What do you think?
Rate this book
The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted
The New York Times–bestselling manifesto about America’s broken political system and how it got that way
Mike Lofgren was once a proud Republican. When he came to Washington in the early 1980s, the party was controlled by what was mostly a rational group of people with a basic grasp of economics and foreign policy. So what happened since then? How did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? After some thirty years in Congress, Lofgren, exasperated by the circus of the debt-ceiling debate, stepped down from his position on the Senate Budget Committee in disgust in 2011.
Written by a refreshingly skeptical insider, The Party Is Over is an electrifying manifesto for the growing number of Americans who are appalled by our politicians and fed up with their pandering to corporate interests. Wry, trenchant, and highly persuasive, Lofgren offers clear suggestions for how to break through the gridlock and reverse political dysfunction in Washington.
Mike Lofgren was once a proud Republican. When he came to Washington in the early 1980s, the party was controlled by what was mostly a rational group of people with a basic grasp of economics and foreign policy. So what happened since then? How did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? After some thirty years in Congress, Lofgren, exasperated by the circus of the debt-ceiling debate, stepped down from his position on the Senate Budget Committee in disgust in 2011.
Written by a refreshingly skeptical insider, The Party Is Over is an electrifying manifesto for the growing number of Americans who are appalled by our politicians and fed up with their pandering to corporate interests. Wry, trenchant, and highly persuasive, Lofgren offers clear suggestions for how to break through the gridlock and reverse political dysfunction in Washington.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2012
123 people are currently reading
1821 people want to read
About the author
Mike Lofgren
7 books51 followersMike Lofgren is an American former Republican aide, who retired in May 2011 after 28 years as a staff member in the U.S. Congress. Lofgren, who has a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Akron, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study European history at the University of Bern and University of Basel in Switzerland and completed the strategy and policy curriculum at the Naval War College.
He began his legislative branch career as military legislative assistant to Republican former House representative John Kasich in 1983. In 1994 he was a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Readiness Subcommittee. From 1995 to 2004, he was budget analyst for national security on the majority staff of the House Budget Committee. From 2005 until his 2011 retirement, Lofgren was the chief analyst for military spending on the Senate Budget Committee.
Since his retirement, Lofgren has written about politics, budgets, and national security issues.
He began his legislative branch career as military legislative assistant to Republican former House representative John Kasich in 1983. In 1994 he was a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Readiness Subcommittee. From 1995 to 2004, he was budget analyst for national security on the majority staff of the House Budget Committee. From 2005 until his 2011 retirement, Lofgren was the chief analyst for military spending on the Senate Budget Committee.
Since his retirement, Lofgren has written about politics, budgets, and national security issues.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
October 8, 2015
I'm bumping this one up on a re-read from three stars to four. After the strange and even wondrous political summer of 2015, I've realized that this book, penned in 2012 by a disillusioned and disgusted Washington Republican insider, is both prescient and important.
I've had a number of recent conversations with friends who are completely bewildered by Bernie Sanders' and Donald Trump's candidacies. Having read Mike Lofgren's book I really do understand the populist appeal of both candidates. As Lofgren explains American politics is now dominated by special interests and big money donors at the expense of ordinary Americans whose real income has stagnated for decades. Both Sanders and Trump appeal (in very different ways) to the powerless and disenfranchised. And both speak to the sense that the country is rapidly becoming a dysfunctional, kleptocratic oligarchy rather than an energetic, forward-looking democracy.
Lofgren brilliantly traces the way in which narrow trigger-issues and political grandstanding rope in voters while cloaking the highly profitable business that goes on behind the scenes. Donald Trump, a very astute businessman and a master at branding, has turned this dynamic on its head, much to the horror of establishment Republicans, who have a great deal to lose if Le Donald maintains his lead. "As you sow, so shall you reap."
On the Democrats side, Lofgren is completely correct that the party has abandoned its core principles in favor of 'centrist', 'pragmatic' policies that are in nearly every case identical to those favored by establishment Republicans. Just as with the Republicans, establishment Democrats have used social trigger issues as a distraction and a way to mobilize their 'base' while conducting business as usual behind closed doors. Bernie Sanders, with whom both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower might have found common cause, is deeply threatening to entrenched powers and establishment Democrats.
Mike Lofgren is a historian by training and a policy expert who spent twenty-eight years working in Congress on the Republican side of the aisle, the last sixteen as a senior analyst for national security and military issues on the House and Senate Budget committees. He really knows budgeting and defense appropriation and the chapters on those subjects are sobering and packed with the kind of knowledge that only a true numbers-crunching policy wonk could command.
I was first introduced to Mike Lofgren's writing thanks to a powerful and thought-provoking essay on what he calls the Deep State. His essay is more tightly argued than anything in The Party is Over, so I suggest that you check it out and read some of the other essays on his web site.
On the downside too much of Lofgren's current book is an extended rant of a type familiar to anyone who follows the political scene. I am not fond of rants, no matter how amusing, no matter who is ranting at whom, and no matter how justifiable the ire. He has good reasons to be angry but the invective, while witty, is too predictable to be illuminating--at least to me. I suppose he needed to get it off his chest, but I hope in his next book on foreign policy issues (due out in January, 2016) he tones down the rhetoric and finds his analytical groove again.
Full disclosure: I am a registered Independent, one of those dreaded 'swing voters'; over the decades I've split my voting about 50:50 between the two parties. Party politics have, of late, left me so deeply disheartened that I concentrate most of my efforts at the local level. And much of what passes for politics even at the local level is vapid window-dressing at best and, at worst, a cynical attempt to placate the uninformed with bread and circuses while the real business gets profitably and quietly done in ill-attended, deliberately dull late-night meetings.
My own area of expertise is the financial services industry--and what I see has me very worried. Thanks to mind-blowing sums of money sloshing about, the ruthless exercise of behind-the-scenes power and a revolving door for top echelon government and industry players, the branches of government involved with the banking and finance industry resist change and continue to enable an unmanageable level of complexity even in the face of near financial catastrophe, massive public disapproval, and supposed voter mandates.
The Party is Over is an excellent primer for those trying to make sense of, and make reasoned decisions, in this pivotal primary and election year. I particularly recommend it for younger voters who may be casting the deciding ballots in the spring 2016 primaries. Lofgren's proposed solutions--campaign finance reform and bipartisan redistricting to reduce gerrymandering--are on the right track though they do not go far enough. That may take political revolution. There might even be one or two brewing as I write.
I've had a number of recent conversations with friends who are completely bewildered by Bernie Sanders' and Donald Trump's candidacies. Having read Mike Lofgren's book I really do understand the populist appeal of both candidates. As Lofgren explains American politics is now dominated by special interests and big money donors at the expense of ordinary Americans whose real income has stagnated for decades. Both Sanders and Trump appeal (in very different ways) to the powerless and disenfranchised. And both speak to the sense that the country is rapidly becoming a dysfunctional, kleptocratic oligarchy rather than an energetic, forward-looking democracy.
Lofgren brilliantly traces the way in which narrow trigger-issues and political grandstanding rope in voters while cloaking the highly profitable business that goes on behind the scenes. Donald Trump, a very astute businessman and a master at branding, has turned this dynamic on its head, much to the horror of establishment Republicans, who have a great deal to lose if Le Donald maintains his lead. "As you sow, so shall you reap."
On the Democrats side, Lofgren is completely correct that the party has abandoned its core principles in favor of 'centrist', 'pragmatic' policies that are in nearly every case identical to those favored by establishment Republicans. Just as with the Republicans, establishment Democrats have used social trigger issues as a distraction and a way to mobilize their 'base' while conducting business as usual behind closed doors. Bernie Sanders, with whom both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower might have found common cause, is deeply threatening to entrenched powers and establishment Democrats.
Mike Lofgren is a historian by training and a policy expert who spent twenty-eight years working in Congress on the Republican side of the aisle, the last sixteen as a senior analyst for national security and military issues on the House and Senate Budget committees. He really knows budgeting and defense appropriation and the chapters on those subjects are sobering and packed with the kind of knowledge that only a true numbers-crunching policy wonk could command.
I was first introduced to Mike Lofgren's writing thanks to a powerful and thought-provoking essay on what he calls the Deep State. His essay is more tightly argued than anything in The Party is Over, so I suggest that you check it out and read some of the other essays on his web site.
White House advisers who urged Obama not to impose compensation limits on Wall Street CEOs, the contractor-connected think tank experts who besought us to “stay the course” in Iraq, the economic gurus who perpetually demonstrate that globalization and deregulation are a blessing that makes us all better off in the long run — are careful to pretend that they have no ideology. Their preferred pose is that of the politically neutral technocrat offering well considered advice based on profound expertise. That is nonsense. They are deeply dyed in the hue of the official ideology of the governing class, an ideology that is neither specifically Democrat nor Republican.That is the heart of his most important argument. He makes an excellent case that the social issues that make both the right and left so frenzied are nothing more than diversionary tactics.
On the downside too much of Lofgren's current book is an extended rant of a type familiar to anyone who follows the political scene. I am not fond of rants, no matter how amusing, no matter who is ranting at whom, and no matter how justifiable the ire. He has good reasons to be angry but the invective, while witty, is too predictable to be illuminating--at least to me. I suppose he needed to get it off his chest, but I hope in his next book on foreign policy issues (due out in January, 2016) he tones down the rhetoric and finds his analytical groove again.
Full disclosure: I am a registered Independent, one of those dreaded 'swing voters'; over the decades I've split my voting about 50:50 between the two parties. Party politics have, of late, left me so deeply disheartened that I concentrate most of my efforts at the local level. And much of what passes for politics even at the local level is vapid window-dressing at best and, at worst, a cynical attempt to placate the uninformed with bread and circuses while the real business gets profitably and quietly done in ill-attended, deliberately dull late-night meetings.
My own area of expertise is the financial services industry--and what I see has me very worried. Thanks to mind-blowing sums of money sloshing about, the ruthless exercise of behind-the-scenes power and a revolving door for top echelon government and industry players, the branches of government involved with the banking and finance industry resist change and continue to enable an unmanageable level of complexity even in the face of near financial catastrophe, massive public disapproval, and supposed voter mandates.
The Party is Over is an excellent primer for those trying to make sense of, and make reasoned decisions, in this pivotal primary and election year. I particularly recommend it for younger voters who may be casting the deciding ballots in the spring 2016 primaries. Lofgren's proposed solutions--campaign finance reform and bipartisan redistricting to reduce gerrymandering--are on the right track though they do not go far enough. That may take political revolution. There might even be one or two brewing as I write.
September 1, 2012
Because I've worked on Capitol Hill for nearly a decade and was a lobbyist for nearly as long before that, Lofgren's account resonated with me from start to finish. Much of what he had to say about his party (the Republicans) was not news to me, but he's a good story teller with a talent for the turn of phrase. A sampling:
What interested me was his take on the other party I used to belong to--the Democrats. This, from the introduction, gives you a taste:
And this, from his full chapter on the Democrats, lays out what many progressives (and probably many independent) voters feel after Obama's first term:
If the book has a weakness, it's the last chapter, which contains Lofgren's solutions for our current political plight: getting all private money out of public campaigns, congressional redistricting by nonpartisan commissions, a limited campaign season, etc. Most of what Lofgren proposes has been put forward by others, in most cases long ago. None of that makes Lofgren's suggestions less valid. The book is a must-read if you want to better understand our dangerously dysfunctional political culture.
How did Republicans manage to seize control of the way Americans speak about public life? Democrats do not understand the power of language. Their initiatives are posed in impenetrable policy-speak: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The what? Can anyone even remember that? No wonder the pejorative "Obamacare" won out. (from Ch. 4)
But the larger objective, beyond specific policies, is to blanket the American public with a message of fear. As long as we are fearful, as long as there is anendless list of threats, Pentagon spending can never be cut, PATRIOT Act provisions can never be repealed, and the United States will forever have the right and duty to meddle in every corner of the world. (from Ch. 6)
Did Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army enlisted man who gave thousands of pages of sensitive government documents to the website Wikileaks, damage national security? Perhaps he did, but no reasonable person with any experience in government should have taken the government at its word when it attempted to justify holding him without charge or legal counsel and in abusive conditions. Especially not when senior administration officials from both parties also leak classified information to the press to further their objectives. National security secrets have become degraded to the status of gossipy tidbits for the press. I am sure a Venn diagram of persons who want to boil Bradley Manning in oil would hardly intersect a diagram of persons who wanted similar treatment meted out to Scooter Libby for blowing the cover of a covert CIA officer--an extremely serious matter. (from Ch. 8)
What interested me was his take on the other party I used to belong to--the Democrats. This, from the introduction, gives you a taste:
The Democratic Party coasted far too long on Franklin D. Roosevelt's legacy. It became complacent and began to feel entitled to its near hegemonic position in politics, culture and the media. When the New Right increasingly began to displace it in all three of those arenas, some liberals merely turned into ineffectual whiners and crybabies or ivory tower escapists. The bulk of Democratic politcians and operatives, however, moved in a different direction. After three straight losses in presidential elections between 1980 and 1988, they abandoned the practices of their old beliefs while continuing to espouse them in theory. These new Democrats will say anything to win an election--an objective that, in their minds, generally requires them to emulate Republicans, particularly with respect to moneygrubbing on the fund-raising circuit. Many of them only last a term or two, because if people want a Republican they will vote for the real thing. What has evolved in America over the last three decades is a one-and-a-half-party system, as Democrats opportunistically cleave to the "center," which, in the relativistic universe of American politics, keeps moving further to the right.
And this, from his full chapter on the Democrats, lays out what many progressives (and probably many independent) voters feel after Obama's first term:
Many left-leaning think tanks, like the Center for American Progress, handle the same executive branch usurpations that they criticized when Bush was in office less by explicitly praising them (for that would be too blatantly hypocritical) as by adopting a see-no-evil approach. A pervasive mentality appears to have taken over among establishment Democrats that we live under a government of men (and women) rather than laws. Illegal surveillance, indefinite detention, unlimited executive war powers, and the whole menu of executive branch encroachments were a grave breach of the Constitution, decency, and common sense when practiced by a Republican president. But now that a Democrat is in office, it is different. He is one of our people and can be trusted to wield power responsibly. He won't spy on us. He won't detain us without charge. There;s no way he'll assassinate us (a power Bush never explicitly claimed). With this attitude, establishment Democrats only mirror the right-wing Republicans who cheered the PATRIOT Act, denounced criticism of illegal wiretapping, and favored all manner of of illegality. They believed that they, too, were immune from having their rights violated by the government so long as "their guy" was in power.
If the book has a weakness, it's the last chapter, which contains Lofgren's solutions for our current political plight: getting all private money out of public campaigns, congressional redistricting by nonpartisan commissions, a limited campaign season, etc. Most of what Lofgren proposes has been put forward by others, in most cases long ago. None of that makes Lofgren's suggestions less valid. The book is a must-read if you want to better understand our dangerously dysfunctional political culture.
September 17, 2012
If I could write the review THE PARTY IS OVER : How the Republican Went CRAZY, Democrats Became USELESS, and the Middle Class Got SHAFTED deserves, it would take an article the size of a magazine article.
Mike Lofgren worked for US Representative John Kasich, first on the House Armed Services Committee and then the House Budget Committee. In 2012, he finished his 28-years on the Hill working for Senator Judd Gregg, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Both of his bosses were Republican. He retired when “my own party, politicians became more and more intransigently dogmatic.” He didn’t think they believed what they said but were playing to “an increasingly deranged political base that does believe it.”
He examines how the GOP decided its main objective was to make Obama a one-term president. Their method was to not support any of his programs (even those they had originally suggested) on the theory that the voters would be so upset they would blame Obama for not solving the country’s problems.
He says the GOP decided it could ignore its traditional base (the educated, affluent suburban voter) and get new support by focusing on issues such as Gay Marriage and Abortion.
With statistics comparing longevity, infant mortality, income distribution, labor protection on a global scale, he sees the US getting closer to the Third World than the advanced state it has been for decades.
Lofgren details how the Republican party has changed (not for the better) since the days of Lincoln and how the Democratic party became impotent. He begins by discussing the tactics used by the Republicans. He refers to the Republican Party as “an oligarchy with a well-developed public relations strategy designed to sooth and anesthetize its followers with appeals to tradition, security, and family even as it pursues a radical agenda that would transform the country into a Dickensian corporatocraphy at home and a belligerent military empire abroad.”
After 9/11, under the administration of George W. Bush, many of our constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech, protection against government surveillance, undermining due process, sanctioning torture were abandoned in the guise of protecting “the Homeland.” Barack Obama continued these abominations.
The chapter “A Devil’s Dictionary” shows how words were used to confuse and sway citizens. “Elites” became pejorative and possibly un-American even though Bush and Romney went to Harvard and/or Yale. Free-market is an “economic system by which Halliburton gets sole-source, cost-plus government contracts.” “Global Warming” is called a hoax even as we are experiencing major weather changes and almost all reputable scientists acknowledge it. “Sharia law” is a fundamentalist religious doctrine forced on people. It does not include laws restricting access to legal abortions.
In his official duties, Lofgren saw how the change in tax laws (while waging two wars) created an unprecedented deficit (following a surplus in 2001) and widened the gap between the richest 1% of Americans and the remaining 99% to a never before seen division.
While acknowledging the reduced role of the traditional media (newspapers, network television news), the criticizes the media’s failure to investigate and their eagerness to give equal balance to unequal sides.
His chapter on religion details how the Fundamentalist Christian Right is trying (sometimes successfully) to turn the US into a theocracy based on their ideas. Another chapter talks about the anti-intellectual atmosphere that has developed. People vote for the person they would like to have a beer with rather than the person best able to lead.
Americans today have more access to information about the rest of the world, thanks to the internet, but are abysmally ignorant of what is going on,
President Barack Obama is severely criticized for continuing many of the programs that he complained about when Bush was president and the Democrats are so disorganized that they have been unable to change things and, in many cases, have cooperated.
He does offer some suggestions to get out of this mess including non-politically determined redistricting, public financing of elections.
The fact that Mike Lofgren was a Republican working for Republican lawmakers and seeing what was happening behind the scenes makes this book a must-read for anyone trying to figure out what has happened with our country.
Mike Lofgren worked for US Representative John Kasich, first on the House Armed Services Committee and then the House Budget Committee. In 2012, he finished his 28-years on the Hill working for Senator Judd Gregg, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Both of his bosses were Republican. He retired when “my own party, politicians became more and more intransigently dogmatic.” He didn’t think they believed what they said but were playing to “an increasingly deranged political base that does believe it.”
He examines how the GOP decided its main objective was to make Obama a one-term president. Their method was to not support any of his programs (even those they had originally suggested) on the theory that the voters would be so upset they would blame Obama for not solving the country’s problems.
He says the GOP decided it could ignore its traditional base (the educated, affluent suburban voter) and get new support by focusing on issues such as Gay Marriage and Abortion.
With statistics comparing longevity, infant mortality, income distribution, labor protection on a global scale, he sees the US getting closer to the Third World than the advanced state it has been for decades.
Lofgren details how the Republican party has changed (not for the better) since the days of Lincoln and how the Democratic party became impotent. He begins by discussing the tactics used by the Republicans. He refers to the Republican Party as “an oligarchy with a well-developed public relations strategy designed to sooth and anesthetize its followers with appeals to tradition, security, and family even as it pursues a radical agenda that would transform the country into a Dickensian corporatocraphy at home and a belligerent military empire abroad.”
After 9/11, under the administration of George W. Bush, many of our constitutional rights, such as freedom of speech, protection against government surveillance, undermining due process, sanctioning torture were abandoned in the guise of protecting “the Homeland.” Barack Obama continued these abominations.
The chapter “A Devil’s Dictionary” shows how words were used to confuse and sway citizens. “Elites” became pejorative and possibly un-American even though Bush and Romney went to Harvard and/or Yale. Free-market is an “economic system by which Halliburton gets sole-source, cost-plus government contracts.” “Global Warming” is called a hoax even as we are experiencing major weather changes and almost all reputable scientists acknowledge it. “Sharia law” is a fundamentalist religious doctrine forced on people. It does not include laws restricting access to legal abortions.
In his official duties, Lofgren saw how the change in tax laws (while waging two wars) created an unprecedented deficit (following a surplus in 2001) and widened the gap between the richest 1% of Americans and the remaining 99% to a never before seen division.
While acknowledging the reduced role of the traditional media (newspapers, network television news), the criticizes the media’s failure to investigate and their eagerness to give equal balance to unequal sides.
His chapter on religion details how the Fundamentalist Christian Right is trying (sometimes successfully) to turn the US into a theocracy based on their ideas. Another chapter talks about the anti-intellectual atmosphere that has developed. People vote for the person they would like to have a beer with rather than the person best able to lead.
Americans today have more access to information about the rest of the world, thanks to the internet, but are abysmally ignorant of what is going on,
President Barack Obama is severely criticized for continuing many of the programs that he complained about when Bush was president and the Democrats are so disorganized that they have been unable to change things and, in many cases, have cooperated.
He does offer some suggestions to get out of this mess including non-politically determined redistricting, public financing of elections.
The fact that Mike Lofgren was a Republican working for Republican lawmakers and seeing what was happening behind the scenes makes this book a must-read for anyone trying to figure out what has happened with our country.
May 26, 2015
So this is just scary. And sad that our political system has gotten to the point where we are now. We don't have elected officials. We have people bought and paid for by American corporations. Or big wigs. Who are usually associated with those corporations. OR super religious people whose beliefs don't seem to have evolved with the rest of the nation, who have huge audiences of their own, who want to keep the status quo. And the people lifted up by these influential organizations are willing to say or do whatever they need to in order to keep their power.
That's definitely a blanket statement and I think it applies mostly to a minority in the parties, but they are the most influential and outspoken members of the parties. In order to try to keep some optimism, I have to believe there are people -- maybe not the elected members themselves, but on the payroll -- who are there to really make a GOOD difference. They're not looking for accolades or power, they just see a problem and want to try to help fix it.
But even the whole process seems so freaking screwed up. When a defense bill can have a line item about abortion included, there's an issue. Two freaking polar opposite issues, but in order to pass it, someone made a concession that somehow tied defense to abortion. That kind of thing should be outlawed. As should filibustering. And redistricting.
Another thing I'd *really* love to see is a viable third party. I find it highly hypocritical that there are international Democratic and Republican organizations that cry foul when other countries' democratic elections appear to squeeze out a party's representation, but look what happened to Paul Rand at one of the debates. They would not let him in. The man was running for president, but because he wasn't Republican or Democrat, he was not welcome to debate them. It just seems like anymore I'm choosing the one I dislike least or will at least not degrade my comfort level rather than one I feel passionate will make my life better. Nobody represents ME anymore.
So anyway, the author had a lot of interesting topics and anecdotes. While the Republican party got slammed (that's what he knew best), it's not like he left the Democrats spotless. They have their hands dirty as well. And, believe it or not, he believes real change will happen with the Millenials, when the baby boomers pass. The baby boomers still have such socially conservative values, and, because of their size, they are draining the "entitlement programs" they hold so dear.
It was definitely food for thought. Lots of great information. And lots to make me scared of the immediate future, especially if the parties can't figure out how to get along and compromise.
I think I'm going to have to buy this book in DTB form. There was a lot of interesting information, and I'd like to just flip through a book and read as opposed to trying to find the right passage in audio.
Edit 5/26/15: It was pointed out that the person left out of the debates was Ron Paul, not Paul Rand. My bad.
That's definitely a blanket statement and I think it applies mostly to a minority in the parties, but they are the most influential and outspoken members of the parties. In order to try to keep some optimism, I have to believe there are people -- maybe not the elected members themselves, but on the payroll -- who are there to really make a GOOD difference. They're not looking for accolades or power, they just see a problem and want to try to help fix it.
But even the whole process seems so freaking screwed up. When a defense bill can have a line item about abortion included, there's an issue. Two freaking polar opposite issues, but in order to pass it, someone made a concession that somehow tied defense to abortion. That kind of thing should be outlawed. As should filibustering. And redistricting.
Another thing I'd *really* love to see is a viable third party. I find it highly hypocritical that there are international Democratic and Republican organizations that cry foul when other countries' democratic elections appear to squeeze out a party's representation, but look what happened to Paul Rand at one of the debates. They would not let him in. The man was running for president, but because he wasn't Republican or Democrat, he was not welcome to debate them. It just seems like anymore I'm choosing the one I dislike least or will at least not degrade my comfort level rather than one I feel passionate will make my life better. Nobody represents ME anymore.
So anyway, the author had a lot of interesting topics and anecdotes. While the Republican party got slammed (that's what he knew best), it's not like he left the Democrats spotless. They have their hands dirty as well. And, believe it or not, he believes real change will happen with the Millenials, when the baby boomers pass. The baby boomers still have such socially conservative values, and, because of their size, they are draining the "entitlement programs" they hold so dear.
It was definitely food for thought. Lots of great information. And lots to make me scared of the immediate future, especially if the parties can't figure out how to get along and compromise.
I think I'm going to have to buy this book in DTB form. There was a lot of interesting information, and I'd like to just flip through a book and read as opposed to trying to find the right passage in audio.
Edit 5/26/15: It was pointed out that the person left out of the debates was Ron Paul, not Paul Rand. My bad.
September 30, 2012
More than anything "The Party Is Over" is a very well structured, thorough, well articulated and well informed rant; by a disgruntled ex, who has left recently enough for it to be very relevant today.
Like any information from a disgruntled ex, it's accurate, caustic, scathing and pointed; and I consider it a perfect counterpoint to Deer Hunting With Jesus, a similar book about the problems with the Democrats from a couple of terms of office ago.
I was a little surprised that there wasn't a chapter on the health industry in particular, however the majority of other Republican Party tropes that tend to spring to mind are covered.
I doubt it'll convince many of the ideological far right to change their wont of doing business over the benefits of national gain; nor is it likely to teach anything new to students of the left of US politics. However if it can inspire the apathetic base of US citizens who are proud of their democracy, yet don't exercise it by voting to get out and do so; or get people whose votes are based only on unquestioned ideology to think (about the state of the ongoing economic health of the USA for example) before casting their vote, it'll be a mighty good thing to have achieved.
Like any information from a disgruntled ex, it's accurate, caustic, scathing and pointed; and I consider it a perfect counterpoint to Deer Hunting With Jesus, a similar book about the problems with the Democrats from a couple of terms of office ago.
I was a little surprised that there wasn't a chapter on the health industry in particular, however the majority of other Republican Party tropes that tend to spring to mind are covered.
I doubt it'll convince many of the ideological far right to change their wont of doing business over the benefits of national gain; nor is it likely to teach anything new to students of the left of US politics. However if it can inspire the apathetic base of US citizens who are proud of their democracy, yet don't exercise it by voting to get out and do so; or get people whose votes are based only on unquestioned ideology to think (about the state of the ongoing economic health of the USA for example) before casting their vote, it'll be a mighty good thing to have achieved.
August 13, 2012
Most concise and precise discussion of our broken political system I have read. Cuts unequivocally to the quick, and on top of that, written by a Republican insider! Exceptional indeed. An absolute "must read" for anyone who imagines himself or herself to be an informed voter.
September 27, 2012
Some of us are old enough to remember when "intelligent conservative Republican" wasn't an oxymoron. Here's a book written by that almost extinct species. A wonderful tour d'horizon about how we got where we are. While Lofgren mainly focuses on Republicans - since he'd worked on the Hill for Republicans, including 16 years as a senior analyst on the House and Senate budget committees - the Democrats don't escape unscathed. He excoriates the Obama administration for "looking forward" and refusing to investigate/prosecute those in the Bush administration who sanctioned illegal, unconstitutional actions such as torture, rendition, indefinite detention - and he points out that the Obama administration has actually continued and further institutionalized some of the egregious, illegal activities of the Bush administration.
Lofgren exposes the hypocrisy of legislators claiming to be for small government/reduced spending while they vote to further engorge the bloated Department of Defense, to give just one example. Chapters explore, inter alia, tactics, the Constitution, taxes, science, media, religion. Lofgren's conversational style makes for an easy read, but there's some real truth here - and occasionally he breaks the tension with a lovely turn-of-phrase: "The GOP's inflated rhetoric about protecting small business occasionally reaches such comic levels that one is hard-pressed to ditinguish it from satire. In September 2011, House Republicans issued a report condemning the supposedly job-killing regulations of the Obama administration. The administration had proposed a rule to restrict the trade in Burmese pythons, a huge, highly dangerous, and invasive species of snake that has been devastating wildlife in the Everglades and, should it prove adaptable to colder climates, could spread northward as far as coastal Delaware. The Republican concluded that banning a reptile that can swallon an alligator or a small childe might 'devastate a small but thriving sector of the economy' and that the rule 'has significant implications for small businesses across the United States.' Now that I think about it, I wonder whether the Republicans' pro-snake position is based on their economic philosophy, or whether it is professional courtesy toward reptiles."
Lofgren's "devil'sdictionary of contemporary American political terms" is not to be missed. Two examples: "American Exceptionalism: a doctrine whose proponents hold that by divine dispensation America is exempt from all laws governing international norms, physics, or rationality. ... rogue state: a country that violates international law by committing armed aggression, torturing prisoners, assassinating opponents, and possessing weapons of mass destruction. cf: American Exceptionalism."
And Lofgren doesn't let us citizens off the hook: shut off the reality shows, he writes, and get informed about what's happening in the world. Be able to locate Syria on a map!
Highly recommend for anyone who cares about our democracy, regardless of how you describe your politics!
