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From Clients to Crooks: An Insider Reveals the Real Washington D.C.
Leslie Sorrell’s had success in growing a start-up to a successful and influential political consulting firm. This has transformed her understanding of the real world of politics– the one the media fails to cover. It’s a world none of us want to believe in, Leslie included. Challenging a Congressman in a primary election race violates the political insider code, but Leslie did it anyway. Before that campaign ended, she would find herself stripped of every ideal she had ever had about politics. It wasn’t long before she realized that the real losers in American politics are the American people. The first step in taking our country back is knowing the truth.
- GenresNonfiction
254 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2017
17 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Sorrell
1 book5 followersLeslie Sorrell’s had success in growing a start-up to a successful and influential political consulting firm. This has transformed her understanding of the real world of politics—the one the media fails to cover. It’s a world none of us want to believe in – Leslie included.
Challenging a Congressman in a primary election race violates the political insider code, but Leslie did it anyway. Before that campaign ended, she would find herself stripped of every ideal she had ever had about politics. It wasn’t long before she realized that the real losers in American politics are the American people.
The first step is in taking our country back is knowing the truth.
Challenging a Congressman in a primary election race violates the political insider code, but Leslie did it anyway. Before that campaign ended, she would find herself stripped of every ideal she had ever had about politics. It wasn’t long before she realized that the real losers in American politics are the American people.
The first step is in taking our country back is knowing the truth.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2020
When it comes to politics, Leslie Sorrell demonstrates the truth of the saying, “It’s all about the Benjamins”. Our intrepid author first came to D.C. with dreams of being a spokesperson for the beef industry (her parents operated a feed lot). She didn’t make the cut, but was fascinated by the Washington milieu. She became a congressional staffer and, in time, the operator of a political consultancy. Or in other words, a fund raiser.
Raising cash is at the heart of the American political system. Sorrell worked for Republicans, but I’m sure it’s the same for those across the aisle. The author writes that she wanted to promote the “good guys”, meaning personally decent candidates who were mainstream GOPers. Think Mitt Romney: standard conservatives who emphasize economics over social issues (although Sorrell winds up being disappointed with Romney). The most amusing chapter in the book describes her brief involvement with Ron and Rand Paul, candidates she strongly disliked (especially Ron). Her interaction with Ron Paul’s supporters was a classic clash of cultures.
The heart of the book is her account of managing Grant Stinchfield’s primary challenge to incumbent Kenny Marchant, whom she had previously, and unhappily, worked for. She gives a good account of the problems challengers face. Politicians don’t play fair when their seats are at stake, and incumbents will always rally around one of their own.
Leslie Sorrell comes across as a likeable person who was better than the business she was in. Still, she does remind me somewhat of an adult version of the character Tracy Flick from the film Election.
I took one star off my rating because this book is in desperate need of a good proofreader. Either that or the Kindle version is playing havoc with the print.
Raising cash is at the heart of the American political system. Sorrell worked for Republicans, but I’m sure it’s the same for those across the aisle. The author writes that she wanted to promote the “good guys”, meaning personally decent candidates who were mainstream GOPers. Think Mitt Romney: standard conservatives who emphasize economics over social issues (although Sorrell winds up being disappointed with Romney). The most amusing chapter in the book describes her brief involvement with Ron and Rand Paul, candidates she strongly disliked (especially Ron). Her interaction with Ron Paul’s supporters was a classic clash of cultures.
The heart of the book is her account of managing Grant Stinchfield’s primary challenge to incumbent Kenny Marchant, whom she had previously, and unhappily, worked for. She gives a good account of the problems challengers face. Politicians don’t play fair when their seats are at stake, and incumbents will always rally around one of their own.
Leslie Sorrell comes across as a likeable person who was better than the business she was in. Still, she does remind me somewhat of an adult version of the character Tracy Flick from the film Election.
I took one star off my rating because this book is in desperate need of a good proofreader. Either that or the Kindle version is playing havoc with the print.
October 21, 2017
Leslie Sorrell has presented a folksy, yet cynical tale of her rise through the Washington and Texas political scene. With humor she recounts her ascent in terms of both clients and positions, using the particulars of each assignment to point out lessons she learned along the way. She exposes the childish, petty shenanigans of many of our political elite. If knowledge is power, then this book might help us regain ours in the voting booth.
November 7, 2017
This book tells a compelling story of the swamp that is D.C., to use the current cliché. The story clearly portrays how good people with good intentions can get sucked into the power, which power tends to corrupt, and get mired down by the bureaucracy that D.C. is. Sorrell's experiences demonstrate how much work voters and citizens have to do in order to correct the corruption of D.C. and restore the federal government to its proper role.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews