republican campaigns, including Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. He knows the players, what they say in front of the cameras and the truths they tell when the cameras are out of the room. He acknowledges the racism that lies at the heart of much of Trump’s support, as his backers rail against immigrants, convinced that they are violent criminals or terrorists.
Instead, a new wave of domestic terrorism is likely, as Trump supporters believe their candidate’s lies about how the 2020 election was stolen and they must fight to take back their country. By undermining faith in institutions, Trump is creating a smoldering fire of resentment and anger that could erupt as it did on January 6, 2021.
Voices like Stuart Stevens’s help voters better understand the stakes in the upcoming election. In “The Conspiracy to End America,” his arguments are simple but irrefutable. Democracy is at risk, and books like this help make the case that the Republican party itself is beyond saving, that only the Democratic party believes in liberal democracy now. The choice is simple, and we’ll soon know which path the United States will take. I appreciate Stevens’s willingness to step up, to tell the truth, and to tell it well. I highly recommend this books.
July 8, 2024
The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy by Stuart Stevens
“The Conspiracy to End America” is a warning that the current Republican Party led by Trump is leading America to autocracy. Respected Republican operative, Stuart Stevens takes no joy in describing five ways Republicans are conspiring to end our democracy. This honest 241-page book includes the following chapters: 1. The Propagandists, 2. The Support of the Party, 3. The Financers, 4. The Legal Theories, and, 5. The Shock Troops.
Positives:
1. A well-written, concise book that is fun to read.
2. An interesting topic, how the Republican Party are conspiring to end democracy.
3. As a true Republican insider of many years, Stuart Stevens brings a lot of expertise to this topic.
4. Examines the propagandists. “Fox is making the news, not covering it. It’s remaking the Republican Party, not informing its audience.” “Propaganda views truth and facts as obstacles to be navigated, not values to be honored.”
5. Conspiracies as it relates to the current Republican Party. “Trump ran as a xenophobic racist, and once the Republican Party embraced him as their leader, it legitimized threads of extremist conspiracies that had previously been limited to the ecosphere of the far right.”
6. Provides examples of what happens when the cult followers believe the conspiracies. “On May 14, 2022, an eighteen-year-old white male walked into a Tops grocery store in a predominately Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, and murdered ten people, wounding three others. All but two were Black. The shooter left a 180-page “manifesto” that made it clear the Great Replacement Strategy was his motivation. He threatened all non-whites and wrote that they should leave “while you still can, as long as the White man lives you will never be safe here.””
7. Examines the rise of Trump. “Trump was rising with Republican voters because of his racism and religious bigotry.”
8. Examines why democracies die. “An essential test for democracies is not whether [authoritarians] emerge but whether political leaders, and especially political parties, work to prevent them from gaining power in the first place—by keeping them off mainstream party tickets, refusing to endorse or align with them, and when necessary, making common cause with rivals in support of democratic candidates. Isolating popular extremists requires political courage.”
9. The defining element to autocratic movements. “Compared with all other parties and movements, their most conspicuous external characteristic is their demand for total, unrestricted, unconditional, and unalterable loyalty of the individual member.”
10. The key difference between authoritarianism and democracy. “Fear is the organizing emotion of authoritarianism, just as hope is the defining element of democracy.” “…choosing between the domestic terrorists who attempted to kill their own party members and the brave law enforcement officers defending them—the Republican Party chose to defend and elevate the terrorists.”
11. Examines the role of money in politics. “In over 90 percent of the campaigns for the House of Representatives, the candidate with the most money wins. And overall, around 95 percent of incumbents win reelection.”
12. Examines the power of misinformation. “Over the next several months, misinformation on Facebook—much of it in Trump’s favor—outperformed real news. The most popular election headline on Facebook during that period, according to one study, was “Pope Francis Shocks the World, Endorses Donald Trump for President,” which, of course, never happened. Another claimed falsely that Wikileaks emails revealed that Hillary Clinton had sold weapons to Islamic State terrorists.”
13. Provocative statements. “There is no more fundamental assault on democracy and the rule of law than overturning the results of a free and fair election.”
14. Examines the Republican indifference. “Today the leader of the Republican Party meets with a white supremacist holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes, and outrage is replaced by silence or approval.”
15. The tools of autocratic movements. “The Republican authoritarian groundwork was laid by a long-running siege on democracy, utilizing a combination of voter-suppression legislation, gerrymandering, and the elevation of activist judges.”
16. Examines key differences between parties. “Both parties are constantly engaged in efforts to change voting laws. The difference is that Democrats consistently try to broaden voter participation, while Republicans attempt to shrink it.”
17. Provides a very useful timeline (yes!) of judicial decisions that lessen democracy.
18. Examines the demographics behind the January 6 failed coup attempt. “Forty-three percent of the January 6 insurrectionists were white-collar workers such as business owners, architects, doctors, and lawyers.”
19. Provides many examples of right wing extremism. “When a white police officer is convicted of murdering an unarmed Black man named George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine and a half minutes, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson calls the verdict “an attack on civilization.””
20. Concludes with a resonating statement. “The only hope for the Republican Party is for it to suffer crushing defeat after crushing defeat so that it is forced to confront its failure.”
Negatives:
1. Lacks supplementary material.
2. Some minor editing issues.
3. A bit heavy and reliant on other books for quotes.
4. No formal bibliography of the many great books referenced and reviewed by yours truly.
In summary, this is another fun and concise book by Stuart Stevens. Stevens writes with a lot of conviction and is direct to the point, which is a writing style that appeals to readers. He does a really good job of laying the case that the Republican Party has become an autocratic movement masquerading as a party. He urges the American public to put a stop to this movement by voting Republicans out and I recommend it.
Further suggestions: “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump” by Stuart Stevens, “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever” by Rick Wilson, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America” by Maggie Haberman, “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser,“It’s Even Worse Than You Think” by David Cay Johnson, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies” by Glenn Kessler, “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic” by David Frum, “One Nation After Trump” by E.J. Dionne Jr., “Disloyal” by Michael Cohen, “Betrayal: The Final Act” by Jonathan Karl, and “I Alone Can Fix it” by Carol Leonnig.
“The Conspiracy to End America” is a warning that the current Republican Party led by Trump is leading America to autocracy. Respected Republican operative, Stuart Stevens takes no joy in describing five ways Republicans are conspiring to end our democracy. This honest 241-page book includes the following chapters: 1. The Propagandists, 2. The Support of the Party, 3. The Financers, 4. The Legal Theories, and, 5. The Shock Troops.
Positives:
1. A well-written, concise book that is fun to read.
2. An interesting topic, how the Republican Party are conspiring to end democracy.
3. As a true Republican insider of many years, Stuart Stevens brings a lot of expertise to this topic.
4. Examines the propagandists. “Fox is making the news, not covering it. It’s remaking the Republican Party, not informing its audience.” “Propaganda views truth and facts as obstacles to be navigated, not values to be honored.”
5. Conspiracies as it relates to the current Republican Party. “Trump ran as a xenophobic racist, and once the Republican Party embraced him as their leader, it legitimized threads of extremist conspiracies that had previously been limited to the ecosphere of the far right.”
6. Provides examples of what happens when the cult followers believe the conspiracies. “On May 14, 2022, an eighteen-year-old white male walked into a Tops grocery store in a predominately Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, and murdered ten people, wounding three others. All but two were Black. The shooter left a 180-page “manifesto” that made it clear the Great Replacement Strategy was his motivation. He threatened all non-whites and wrote that they should leave “while you still can, as long as the White man lives you will never be safe here.””
7. Examines the rise of Trump. “Trump was rising with Republican voters because of his racism and religious bigotry.”
8. Examines why democracies die. “An essential test for democracies is not whether [authoritarians] emerge but whether political leaders, and especially political parties, work to prevent them from gaining power in the first place—by keeping them off mainstream party tickets, refusing to endorse or align with them, and when necessary, making common cause with rivals in support of democratic candidates. Isolating popular extremists requires political courage.”
9. The defining element to autocratic movements. “Compared with all other parties and movements, their most conspicuous external characteristic is their demand for total, unrestricted, unconditional, and unalterable loyalty of the individual member.”
10. The key difference between authoritarianism and democracy. “Fear is the organizing emotion of authoritarianism, just as hope is the defining element of democracy.” “…choosing between the domestic terrorists who attempted to kill their own party members and the brave law enforcement officers defending them—the Republican Party chose to defend and elevate the terrorists.”
11. Examines the role of money in politics. “In over 90 percent of the campaigns for the House of Representatives, the candidate with the most money wins. And overall, around 95 percent of incumbents win reelection.”
12. Examines the power of misinformation. “Over the next several months, misinformation on Facebook—much of it in Trump’s favor—outperformed real news. The most popular election headline on Facebook during that period, according to one study, was “Pope Francis Shocks the World, Endorses Donald Trump for President,” which, of course, never happened. Another claimed falsely that Wikileaks emails revealed that Hillary Clinton had sold weapons to Islamic State terrorists.”
13. Provocative statements. “There is no more fundamental assault on democracy and the rule of law than overturning the results of a free and fair election.”
14. Examines the Republican indifference. “Today the leader of the Republican Party meets with a white supremacist holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes, and outrage is replaced by silence or approval.”
15. The tools of autocratic movements. “The Republican authoritarian groundwork was laid by a long-running siege on democracy, utilizing a combination of voter-suppression legislation, gerrymandering, and the elevation of activist judges.”
16. Examines key differences between parties. “Both parties are constantly engaged in efforts to change voting laws. The difference is that Democrats consistently try to broaden voter participation, while Republicans attempt to shrink it.”
17. Provides a very useful timeline (yes!) of judicial decisions that lessen democracy.
18. Examines the demographics behind the January 6 failed coup attempt. “Forty-three percent of the January 6 insurrectionists were white-collar workers such as business owners, architects, doctors, and lawyers.”
19. Provides many examples of right wing extremism. “When a white police officer is convicted of murdering an unarmed Black man named George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine and a half minutes, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson calls the verdict “an attack on civilization.””
20. Concludes with a resonating statement. “The only hope for the Republican Party is for it to suffer crushing defeat after crushing defeat so that it is forced to confront its failure.”
Negatives:
1. Lacks supplementary material.
2. Some minor editing issues.
3. A bit heavy and reliant on other books for quotes.
4. No formal bibliography of the many great books referenced and reviewed by yours truly.
In summary, this is another fun and concise book by Stuart Stevens. Stevens writes with a lot of conviction and is direct to the point, which is a writing style that appeals to readers. He does a really good job of laying the case that the Republican Party has become an autocratic movement masquerading as a party. He urges the American public to put a stop to this movement by voting Republicans out and I recommend it.
Further suggestions: “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump” by Stuart Stevens, “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever” by Rick Wilson, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America” by Maggie Haberman, “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser,“It’s Even Worse Than You Think” by David Cay Johnson, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President's Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies” by Glenn Kessler, “Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic” by David Frum, “One Nation After Trump” by E.J. Dionne Jr., “Disloyal” by Michael Cohen, “Betrayal: The Final Act” by Jonathan Karl, and “I Alone Can Fix it” by Carol Leonnig.
November 29, 2023
Stuart Stevens was a political campaign strategist for the Republican Party and helped get both Bushes elected. He now says the Republican Party is a racist and autocratic party and that all of us who believe in democracy should vote for Democrats. This book is a detailed and thorough look at the bases for thesis conclusion. Read it before the 2024 election.
November 22, 2023
Stevens is a former GOP strategist. This book argues that the GOP has moved away from Democracy to Autocracy.
For autocracy to take hold of a country, Stevens argues that five building blocks are required. All of which the current GOP has embraced.
Propagandists
Support of a major party
Financiers
Legal theories to legitimize actions
Shock troops
The most telling example he offers is that in a democracy, you must be prepared to lose elections. The current GOP is not. Large numbers of the GOP believe that elections have been wrongly decided though they cannot provide any actual evidence. They simply believe it so it must be so.
For autocracy to take hold of a country, Stevens argues that five building blocks are required. All of which the current GOP has embraced.
Propagandists
Support of a major party
Financiers
Legal theories to legitimize actions
Shock troops
The most telling example he offers is that in a democracy, you must be prepared to lose elections. The current GOP is not. Large numbers of the GOP believe that elections have been wrongly decided though they cannot provide any actual evidence. They simply believe it so it must be so.
September 7, 2025
I might have been able to give Stevens a higher rating since he did cogently lay out the five autocratic building blocks. But on page 224, he completely reveals his Uni-party allegiance by declaring, "The inescapable truth is that there is now only one pro-democratic party in American politics, and that's the Democratic Party."
By succumbing to that warped thinking, he derailed the logic of the rest of the text. I'll give him one slight benefit of doubt... He did write this before the other Uni-party amassed their army of lawyers and litigators to go after third party contenders from Jill Stein to Cornel West, to ultimately driving that super-sellout RFK Jr. to join forces with the wannabe dictator.
By succumbing to that warped thinking, he derailed the logic of the rest of the text. I'll give him one slight benefit of doubt... He did write this before the other Uni-party amassed their army of lawyers and litigators to go after third party contenders from Jill Stein to Cornel West, to ultimately driving that super-sellout RFK Jr. to join forces with the wannabe dictator.
November 10, 2023
This book meant so much to me. I am a Democrat and have been actively working on elections since Kennedy’s election in 1960. I was 13. I have really enjoyed being involved with politics as much as I could.
The political atmosphere was always a little contentious. We wanted to win, but we also respected the Republicans we were trying to beat.
Stuart Stevens’ book was so sad because he always worked for Republicans and now they have changed too much for him and me, too. However, I really appreciated his viewpoint on the Trump situation.
I hope we can hold America together. My husband and I will work on getting Joe Biden and the Democrats elected!
The political atmosphere was always a little contentious. We wanted to win, but we also respected the Republicans we were trying to beat.
Stuart Stevens’ book was so sad because he always worked for Republicans and now they have changed too much for him and me, too. However, I really appreciated his viewpoint on the Trump situation.
I hope we can hold America together. My husband and I will work on getting Joe Biden and the Democrats elected!
November 10, 2023
He’s right. If you are fair-minded, don’t want to ignore the reality of a country in which, among many other things, a majority of one of two major parties does not believe our current president actually won, and care about the future of our country and frankly, world, read this book. It won’t lower your blood pressure.
April 18, 2024
This is not written for a broad audience or in a way that would challenge preconceived notions. The language Stevens uses is too polarizing to be useful to anyone, and ensures that only those who already agree, or those who will hold it up as an example of how "they" are demonizing "us", will be the only readers.
I gave up on it.
I gave up on it.
November 3, 2023
A must read. If we are paying attention we are aware of much about which the author writes. However, by bringing it all together the sum of what is happening can be seen as much larger and more damning that the individual parts.
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