Lofgren exposes the hypocrisy of legislators claiming to be for small government/reduced spending while they vote to further engorge the bloated Department of Defense, to give just one example. Chapters explore, inter alia, tactics, the Constitution, taxes, science, media, religion. Lofgren's conversational style makes for an easy read, but there's some real truth here - and occasionally he breaks the tension with a lovely turn-of-phrase: "The GOP's inflated rhetoric about protecting small business occasionally reaches such comic levels that one is hard-pressed to ditinguish it from satire. In September 2011, House Republicans issued a report condemning the supposedly job-killing regulations of the Obama administration. The administration had proposed a rule to restrict the trade in Burmese pythons, a huge, highly dangerous, and invasive species of snake that has been devastating wildlife in the Everglades and, should it prove adaptable to colder climates, could spread northward as far as coastal Delaware. The Republican concluded that banning a reptile that can swallon an alligator or a small childe might 'devastate a small but thriving sector of the economy' and that the rule 'has significant implications for small businesses across the United States.' Now that I think about it, I wonder whether the Republicans' pro-snake position is based on their economic philosophy, or whether it is professional courtesy toward reptiles."
Lofgren's "devil'sdictionary of contemporary American political terms" is not to be missed. Two examples: "American Exceptionalism: a doctrine whose proponents hold that by divine dispensation America is exempt from all laws governing international norms, physics, or rationality. ... rogue state: a country that violates international law by committing armed aggression, torturing prisoners, assassinating opponents, and possessing weapons of mass destruction. cf: American Exceptionalism."
And Lofgren doesn't let us citizens off the hook: shut off the reality shows, he writes, and get informed about what's happening in the world. Be able to locate Syria on a map!
Highly recommend for anyone who cares about our democracy, regardless of how you describe your politics!
June 16, 2014
I knew about a lot of the topics in this book, but was amazed that this is a Republican who worked on Capitol Hill for thirty years would come to the same conclusions I have about how our politicians operate. It is a shame that our government has been hijacked by big money and weak representatives who are supposed to be working to our good. Shame on us average Americans for continuing to vote them back into office and failing to demand change.
The details of the military industrial complex that Republican President Eisenhower warned us about as he left office were the most appalling. The author directs most of his "wrath" to the Republicans (his own party), but also describes how the Democrats have become weak and untrue to their supposed beliefs. He also offers solutions in the last chapter. I'm afraid the electorate will not wake up in time to save us from going down the path of destruction previous empires have followed. Let's hope we wake up soon enough to save ourselves.
The details of the military industrial complex that Republican President Eisenhower warned us about as he left office were the most appalling. The author directs most of his "wrath" to the Republicans (his own party), but also describes how the Democrats have become weak and untrue to their supposed beliefs. He also offers solutions in the last chapter. I'm afraid the electorate will not wake up in time to save us from going down the path of destruction previous empires have followed. Let's hope we wake up soon enough to save ourselves.
June 27, 2017
This was a succinct and largely accurate reflection on what is wrong with the Republican and Democratic parties today. Lofgren is justifiably frustrated with his own party, the Republicans, but rightly comments that the Democrats have nothing to offer either.
Regarding Republicans, he notes they have obstructed and become cynical about the governmental process and worship the Constitution as a sacred, immutable document while conveniently interpreting it to their ideological whims. Republicans only care about rich people, and thus lower taxes. At the same time, they have been subsumed by the religious right, ideologically extreme news media, and anti-science wings. The Republicans are overly hawkish and spend lavishly on the military, yet don't want a deficit. They are much better at messaging/marketing than Democrats, who don't actually stand for anything anyways. Even more, the Democrats often cater to corporate interests just like the Republicans.
So, what's the solution out of this mess? Lofgren proposes an extremely reasonable and apt fix, which cuts to the heart of what is wrong: money. America has become more of a plutocracy than a representative democracy. The American Dream is a facade, and people who actually make it to the top like Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, are the exception. It's even worse today than it was as Clinton and Winfrey were growing up. As money stays concentrated with the wealthy, the wealthy contribute to Congress, thereby creating a system where no one without access to thousands and millions of dollars can run an effective campaign. Lofgren wants to get rid of all this. He wants move away from private money contributions to federally funded campaigns. The endless campaign cycle, which is most onerous on U.S. House members who only have two year terms, detrimentally takes time away from actual governance, so he would also halt this practice. Third parties and independent candidates would have more equal footing to the traditional parties at the ballot box. There would be open, nonpartisan primaries where the top two finishers move onto the main election. Congressional districts would be drawn by non-partisan commissions, finally admitting that gerrymandering is a corrupt and undemocratic practice.
While the election reforms are his most robust ideas, Lofgren also suggests that antitrust laws actually be considered for enforcement, tax exempt foundations should be analyzed with more scrutiny, and American exceptionalism must cease.
Ultimately, no matter what your political leanings, Lofgren offers reasonable and thought-provoking analysis on what has happened to politics in America, and offers some hope through his frustration. He doesn't sound very Republican to me, but perhaps that is because the parties have become so polarized that we don't know what either actually stood for years ago. My only critique is that he often uses overly flowery and verbose language when simpler sentences would have sufficed.
Regarding Republicans, he notes they have obstructed and become cynical about the governmental process and worship the Constitution as a sacred, immutable document while conveniently interpreting it to their ideological whims. Republicans only care about rich people, and thus lower taxes. At the same time, they have been subsumed by the religious right, ideologically extreme news media, and anti-science wings. The Republicans are overly hawkish and spend lavishly on the military, yet don't want a deficit. They are much better at messaging/marketing than Democrats, who don't actually stand for anything anyways. Even more, the Democrats often cater to corporate interests just like the Republicans.
So, what's the solution out of this mess? Lofgren proposes an extremely reasonable and apt fix, which cuts to the heart of what is wrong: money. America has become more of a plutocracy than a representative democracy. The American Dream is a facade, and people who actually make it to the top like Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, are the exception. It's even worse today than it was as Clinton and Winfrey were growing up. As money stays concentrated with the wealthy, the wealthy contribute to Congress, thereby creating a system where no one without access to thousands and millions of dollars can run an effective campaign. Lofgren wants to get rid of all this. He wants move away from private money contributions to federally funded campaigns. The endless campaign cycle, which is most onerous on U.S. House members who only have two year terms, detrimentally takes time away from actual governance, so he would also halt this practice. Third parties and independent candidates would have more equal footing to the traditional parties at the ballot box. There would be open, nonpartisan primaries where the top two finishers move onto the main election. Congressional districts would be drawn by non-partisan commissions, finally admitting that gerrymandering is a corrupt and undemocratic practice.
While the election reforms are his most robust ideas, Lofgren also suggests that antitrust laws actually be considered for enforcement, tax exempt foundations should be analyzed with more scrutiny, and American exceptionalism must cease.
Ultimately, no matter what your political leanings, Lofgren offers reasonable and thought-provoking analysis on what has happened to politics in America, and offers some hope through his frustration. He doesn't sound very Republican to me, but perhaps that is because the parties have become so polarized that we don't know what either actually stood for years ago. My only critique is that he often uses overly flowery and verbose language when simpler sentences would have sufficed.
January 31, 2016
Mike Lofgren was deep inside the machinery of Capitol Hill for decades working for Republicans and ending up on the staff of the Senate Budget Committee before he retired in 2011 in disgust.
The Party is Over is perfectly titled. The book describes in detail how the Republicans have become captive to extremist obstructionism while the Democrats have lost all sense of purpose, both parties falling captive to money.
The chapter titles tell all: "Worshiping at the Alter of Mars" (mindless militarism), "Taxes and the Rich" (doing the bidding of the wealthy to escape taxation), "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (takeover of the Republican Party by fundamental Christianity). Each chapter takes on a problem, then goes into the detail of Lofgren's experience that makes his contention that there is a problem irrefutable. By the way, did you know that Andrews Air Force Base his three 18 hole golf courses?
Washington is corrupt and change must come. What is lacking is the dedication of the people to make that happen. For all the (successful) attempts of the Republican Party to gerrymander its way to power, along with its dedication to disenfranchising voters, we the people still retain the power to throw the rascals of both parties out and demand reform. That Elizabeth Warren is in office and the Bernie Sanders is potentially a president show that all is not dark, but the hold of wealth is powerful; able to purchase politicians and sharp minds to plan the most devious tactics.
There are many points of leverage for the powerful. This book is a listing of them. Lofgren shows how the Republicans are masters of words. They can take a good idea and destroy it by falsely labeling it for emotional appeal. Remember the "death panels"? With such tactics paralyzing the legislative process nothing changes, that is to say great wealth remains protected to do as it pleases.
Think of the drive of wealth for power as gravity. Gravity does not get tired and takes no breaks. If you are holding a potted plant, you can't get tired and let go of it or leave it mid-air to do something else because the pot will shatter on the ground. We can no more take a break from protecting democracy than we can leave the pot in mid-air.
This movie we are in has unreeled before when wealth was even more obviously in control back at the turn of the 20th century. Progressivism and Teddy Roosevelt resisted, not apologetically, but explicitly and openly. It is past time for the sequel. True to the gravity analogy, wealth has worked its way back into power. As it is, we have lonely Senators Warren and Sanders who openly call out the enemy and seek to do battle.
The Party is Over provides the ammunition needed by the public to address The Problem in all the ways it presents itself. If the public doesn't take notice and act, the book's title will come true in the broadest sense and our American democracy will be lost.
The Party is Over is perfectly titled. The book describes in detail how the Republicans have become captive to extremist obstructionism while the Democrats have lost all sense of purpose, both parties falling captive to money.
The chapter titles tell all: "Worshiping at the Alter of Mars" (mindless militarism), "Taxes and the Rich" (doing the bidding of the wealthy to escape taxation), "Give Me That Old Time Religion" (takeover of the Republican Party by fundamental Christianity). Each chapter takes on a problem, then goes into the detail of Lofgren's experience that makes his contention that there is a problem irrefutable. By the way, did you know that Andrews Air Force Base his three 18 hole golf courses?
Washington is corrupt and change must come. What is lacking is the dedication of the people to make that happen. For all the (successful) attempts of the Republican Party to gerrymander its way to power, along with its dedication to disenfranchising voters, we the people still retain the power to throw the rascals of both parties out and demand reform. That Elizabeth Warren is in office and the Bernie Sanders is potentially a president show that all is not dark, but the hold of wealth is powerful; able to purchase politicians and sharp minds to plan the most devious tactics.
There are many points of leverage for the powerful. This book is a listing of them. Lofgren shows how the Republicans are masters of words. They can take a good idea and destroy it by falsely labeling it for emotional appeal. Remember the "death panels"? With such tactics paralyzing the legislative process nothing changes, that is to say great wealth remains protected to do as it pleases.
Think of the drive of wealth for power as gravity. Gravity does not get tired and takes no breaks. If you are holding a potted plant, you can't get tired and let go of it or leave it mid-air to do something else because the pot will shatter on the ground. We can no more take a break from protecting democracy than we can leave the pot in mid-air.
This movie we are in has unreeled before when wealth was even more obviously in control back at the turn of the 20th century. Progressivism and Teddy Roosevelt resisted, not apologetically, but explicitly and openly. It is past time for the sequel. True to the gravity analogy, wealth has worked its way back into power. As it is, we have lonely Senators Warren and Sanders who openly call out the enemy and seek to do battle.
The Party is Over provides the ammunition needed by the public to address The Problem in all the ways it presents itself. If the public doesn't take notice and act, the book's title will come true in the broadest sense and our American democracy will be lost.
December 10, 2012
Want to know the personal thoughts of a Washington Insider? Lofgren was a senior GOP policy analyst privy to sensitive negotiations and classified information, having almost 30 years experience with budget and defense portfolios. In wells structured and short book, he wittily and passionately describes the somewhat shocking institutional incompetence and corruption on the hill.
The most interesting aspects of the book deal with the GOPs descent into intractable anti-intellectual partisanship, and how it facilities a previously unknown level of incompetence. The Dems come across as insipid and valueless and preferring to emulate the GOP poorly instead of redressing their worst excesses. Lofgren contents that the Dems are weak and ambivalent about government, and although they have a share of lunatics and egomaniacs, they do not have an equal share: the GOP a hopelessly incompetent apocalyptic cult replete with all the double-think and bloody-mindedness that implies.
Lofgren draws many historical parallels. It seems that human nature is timeless, and this is why history repeats itself. The present behaviour of the GOP should raise a red flag for any student of political history. Every great power consistently seems to mistake its power for virtue and double-downs on precisely the policies that cause it to fail at the time that it fails. Lofgren argues that without electoral reform, we will indeed see the myth of american exceptionalism quickly exposed.
The most interesting aspects of the book deal with the GOPs descent into intractable anti-intellectual partisanship, and how it facilities a previously unknown level of incompetence. The Dems come across as insipid and valueless and preferring to emulate the GOP poorly instead of redressing their worst excesses. Lofgren contents that the Dems are weak and ambivalent about government, and although they have a share of lunatics and egomaniacs, they do not have an equal share: the GOP a hopelessly incompetent apocalyptic cult replete with all the double-think and bloody-mindedness that implies.
Lofgren draws many historical parallels. It seems that human nature is timeless, and this is why history repeats itself. The present behaviour of the GOP should raise a red flag for any student of political history. Every great power consistently seems to mistake its power for virtue and double-downs on precisely the policies that cause it to fail at the time that it fails. Lofgren argues that without electoral reform, we will indeed see the myth of american exceptionalism quickly exposed.
Want to read
May 20, 2015A quote from his blog that got me interested: "And there was worse to come. Whether it was Rep. Joe Wilson boorishly yelling “you lie!”– unprecedented behavior during a joint meeting of Congress assembled to hear a presidential address – or the obscene carnival of Birtherism, Obama-the-secret-Muslim, death panels, and all the rest of it, the party took on a nasty, bullying, crazy edge. From my perch on the budget committee I watched with a mixture of fascination and foreboding as my party was hijacked by a new crop of opportunists and true believers hell-bent on dragging the country into their jerry-built New Jerusalem: an upside-down utopia where corporations rule, the Constitution, like science, is faith-based, and war is the first, not the last, resort in foreign policy."
http://www.mikelofgren.net/?page_id=196
http://www.mikelofgren.net/?page_id=196
May 7, 2013
This book, written by a Congressional Republican staffer, and published before the 2012 election, basically details how our system of government has derailed in the past decade. His observations can be stated in one sentence from his book: "I believe that the toxic dynamic that led to all of these ills is one, the same, and inseparable from the belligerent and avaricious mind-set that deregulated the markets, pushed the tax cuts, encouraged subprime borrowing, and botched the handling of Hurricane Katrina [and the decision to go to war]. The bedrock of this mind-set is a lack of intellectual seriousness combined with ideological rigidity, sound-bite glibness, and ethical corner cutting." (182)
Read
August 6, 2012I'm not sure what to give this one for a rating. It was a good enough book, but as I suspected, reading it made me feel very, very depressed. Did you know that according to one poll, the number of people who feel that Congress is doing a good job is lower than the number of people who would like to see America go Communist? That about sums it up right there.
September 12, 2012
I must really say that I thought the writing in this book came off more as a bitchfest by someone who has is disgruntled by something bad that happened to him in Washington. I was looking for something much more concise in its' presentation and thought it came off as pretty whiny. This is a topic that really has to be discussed, but, in my humble opinion, this author didn't make it work.
October 17, 2016
Fascinating read, and so relevant for today's political climate. As a Public Relations major, I really enjoyed that aspect of how political rhetoric can be molded by public opinion.
June 16, 2017
It's a tirade, but it's a tirade worth reading. Lofgren, a former aid to John Kasich who became a congressional budget analyst, is mad as hell at our increasingly disfunctional federal government. Democrats are feckless careerists. Republicans are cranks (and also careerists). American voters have their heads in the sand (in part because Republicans have built into American culture a sprawling ignorance machine, and because Republicans have intentionally undermined public trust in the government). And Newt Gingrich is a monstrous demogague.
Lofgren spends about 10 chapters describing the madness that has ceased the GOP. He spends one chapter arguing that the Democrats do not offer an effective alternative. The final chapter describes his policy recommendations to address the problems. The big one is to remove public money from elections--period. He argues that campaigns should be financed by relatively small pools of public money, which would only be accessible during a relatively short campaign season. He also argues that we should end gerrymandering, adopting instead objective geographic standards for drawing congressional districts.
It would have been nice if Lofgren would have spent more time elaborating on his proposed solutions, but I understand that detailed recommendations fall beyond the scope of a good tirade.
Lofgren has a BA and MA in history. It shows. This isn't a history book, but the author frequently relates current events to historical patterns and historical precedents.
The tone is biting, but not sarcastic or smug. I enjoyed clever turns of phrase like policital "buck-raking".
Lofgren spends about 10 chapters describing the madness that has ceased the GOP. He spends one chapter arguing that the Democrats do not offer an effective alternative. The final chapter describes his policy recommendations to address the problems. The big one is to remove public money from elections--period. He argues that campaigns should be financed by relatively small pools of public money, which would only be accessible during a relatively short campaign season. He also argues that we should end gerrymandering, adopting instead objective geographic standards for drawing congressional districts.
It would have been nice if Lofgren would have spent more time elaborating on his proposed solutions, but I understand that detailed recommendations fall beyond the scope of a good tirade.
Lofgren has a BA and MA in history. It shows. This isn't a history book, but the author frequently relates current events to historical patterns and historical precedents.
The tone is biting, but not sarcastic or smug. I enjoyed clever turns of phrase like policital "buck-raking".
February 16, 2025
A little outdated but written with content that was honestly ahead of its time. I wish the author would have simplified some of the concepts more, the explanations were very unnecessarily wordy. An interesting read, but one I struggled to get through.
March 13, 2017
Let's get this out of the way first: the author, Mike Lofgren, is a retired US Republican Congressional aide who spent 28 years as a staff member. But The Party is Over is not just a long rant from a disgruntled former aide or a gossipy tell-all type of book. The Party is Over is an analysis of how Washington DC - and, thus, how the government as a whole - has changed over the last several decades and the most likely factors that facilitated the change. The book is parceled out into different chapters, each of which approach a different issue (for example, A Devil's Dictionary approaches the issue of how deliberately manipulative use of language a la PR campaigns has come to shape politics, the way citizens think about political issues, and how the practice of manipulating the public has evolved over time). The overarching issue of the chapter is explained, analyzed, and usually punctuated by an especially relevant story from Lofgren's wealth of experience in Washington. Most importantly, all of Lofgren's claims about the way the world is are either common knowledge (when Lofgren talks about America's wars or the rank anti-intellectualism of Tea Partiers in a general sense, everyone who hasn't had their head buried under a rock will know what he's talking about without specific examplea being cited) or cited. Additionally, the references - at least in the Kindle edition - are linked news articles from reputable sources (such as the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Guardian, etcetera), especially for facts of game-changing importance.
I want to reiterate that The Party is Over is not one man raving against the Republican party; Democrats a lot of well deseeved criticism too. In all fairness, much of the book is dedicated to the distressing antics of the GOP, but as Lofgren himself points out in the introduction, that's because he had a front seat to the idiocies and corruption of that party. Also, one has to admit that the Republicans of the most recent generations have earned all of the criticisms to be found in this book. It serve no one to write with false balance, and that is what Lofgren did not do. By not forcing an 'equivocation' of the two parties, The Party is Over may appear biased, but it is not so. The Republicans have simply done more, and done more that Lofgren had a better view of, to be criticized for. And, make no mistake, the Democrats don't come out unscathed either. They are rightly called out by Lofgren for the criticism that they have earned as well.
Overall, The Party is Over was excellent. Some things were a bit out of date (a lot has changed on the US political field since 2012), but most of the overall theses of the chapters and the message of the book on a whole still stand. It was well worth the time I spent to practically devour and annotate the book, and I highly reccomend reading it.
I want to reiterate that The Party is Over is not one man raving against the Republican party; Democrats a lot of well deseeved criticism too. In all fairness, much of the book is dedicated to the distressing antics of the GOP, but as Lofgren himself points out in the introduction, that's because he had a front seat to the idiocies and corruption of that party. Also, one has to admit that the Republicans of the most recent generations have earned all of the criticisms to be found in this book. It serve no one to write with false balance, and that is what Lofgren did not do. By not forcing an 'equivocation' of the two parties, The Party is Over may appear biased, but it is not so. The Republicans have simply done more, and done more that Lofgren had a better view of, to be criticized for. And, make no mistake, the Democrats don't come out unscathed either. They are rightly called out by Lofgren for the criticism that they have earned as well.
Overall, The Party is Over was excellent. Some things were a bit out of date (a lot has changed on the US political field since 2012), but most of the overall theses of the chapters and the message of the book on a whole still stand. It was well worth the time I spent to practically devour and annotate the book, and I highly reccomend reading it.
April 30, 2013
Why haven't I heard more on this book? Hands down the best book on politics and government I have read in the past few months. Mr. Lofgren is a former long time congressional staff member, a Republican, and he pulls no punches to lay into both parties. He backs it with data and trends. Several other books I've read have some of the same themes but Mr. Lofgren goes deeper and explains how things got the way they have. He is an old conservative Republican. The kind that was truly conservative in the sense of fiscal responsibility and the role of government where other efforts have failed. Particularly interesting to me is the years he spent seeing budget buildups in the military. The reasoning was to keep up with the Soviet Union. Mr. Lofgren saw a presentation on the human data coming out of the soviet union and it dawned on him that the military interests were selling a false picture. I had a very similar experience the first time I stepped foot in the old soviet union. I was at an airport that looked like one you might find in rural america from the 1940's with hardly any services and having to pay to use a toilet that was basically a pipe sticking out of the ground. It was a culture shock and I remember thinking to myself, we were afraid of this? Mr. Lofgren ends the book by telling us what we can do as Americans. I'll encourage you to read those recommendations for yourself. Excellent writing.
November 22, 2013
A few people are actually starting to understand that politics is nothing about governance or, really party. It's about the "have's" can do to bridge the distance between them and the "have nots" - and, of course, to make the "have nots" pay to create that gap. Somehow the American dream was mistaken for getting all you can from your neighbors. There's an "It's a wonderful life" aspect of suckers that shockingly seems to be accepted. I still like to view it as the non-accepted view of Ayn Rand which separates people into takers and the creators. Takers insert themselves in between the creators and those that seek what creators offer.
in 2013 (when this review was written) there's a lot of talk about how the tea party has control over the republican party. This is nonsense. The republican party is what it is, and every degree on the left to right continuum plays a part in keeping the populace focused on that party. All mid to conservatives benefit from the far right. This is the same for the Democrats or any party. As long as an "us" vs. "them" mentality pervades the American election process and government, there will never be a unified US.
in 2013 (when this review was written) there's a lot of talk about how the tea party has control over the republican party. This is nonsense. The republican party is what it is, and every degree on the left to right continuum plays a part in keeping the populace focused on that party. All mid to conservatives benefit from the far right. This is the same for the Democrats or any party. As long as an "us" vs. "them" mentality pervades the American election process and government, there will never be a unified US.
Read
August 27, 2023What a bummer! The author spent decades working on capitol hill, but recently resigned partially because of the disfunction rampant in the system. He spent most of his time talking about the Republicans because that's who he worked for. Some really messed up stuff going on. The only thing he could say about the Democrats was that they didn't believe in anything anymore, and didn't have the ability to combat the Republicans on a PR level.
He spent a lot of time talking about military spending, which has gotten ridiculously out of hand. He also talks a great deal about campaign finance, and all the games that are played with taxpayer dollars. He spent very little time talking about the middle class, so this must have been added into the title just to draw people in.
This book was deeply depressing, and I wondered very much whether anything could be fixed. He did provide some beginning steps to reform campaign finance and gerrymandering issues. Now I just have to figure out if I can even do anything about it.
He spent a lot of time talking about military spending, which has gotten ridiculously out of hand. He also talks a great deal about campaign finance, and all the games that are played with taxpayer dollars. He spent very little time talking about the middle class, so this must have been added into the title just to draw people in.
This book was deeply depressing, and I wondered very much whether anything could be fixed. He did provide some beginning steps to reform campaign finance and gerrymandering issues. Now I just have to figure out if I can even do anything about it.
January 12, 2019
Mike provides a great explanation as to how the government came to be so dysfunctional, and more specifically, how the Republican party has spiraled out of control. Regardless of your political leanings, this is a book well worth the time. He doesn't go easy on either party, but as he came from the Republican camp, he has much more material from that side of the aisle.
This book was written in 2012 and it stands the test of time. When looking at the current state of politics, it is incredible how similar the situation remains and how accurate some of his predictions are (unfortunately). The final chapter is the action plan for having hope that we can pull out of this spiral, and it still applies today. He doesn't provide a 14 point plan for saving the country, but instead gives a few ways that we can legislate corruption out of our politics and lay the foundation for creating lasting, positive change.
This book was written in 2012 and it stands the test of time. When looking at the current state of politics, it is incredible how similar the situation remains and how accurate some of his predictions are (unfortunately). The final chapter is the action plan for having hope that we can pull out of this spiral, and it still applies today. He doesn't provide a 14 point plan for saving the country, but instead gives a few ways that we can legislate corruption out of our politics and lay the foundation for creating lasting, positive change.
September 28, 2012
Lofgren is a Republican staffer who started in the 80s and gradually grew disillusioned with the direction the party moved, eventually retiring and writing this book. He's very up front about this, and uses lots of anecdotes from his time on Capitol Hill in the writing. The majority of the book rips into just about every aspect of the current Republican party, with frequent asides pointing out how the Democrats aren't any better.
Underlying everything is the primary point of the book...there's too much money in politics. Whether it's superPAC contributions or defense contracts or fundraisers in Washington, the money drives everything. Lofgren's suggestion for a fix makes sense to me, but I can't see it ever being enacted since it would have to somehow make it through the very system that it's trying to fix.
Underlying everything is the primary point of the book...there's too much money in politics. Whether it's superPAC contributions or defense contracts or fundraisers in Washington, the money drives everything. Lofgren's suggestion for a fix makes sense to me, but I can't see it ever being enacted since it would have to somehow make it through the very system that it's trying to fix.
June 25, 2018
This one is more entertainment than informative thus far but then again I watch the news religiously so I know that politics is very all over the place on a good day. So I guess this would be my reaction at this point but I hope it becomes more interesting.
Update 6/21/2018: This is fun. Republicans stay away because he has the GOP pegged.
Update 6/24/18: Finishing this today. Still more entertainment than informative but it has The GOP pegged perfectly. The author clearly needs a tv show ASAP.
Final Review Wow! This is just a ride and a half of a read. Or as my family would say, "This guy has an ax to grind and the facts to back it up." Just a shame he wasn't a better writer.
Update 6/21/2018: This is fun. Republicans stay away because he has the GOP pegged.
Update 6/24/18: Finishing this today. Still more entertainment than informative but it has The GOP pegged perfectly. The author clearly needs a tv show ASAP.
Final Review Wow! This is just a ride and a half of a read. Or as my family would say, "This guy has an ax to grind and the facts to back it up." Just a shame he wasn't a better writer.
December 13, 2018
This was fine. Clearly this guy is disgusted with our political system as it stands today (or in 2012 when he wrote this) as are most Americans. He summarized and simplified the US political developments of the last 20 years and repeatedly says that, and sometimes describes how, we Americans are letting ourselves be bamboozled by our government. Primarily his budget complaints focused on military waste and how being opposed to such spending is somehow seen as unpatriotic, when really, a government that can't or won't fund vital government services for its people or respect its own laws is the bigger threat to our existence. Takes aim at all of the outsourcing in the Gov't/military as the waste that it is. Makes the case that anti-conservative media is a myth. All relatively solid points I think. Makes me want to learn more from an scholarly perspective.
September 29, 2012
This is from a guy that knows. In particular I like his description of one President whose goal was medical insurance and a living wage for all. The current bunch would not recognize Richard Nixon. Or, how about President Eisenhower investing in education and building highways. And, his now unheeded warnings of the military industrial complex. With the current Party Of No, it's good to do as Deep Throat suggested Woodstein do: Follow The Money. Who stands to gain from a Romney/Ryan victory? The Koch Brothers and other billionaires. This is a good book, very revealing, and will likely (sadly) go unread by much of The Limbaugh Fanclub.
May 27, 2017
A Must Book For Truly Concerned and Intelligent Citizens
A great book that should be required reading for all citizens that need to know how our system of representative government became so corrupt and dysfunctional. Mr Lofgren's account of the corruption of both parties by the moneyed interest, over a span of several decades, should be a wakeup call for all Americans. His recommendations for fixing the system, difficult as it may be in the present political environment, are clearly in the minds of many concerned American when the topic is spoken in political conversations. It's time to do more than just converse.
A great book that should be required reading for all citizens that need to know how our system of representative government became so corrupt and dysfunctional. Mr Lofgren's account of the corruption of both parties by the moneyed interest, over a span of several decades, should be a wakeup call for all Americans. His recommendations for fixing the system, difficult as it may be in the present political environment, are clearly in the minds of many concerned American when the topic is spoken in political conversations. It's time to do more than just converse.
March 1, 2013
How did this piece of crap get on my to-read list?
A repetition of all the same cliches about how nuts the Republicans are, and how what is wrong with Democrats is how much like the Republicans they've become. And, of course, the #1 evil in American politics is corporate money. Everything would be fixed if we'd just take away the First Amendment right to spend money trying to influence the political process.
A repetition of all the same cliches about how nuts the Republicans are, and how what is wrong with Democrats is how much like the Republicans they've become. And, of course, the #1 evil in American politics is corporate money. Everything would be fixed if we'd just take away the First Amendment right to spend money trying to influence the political process.
Read
September 7, 2012Written by a GOP insider of 30 yrs who threw up his hands and walked away after the debt ceiling debate and the obstructionism of his party. I was interested in reading a very rational GOP pt of view since that is very hard to find these days.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews