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Assault and Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women
New York Times bestselling author and FOX News contributor Katie Pavlich exposes the truth behind the real war on women—the one being waged by Democrats.
Assault and Flattery goes beyond the Democratic Party’s rhetoric and exposes its shocking and sustained assault on American women that has lasted for generations. And in some cases, the word “assault” is quite literal. Katie Pavlich thinks the Democrats have run the conversation for too long—and is out to debunk the sacred cows of the so-called Republican War on Women.
In the vein of fellow female pugilists Ann Coulter and Michele Malkin, Assault and Flattery exposes the truth about the Democratic stance toward women on every major current issue and in every liberal stronghold, including: abortion, self-defense, the myth of the women’s vote, Hollywood, academia, and more. Using original reporting and interviews, Pavlich deftly exposes the liberal heroes of the women’s movement to show us the frauds they really are—including such revered figures as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, often called the most pro-woman president in history.
Assault and Flattery is a book about women, but it’s for fathers, husbands, sons, and boyfriends, too. As Katie Pavlich explains, what the Democratic Party is doing to women, it is doing to us all. By segregating us by gender, they’re harming our future.
Assault and Flattery goes beyond the Democratic Party’s rhetoric and exposes its shocking and sustained assault on American women that has lasted for generations. And in some cases, the word “assault” is quite literal. Katie Pavlich thinks the Democrats have run the conversation for too long—and is out to debunk the sacred cows of the so-called Republican War on Women.
In the vein of fellow female pugilists Ann Coulter and Michele Malkin, Assault and Flattery exposes the truth about the Democratic stance toward women on every major current issue and in every liberal stronghold, including: abortion, self-defense, the myth of the women’s vote, Hollywood, academia, and more. Using original reporting and interviews, Pavlich deftly exposes the liberal heroes of the women’s movement to show us the frauds they really are—including such revered figures as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, often called the most pro-woman president in history.
Assault and Flattery is a book about women, but it’s for fathers, husbands, sons, and boyfriends, too. As Katie Pavlich explains, what the Democratic Party is doing to women, it is doing to us all. By segregating us by gender, they’re harming our future.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 8, 2014
34 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
About the author
Katie Pavlich
7 books34 followersKatie Pavlich is the news editor for Townhall.com and a contributing editor to Townhall Magazine. She is the award winning author of the New York Times Best Seller Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up. As a reporter, she has covered topics ranging from White House scandals and the 2012 presidential election to the Second Amendment and border issues. As a Fox News contributor, Katie regularly co-hosts the daytime show Outnumbered, has filled in as a guest co-host on the The Five and as a guest host on Hannity. Katie is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in Journalism and is a former National Review Washington Fellow. Katie has shared her perspective on multiple media venues including, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox Business, in addition to a host of national and local radio shows. She is a regular speaker on college campuses across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 13, 2014
I really did not expect to like this book as much as I did. About a week ago I decided I needed to find out what the Right thought about various things which have people up in arms, since I get lots of input from the Left. I happened to stumble upon this one the day it was published and I bought it for Kindle. I would love to discuss this with others who have read it--loved it, hated it, it doesn't matter--and find out how much is actually true. I have the feeling much of it is and my blood is boiling (which, I guess, was the point). Warning: she doesn't shy away from quoting very violent verbal assaults against women.
August 30, 2015
Katie's book details the history of the Democrat Party's hypocritical view of women, debunking the assertion that the Left is "pro-women." It's a great read. Very informative.
July 1, 2019
Before the next person talks about the "Republican War on Women," he or she should be forced to shut up and read this book. Few remember that Democrats had to be led, kicking and screaming, to give women the right to vote, or that the first African-American congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin, was a Republican. From Hollywood to (especially) America's politicians, this eye-opening book documents example after example of liberals' "undeclared but highly destructive" war on women. The media is complicit in this war, silent when they should be outraged on behalf of their victims. Even worse, liberal women are often as guilty as the men. This is a difficult book to read, but only because the subject matter is enough to turn one's stomach. Well-documented and highly recommended.
August 19, 2014
I can't rate this book any higher because it is basically premised on old ideas, particularly where Pavlich assails the character of Bill Clinton, all the Kennedys', Hollywood types, and the usual list (notions that the majority of Americans have rejected at the polls). What saves the book from a lower rating is her novel perspective on how liberal poverty strategies have actually hindered the poor- particularly women- an issue shared by some of her Republican friends. Her detailed discussion of Joe and Rose Kennedy's decision to permit their daughter (Rosemary) to undergo a lobotomy is itself a sufficient indictment of their character. One of her central themes is that Hillary Clinton is so obsessed with power that she "allowed a young girl to be lied about, manipulated, persecuted so that she and her loathsome husband could hold on to power". She goes on to explain that this women couldn't possibly be thinking about women's rights and maintain this protective posture for Bill and herself. She contends that feminists overlook these misgivings mainly because the Clinton's have frequently helped legislate laws which benefit women; there is merit to these contentions but in the real world, the ends do justify the means. She doesn't explain how the Republicans (conservatives)would do any better and she fails miserably on her attempts to justify laws which would limit a woman's right to an abortion- a subject apparently very dear to her; she argues that women often regret such decisions and suffer extreme depression afterwards; again, this contention is worthy of serious discussion (and helps the rating of this book)but simply does not outweigh a woman's choice to opt for one. Moreover, her suggestion that "casual sex" can lead to depression and thoughts of suicide, and Hollywood's promotion of such practices while an important matter (depression and suicide issues), is again something that is secondary to an important right (the Hollywood matters are unfounded).Finally, when she says that "all" young women who are sex-crazed, unemployed and desperate make up the Democratic base, she loses credibility. She does have a solid point on the right to bear arms. She suggests metaphorically that Democratic men tend to "woo female voters" through the use of "false compliments" and lots of cash before moving on to the next women and then says Republican men "aren't generally speaking, sexy". She points out she is a "single women" and her book jacket features sexy photos of her. In summary, Pavlich raises some good points but mainly she is promoting a conservative agenda that has been rejected as of late. However, she advances the cause better then some.
January 2, 2015
Started reading it!Although conservatives are many times horrible misogynists,liberals are not immune from hyper partisan misogyny and the book essentially does that!The book basically lists anti woman comments/remarks/articles etc by liberals against conservative women,which is appalling and horrible,I hope no woman ever has to go through horrors of misogyny and sex based discrimination!Also women's movements need to give up double standards and try as vigorously to protect conservative women from liberal sexist attacks as much as they rightfully do for liberal women under attack!
Her narrative is sharp,direct and in your face,arguments are solid almost 80% of the times and the book is much more than sum of articles on rightwing sites like Townhall and Breitbart..She avoids hyperbole most of the times,instead all her focus is on well documented transgressions by the left and those against conservative movements..
Other cliche was at the end when she goes on a tirade about Hollywood!That part too is plain boring!It's a cliche repeated too many times on rightwing bogs and internet too..So I didn't like that part a bit!
The only part of the book that bored me to death even more is her wasting of over 30(out of 230) pages or so on Kennedys,I couldn't care less!I don't care at all and just didn't read after like 7 pages of that!!
High points include at the beginning when she lists liberal misogyny and quotes leftists mocking women,which is an excellent foundation of her premises in the book,another is how she went to a NOW convention in Chicago and found baby boomer grannies just a few dozens and how it was all painted in Marxism,also I liked the part about how feminist movement is hijacked by far left lunatics like Russia funded terrorist defending evil codepink and like minded treasonous orgs..I strictly identify as a feminist but I am more of a Phyllis Chesler feminist than CodePink feminist!
But overall it's a good book to read about the alternative pov on the war on women..I would recommend it..
Interesting book..
4 stars(lost 1 star due to Kennedys and Hollywood chapters)
Her narrative is sharp,direct and in your face,arguments are solid almost 80% of the times and the book is much more than sum of articles on rightwing sites like Townhall and Breitbart..She avoids hyperbole most of the times,instead all her focus is on well documented transgressions by the left and those against conservative movements..
Other cliche was at the end when she goes on a tirade about Hollywood!That part too is plain boring!It's a cliche repeated too many times on rightwing bogs and internet too..So I didn't like that part a bit!
The only part of the book that bored me to death even more is her wasting of over 30(out of 230) pages or so on Kennedys,I couldn't care less!I don't care at all and just didn't read after like 7 pages of that!!
High points include at the beginning when she lists liberal misogyny and quotes leftists mocking women,which is an excellent foundation of her premises in the book,another is how she went to a NOW convention in Chicago and found baby boomer grannies just a few dozens and how it was all painted in Marxism,also I liked the part about how feminist movement is hijacked by far left lunatics like Russia funded terrorist defending evil codepink and like minded treasonous orgs..I strictly identify as a feminist but I am more of a Phyllis Chesler feminist than CodePink feminist!
But overall it's a good book to read about the alternative pov on the war on women..I would recommend it..
Interesting book..
4 stars(lost 1 star due to Kennedys and Hollywood chapters)
September 17, 2014
Great book. Katie lays it all out for everyone to see the hypocrisy. This is one of those books I wish I could make people read.
July 11, 2014
Well said, sista
October 5, 2016
You need to read it. There is language but she is quoting what was actually said.
January 1, 2016
There is a fairly widespread belief on the part of many conservative thinkers and opinion-givers (as on the left, the two groups do not have complete overlap) that more liberal and progressive politicians can be just as obtuse, insulting and derogatory when dealing with women as the usual suspects on the right can be.
Townhall news editor Katie Pavlich makes that case at some length in her summer 2014 release Assault and Flattery. She argues that the political machinery of the Democratic party is not automatically pro-woman and that in fact some liberal politicians and opinion-givers support legislation that can be harmful to them. Such positions and legislation go unexamined, Pavlich says, because many women's issue groups have supported the Democratic party for so long they have become too invested with it to see the problem.
Pavlich's takeoff point for her book was probably the "War on Women" theme used effectively against many Republican politicians in the 2012 election. She was somewhat overtaken by events, though, when that same strategy fizzled in the 2014 midterm elections and the GOP retook the Senate and strengthened its lead in the House of Representatives. She notes that comedian Bill Cosby, a longtime supporter of President Barack Obama, was frequently "given a pass" on allegations of his assaults on women because of that connection. Obviously, recent events have changed that state of affairs -- Cosby is the target of a platoon of accusations and is having to struggle to repair his image.
Assault and Flattery probably could have been a good long-form magazine piece. As a book, it references many events that aren't all that far in the past and so its central premise will probably not age well. The problem may still exist -- people who want power will probably always be willing to make deals with their respective devils no matter what side of the political divide they are on. Women's issue groups will support some men who do not treat women well because when in office, they support legislation the groups want supported, just the same as Wall Street trading firms will support politicians who blast them with rhetoric as long as their voting records tip in the right direction. But Pavlich's examples will fade out of the public eye and carry much less weight than they do now.
Pavlich's subject matter and pedigree may echo that of more senior conservative women writers such as Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter, and she speaks from a definite point of view -- she is a Fox News contributor and National Review Washington Fellow, after all. But Assault and Flattery lacks the bombast and high-octane vitriol those authors place on their pages. Her questions about the issues she's discussing read more like genuine inquiry than verbal one-upsmanship, and even if she overwrites her argument more than once, her demonstrably more irenic tone makes exploring her viewpoint a lot easier, whether a reader agrees with it or not.
Original available here.
Townhall news editor Katie Pavlich makes that case at some length in her summer 2014 release Assault and Flattery. She argues that the political machinery of the Democratic party is not automatically pro-woman and that in fact some liberal politicians and opinion-givers support legislation that can be harmful to them. Such positions and legislation go unexamined, Pavlich says, because many women's issue groups have supported the Democratic party for so long they have become too invested with it to see the problem.
Pavlich's takeoff point for her book was probably the "War on Women" theme used effectively against many Republican politicians in the 2012 election. She was somewhat overtaken by events, though, when that same strategy fizzled in the 2014 midterm elections and the GOP retook the Senate and strengthened its lead in the House of Representatives. She notes that comedian Bill Cosby, a longtime supporter of President Barack Obama, was frequently "given a pass" on allegations of his assaults on women because of that connection. Obviously, recent events have changed that state of affairs -- Cosby is the target of a platoon of accusations and is having to struggle to repair his image.
Assault and Flattery probably could have been a good long-form magazine piece. As a book, it references many events that aren't all that far in the past and so its central premise will probably not age well. The problem may still exist -- people who want power will probably always be willing to make deals with their respective devils no matter what side of the political divide they are on. Women's issue groups will support some men who do not treat women well because when in office, they support legislation the groups want supported, just the same as Wall Street trading firms will support politicians who blast them with rhetoric as long as their voting records tip in the right direction. But Pavlich's examples will fade out of the public eye and carry much less weight than they do now.
Pavlich's subject matter and pedigree may echo that of more senior conservative women writers such as Michelle Malkin or Ann Coulter, and she speaks from a definite point of view -- she is a Fox News contributor and National Review Washington Fellow, after all. But Assault and Flattery lacks the bombast and high-octane vitriol those authors place on their pages. Her questions about the issues she's discussing read more like genuine inquiry than verbal one-upsmanship, and even if she overwrites her argument more than once, her demonstrably more irenic tone makes exploring her viewpoint a lot easier, whether a reader agrees with it or not.
Original available here.
February 24, 2016
Pavlich has written a compilation of rants that you might enjoy if you already share her views; if you picked up this book to consider the "other side" of women's issues in politics, you aren't going to learn much. I dropped this book after jumping around a big through her slog of hate mongering on par with that which she condemns on the left. The first segment convinced me not that the left mistreats women, but that the media certainly does (not new information). Pavlich could contend that the left controls much of the media, but, to prove that more original and interesting point, she should have done some actual research and constructed an argument rather than listing mean headlines. The only chapter I enjoyed was her diatribe against Bill Clinton, as I too feel he's a pretty sleezy dude, but this was somewhere I already had an strong opinion. Nowhere did she provide logical evidence of her stances, but instead relied on the readers to have come to conclusions themselves and provided more material for them.
October 25, 2018
She makes a lot of really good points in this book.
-When women don't toe the liberal party line they are vilified,
-Women often choose careers that pay less,
-The big bad insurance companies aren't charging women more money "because they can." Women live longer than men and over time require more care long-term.
Although this book makes all sort of valid points, I doubt anyone not already leaning conservative will read this book.
-When women don't toe the liberal party line they are vilified,
-Women often choose careers that pay less,
-The big bad insurance companies aren't charging women more money "because they can." Women live longer than men and over time require more care long-term.
Although this book makes all sort of valid points, I doubt anyone not already leaning conservative will read this book.
April 21, 2015
Katie Pavlich delivers her opinions in a clear and easy to understand way. She uses lots of data to back up what she's saying and sometimes even adds humor into the equation. This book is incredibly well written and gives a side of the political story that is rarely ever heard, but that needs to be!
March 20, 2015
I was just searching for something to read to kill time and I discovered this book. I was pleasantly entertained and got hooked. I was a bit surprised when I finally reached the last page. Didn't expect to finish it and so soon.
November 16, 2014
Good book by Katie Pavlich discussing the so called "War on Women", and who is actually waging it (and it is NOT the Republicans).
July 9, 2015
A scathing dissection of the double standard the media and the left use against conservative women and conservative ideas. Very focused and eye opening
January 26, 2016
A must read for every female of voting age.
If you are going to vote in 2016, please read this book first. It is a real eye opener and very well written.
If you are going to vote in 2016, please read this book first. It is a real eye opener and very well written.
December 24, 2014
This book is absolute garbage! The only person who might find it remotely worthwhile is someone who already agrees with the premise of the book (that Dems are worse for women than Reps) and is willing to totally suspend logic and critical thinking. The entire argument presented is nothing more than ad hominem attacks on male Dems both living and dead. This ignores the obvious logical fallacy that a few individuals personal behavior translates into a unanimous anti-woman party platforms. Interestingly, the author is still biased enough to contend that it is unfair to claim Reps numerous abuses of women are in no way a reflection of the party as a whole but were father some sort of misinterpreted gaffe.
Sprinkled throughout are bizarre abrogations in logic such as suggesting gun control is anti-woman policy citing a case of a woman who was raped despite being a black belt martial artist (suspending reason in that the woman was so overpowered physically that she could not defend herself but nevertheless could have easily pulled a gun and fired accurately at her attacker even through she was unable to even strike him).
Sprinkled throughout are bizarre abrogations in logic such as suggesting gun control is anti-woman policy citing a case of a woman who was raped despite being a black belt martial artist (suspending reason in that the woman was so overpowered physically that she could not defend herself but nevertheless could have easily pulled a gun and fired accurately at her attacker even through she was unable to even strike him).
December 12, 2015
I wish this book had focused more on how the policies of the left hurt women as opposed to rehashing all the abusive creeps on the left who feminists have never condemned. However, I don't think that was her point and she did make her point well which is that the left may talk pretty about women's rights, but really don't care how women are treated in the real world. This is my main issue with modern feminists: they care too much what your ideology is and not what you actually do for women. The argument for how gun rights is a feminist issue was interesting and new to me. I think feminism needs new voices and new ideas such as Pavlich. I don't agree with many of Pavlich's political points, but I appreciate a feminist point of view that is not just leftist ideology wearing lipstick.
September 4, 2018
The author makes a powerful case that the Democratic Party as well as NOW (National Organization for Women) are not empowering women and do not actually support feminist causes. They are corrupt organizations that seek power for powers sake and merely expect women to go along with their agenda. They are corrupt in that they “look the other way” when supporting politicians with known histories of abusing women (e.g. Bill Clinton) just to forward their anti-life (abortion on demand) and socialist (free birth control, free abortions) agenda.
April 6, 2016
What can I say? Katie Pavlich is queen.
March 22, 2016
Brought up a few good points but over all this woman is insane and has some weird hatred of people having sex, especially weird frequent sex.
March 23, 2019
Every millennial needs to read this book
December 9, 2019
I disagree with the author on quite a few things, but this was well-written and well-researched and it was interesting to read her perspective.
April 2, 2020
Katie Pavlich is a voice of reason for every person (women and men) in America who truly believes in the power and equality of females in our society. Her “raw” exposure of the blatant hypocrisy of the liberal, progressive Left serves as a wake up call to women’s issues groups who sacrifice the principles they claim to defend, and to Republicans who have a ‘surrendered the field’ to the Left and their media surrogates. Thoughtful and inspiring, Assault and Flattery is required reading.
July 20, 2021
Most political books don't age well, and this is no exception. Since this was published, the #metoo movement got going, transgenderism has taken center stage, and other events have pushed historical sexism out of focus. And many of the men described in the book are dead. Time for this volume to slide into obscurity.
September 30, 2014
Didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know, and I felt like it was written more as a "shock & awe" attempt at grossing-out the reader rather than an effort to educate and inform us why voting for a political candidate purely based on promised 'rewards', fear-mongering, sound-bites and snappy advertising is inflicting horrible damage to our country (on BOTH sides of the aisle).
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews