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Insurgency: How the Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted
How did the party of Lincoln become the party of Trump? From a Washington reporter for The New York Times comes the definitive story of the mutiny that shattered American politics.
Jeremy Peters's epic narrative of the fracture and collapse of the Republican Party chronicles the once-in-a-lifetime self-destruction of a major political party through the dark and powerful forces that it wrought. Peters turns his incisive gaze toward the people whose shifting core ideas over the last twenty years have fundamentally changed the meaning of what it is to be a Republican. How, he asks, did the Republican Party cease to be the party of small government and fiscal responsibility and morph into a home for nativists, far-right social conservatives, and others whose views were traditionally relegated to the fringes?
The answer is a tale traced across two decades, born with the Tea Party revolution in 2009 and fueled by the shattering defeat of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. Facing an existential crossroads, many in the party believed that the only way to save it was to expand, to embrace Hispanic voters and create a coalition that could build a new Republican majority. But those powers underestimated the energy and savvy of those who would pull the party in the opposite direction, tapping into and manipulating the discontent of millions of voters whom moderates had long taken for granted. And they did not understand the complicated moral framework by which many conservatives view Trump, leading to evangelicals and one-issue voters who were willing to shed Republican orthodoxy if it meant achieving their dream of a Supreme Court that would undo Roe v. Wade.
Moving through recent history, from the Ground Zero mosque to Brett Kavanaugh, from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump, Peters unfolds the story of a revolution that was not inevitable but engineered. Its architects had little interest in the America that was emerging in the new century, but they had a deep understanding of a political and electoral system that could be manipulated to serve the iron will of a shrinking minority. And ultimately, with Trump as their polestar, their gamble paid greater dividends than they'd ever imagined, extending the life of far-right conservatism in United States domestic policy into the next half century.
Jeremy Peters's epic narrative of the fracture and collapse of the Republican Party chronicles the once-in-a-lifetime self-destruction of a major political party through the dark and powerful forces that it wrought. Peters turns his incisive gaze toward the people whose shifting core ideas over the last twenty years have fundamentally changed the meaning of what it is to be a Republican. How, he asks, did the Republican Party cease to be the party of small government and fiscal responsibility and morph into a home for nativists, far-right social conservatives, and others whose views were traditionally relegated to the fringes?
The answer is a tale traced across two decades, born with the Tea Party revolution in 2009 and fueled by the shattering defeat of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. Facing an existential crossroads, many in the party believed that the only way to save it was to expand, to embrace Hispanic voters and create a coalition that could build a new Republican majority. But those powers underestimated the energy and savvy of those who would pull the party in the opposite direction, tapping into and manipulating the discontent of millions of voters whom moderates had long taken for granted. And they did not understand the complicated moral framework by which many conservatives view Trump, leading to evangelicals and one-issue voters who were willing to shed Republican orthodoxy if it meant achieving their dream of a Supreme Court that would undo Roe v. Wade.
Moving through recent history, from the Ground Zero mosque to Brett Kavanaugh, from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump, Peters unfolds the story of a revolution that was not inevitable but engineered. Its architects had little interest in the America that was emerging in the new century, but they had a deep understanding of a political and electoral system that could be manipulated to serve the iron will of a shrinking minority. And ultimately, with Trump as their polestar, their gamble paid greater dividends than they'd ever imagined, extending the life of far-right conservatism in United States domestic policy into the next half century.
420 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 8, 2022
216 people are currently reading
2226 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 19, 2022
This book explained so much. I could never quite relate, though how I feel naive,for not realizing how much fear and hate their was in my country. How resentful some feel about minorites and immigrants, refugees, which bought them right to first the tea party and then to Trump. How the GOP aided and abetted these feelings and used it to bring out all the ugly in so many. Palin, fox news and the move away from the conservative base that had for so long been the Republicans coda.
If anyone else is curious about how our society got to where we are now, the divisions getting side and the ugly getting louder, read this book.
If anyone else is curious about how our society got to where we are now, the divisions getting side and the ugly getting louder, read this book.
March 8, 2022
You would be mistaken if you think this book is a deep dive into the events of January 6, 2021. What it actually is, is a deep dive into the last half-century of the Republican Party and American history. It's written with great clarity and tremendously compelling arguments and examples of important moments and turning points. Mr. Peters looks at some of the events and individuals that had out-sized influence on the party's shift in direction. An example would be John McCain's reluctant choice of Sarah Palin over his first choice of Joe Lieberman as running mate. What kind of country would this be if he'd chosen the latter? There's no reason to believe his campaign against Barak Obama would have been more successful, but it's an interesting thought experiment (that, to be clear, Mr. Peters does not engage in) to imagine a world where Sarah Palin got the obscurity she so richly deserves.
This was a book that provoked all kinds of thoughts in me, such as just how deeply entrenched institutional racism is in this country, and in the Republican Party specifically. (Sorry Republicans, this is really hard to refute.) I think it's a sophisticated take on some very complex issues. It's a book I could absolutely see revisiting, and one that I highly recommend!
This was a book that provoked all kinds of thoughts in me, such as just how deeply entrenched institutional racism is in this country, and in the Republican Party specifically. (Sorry Republicans, this is really hard to refute.) I think it's a sophisticated take on some very complex issues. It's a book I could absolutely see revisiting, and one that I highly recommend!
February 8, 2022
The title of Jeremy Peters’ new book, “Insurgency: How The Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted”, basically sums up exactly what the book is about. If you’ve reached this point in time without knowing how you get here, Peters’ book is for you. The NY Times reporter beautifully sums up the last 12 or so years, politics-wise.
Starting with Sarah Palin and her outsized influence on the Republican Party, Peters traces how the party went from the, say, Party of Eisenhower to the Party of Trump and the January 6th rioters. Did the Republican Party get what they wanted? I’d say they have, though many party adherents may come up for air, and wondered what it is they’ve gotten.
Jeremy Peters is a very good writer and this is good book to read if you’re craving some understanding of where we’re at and why we’re here.
Starting with Sarah Palin and her outsized influence on the Republican Party, Peters traces how the party went from the, say, Party of Eisenhower to the Party of Trump and the January 6th rioters. Did the Republican Party get what they wanted? I’d say they have, though many party adherents may come up for air, and wondered what it is they’ve gotten.
Jeremy Peters is a very good writer and this is good book to read if you’re craving some understanding of where we’re at and why we’re here.
February 16, 2022
In the booming market of books that are covering the Trump Administration and January 6, I feel like this one is not going to be one of the breakthroughs and will get swept along in the mix. The reactionary title is not going to draw in those who have opposing views and doesn't give a clear idea from the blurb. Once you delve in it is roughly 25 years of the angry side of the Republican party starting with Dennis Miller and Bill O'Reilly. Throughout the Bush years Fox News didn't have much of a place, but with the 2008 election and the rise of Sarah Palin, populism, and Roger Ailes determinism to convince people foreigners, minorities, and uppity women were out to destroy the American way of life and religion, it found its place. The anger led to Donald Trump. To me, Insurgency focuses more on the rise of how Fox and Rush Limbaugh paved the way for anger and the GOP. It's a recap of several decades of angry people and how they wanted to drag others too.
February 15, 2022
#7-16. This book is a decades long look at how the Republican Party has changed. I really enjoyed being reminded that this was a process and didn’t just start recently. DJT was a result not an anomaly.
March 9, 2022
Many people argued that Trump fundamentally changed the Republican Party, and that his politics were a departure from GOP principles. In Insurgency, Jeremy Peters shows why that's not the case. Peters argues that Trump's nomination and election were proof that the paranoid/extremist wing of the GOP had taken control from the historic Republican establishment. Although Peters uses the Palin campaign for the vice presidency as his point of origin, he acknowledges that the nativist and America-First elements of the party have roots in the Goldwater candidacy and the John Birch movement of the 1950s. This is a journalist's book, not a political scientist's analysis. It tells its story using anecdotes and quotes; it's not scholarship. Academics have already begun to study how the GOP and its politics are changing and their deeper conclusions have yet to fully emerge. But as a history of how the GOP has changed over the past 15 years -- and why Trumpism is likely to outlast Trump himself -- Peters has written an illuminating and useful book.
October 16, 2022
Excellent book about the way right wing media has contributed to the change in the Republican party over the last couple of decades that preceded the rise of Trump and his clones. Well written and discouraging, since Faux News and their imitators are in the business of telling their viewers what they already believe after reading conspiracy theories on line.
April 2, 2022
Nothing new. Waste of time.
July 31, 2022
I'm a long time political junkie and it's hard to overstate just how great this book is. It's the ultimate in "inside politics" and gives you a behind the scenes look at a 25 year buildup to the monstrosity that was and is Donald tRump. I'm old enough to remember the Pat Buchanan campaign. At the time, it was frightening but rational people took comfort in the knowledge that this was a fringe element of the Republican Party. At least it appeared to be, but behind the curtain, perhaps a different story.Who knew that 2 decades later, these lunatics would become the mainstream of one of the two major political parties in the United States. As much as I enjoyed the book, it also left me sick to my stomach as it rehashed all of the horrific moments from 2016 to January 2021. Sad to say that the country has been irreparably damaged- I know that if this monster ever assumes power again, my family, among many others, will find a new country to call home. Read the book but brace yourself.
May 14, 2022
A Review of the Audiobook
Published in February of 2022 by Random House Publishing.
Read by the author, Jeremy W. Peters.
Duration: 13 hours, 46 minutes.
Unabridged.
Sorry that this will be a herky-jerky post. It deserves a better one, but that would have to be a much longer post, perhaps 3 or 4 times longer. That would be so lengthy that no one would bother to read it.
Peters' book details how the GOP went from the party of Eisenhower and Reagan to the party of MAGA and Trump.
The old GOP advocated Free Trade, welcomed immigrants, valued the NATO alliance and wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade. The MAGA party flirts with the idea of leaving NATO, denounces Free Trade agreements, openly despises illegal immigrants and openly discusses the idea that all immigrants (legal and illegal) are being brought into the U.S. to replace white people with more compliant people of color. As Tucker Carlson, the number one cable news voice of the MAGA movement, stated in April 2021, "the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate — the voters now casting ballots — with...
Read more at: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2022...
The original blog post includes links.
Published in February of 2022 by Random House Publishing.
Read by the author, Jeremy W. Peters.
Duration: 13 hours, 46 minutes.
Unabridged.
Sorry that this will be a herky-jerky post. It deserves a better one, but that would have to be a much longer post, perhaps 3 or 4 times longer. That would be so lengthy that no one would bother to read it.
Peters' book details how the GOP went from the party of Eisenhower and Reagan to the party of MAGA and Trump.
The old GOP advocated Free Trade, welcomed immigrants, valued the NATO alliance and wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade. The MAGA party flirts with the idea of leaving NATO, denounces Free Trade agreements, openly despises illegal immigrants and openly discusses the idea that all immigrants (legal and illegal) are being brought into the U.S. to replace white people with more compliant people of color. As Tucker Carlson, the number one cable news voice of the MAGA movement, stated in April 2021, "the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate — the voters now casting ballots — with...
Read more at: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2022...
The original blog post includes links.
July 10, 2023
This book is a reminder that Trump is a symptom of the disease that the Republican Party has become. The author amazingly accounts for the process that led to the election of Trump in 2016. The long game planned by certain people on the Right is scary and honestly was ignored by so many. The fringe became the majority. What existed within some of the Right was allowed to come front and center. I recommend this book.
March 6, 2022
This book went deeper into our former president than most of the books I've previously read. It covers back in the late 1980s when he wrote his book Trump: The Art of the Deal. Many more names to deal with. The book is narrated by the author which was fine while I listened through ear buds, but not so fine when listening through my car's audio. Sometimes his baritone got so soft at the end of a sentence, I could not understand him.
May 6, 2022
I thought this book was well written and researched about the triumphs and missteps surrounding a long history of the Republican party. In recent history, it was inevitable that a figure like DJT came into power and caused a further divide. Very sobering and depressing.
I felt the historical aspect spanning centuries was good but I did not learn anything new when it came to present issues. It was just ok overall but still readable.
I felt the historical aspect spanning centuries was good but I did not learn anything new when it came to present issues. It was just ok overall but still readable.
April 2, 2022
Peters' narrative seems marketed as little more than just one more anti-Trump screed, but it is not quite that. Nor is it totally a story of the evils of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Roger Ailes, and FOX News, but they do all get their lumps. He does try to make the case that the coastal elites brought this about, but misses that boat, as well. What does come through is that populism has a tough slog ahead if it wishes to displace conservatism in politcs - and as the Democrat party seems to have abandoned them this really only applies (at least for now) to Republicans.
May 4, 2022
INSURGENCY: How Republicans Lost Their Party and… ( The war that started in Europe)
One more book in the publishing business model that is inspired by Trump’s presidency.
Fact: This book was written by the New York Times journalist Jeremy W. Peters, and released on February 8, 2022. I was not surprised that this book was declared as the “NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE”.
What would you expect?
As I pointed out in previous blogs and other book reviews, the publishing industry that was created by the presidency of Donald Trump is a bonanza to the book publishing houses. Crown and Random House publishing and its subsidiaries are still publishing “Trump Books”… Never mind that the present president is drifting daily towards involvement of The U.S. in the military adventure, in Eastern Europe, that has no end in sight.
This is a 400 pages book. It is referenced with named and unnamed, reliable and unreliable sources. Based, among other - 300 interviews as source-references. Some of the unnamed sources provided the author with “a document”.
“A document” without a title and without a named source.
In clinical sciences reports, a reference like that is labeled as “private communication”, not as scientific finding. But hey, politics and journalism are not medical sciences.
Again, the boundary between journalism and gossip reporting has fine line, often plainly invisible.
Mr. Peters learned this genre of book writing from the prolific Washington Post famed journalist Bob Woodward.
#
The book opens with an imaginary description of an unrelated event from 2008:
"Air Force One broke through the dense layer of clouds over Fairbanks on its descent into Eielson Air Force Base, a sprawling, remote outpost in the most remote state in the union."
Poetic, but hardly based on factual weather conditions during that flight.
Elsewhere other presidential journalist likes to embellish their writing with sugar frosting-like descriptive details.
This book claims to be a historical review of the Republican Party. Others will evaluate it for Republican Party related historical details. It may serve as another selective source of information for future students of the American political system as it happened in the early 2000s.
But the author can’t avoid to repeatedly getting stories linked to Trump who is, for now, the retired U.S. president.
#
And the author dislikes Trump.
So his best-selling approach is to compare Trump to Hitler.
The author brings in the famed Hitler propagandist, Helene “Leni” Reifenstahl. She directed in the 1930s the Nazi propaganda films that received worldwide attention and acclaim.
No other than the New York Times’ film critic Hal Ericson wrote:
"Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl prefers to concentrate on cheering crowds, precision marching, military bands, and Hitler's climactic speech, all orchestrated, choreographed and illuminated on a scale that makes Griffith and DeMille look like poverty-row directors". Better yet, she made the Time magazine front cover in 1936.
There is nothing more emotionally energizing in a journalist’s armamentarium than comparing someone to Hitler. And Jeremy W. Peters does it well. (Chapter 8 titled – “That’s Hitler!”).
#
The book has a big problem. This book is outdated.
It was released on February 8, 2022, yet 16 days later the sitting president, Joe Biden turned himself into a wartime president. - The war against Russia. It is a war between the U.S. and Russia where the battle ground is in Ukraine.
Trump may be involved in an insurgency. Congress is still collecting sworn testimonials. That chapter in history is still being written.
Trump is an extrovert. Trump, to his credit, proved to be a shrewd negotiator with other international leaders - friends and foes alike. It was repeatedly said on him that is unhinged. He was allegedly called a moron.
Today we are in a different era and the U.S is led by a president who appears to have demonstrable cognitive lapses while in public.
NOTE: No foreign war started during Trump’s presidency.
Little note: This book is expensive. So I borrowed a copy from my friendly public library.
www.mandylender.net www.mandylender.com www.visionofhabakkuk.com
#DonaldTrump #RepublicanParty #BetsyDeVos #ReincePriebus #BobWoodward #LeniReifenstahl #JeremyPeters #Hitler #JoeBiden #NewYorkTimes #TimeMagazine
One more book in the publishing business model that is inspired by Trump’s presidency.
Fact: This book was written by the New York Times journalist Jeremy W. Peters, and released on February 8, 2022. I was not surprised that this book was declared as the “NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE”.
What would you expect?
As I pointed out in previous blogs and other book reviews, the publishing industry that was created by the presidency of Donald Trump is a bonanza to the book publishing houses. Crown and Random House publishing and its subsidiaries are still publishing “Trump Books”… Never mind that the present president is drifting daily towards involvement of The U.S. in the military adventure, in Eastern Europe, that has no end in sight.
This is a 400 pages book. It is referenced with named and unnamed, reliable and unreliable sources. Based, among other - 300 interviews as source-references. Some of the unnamed sources provided the author with “a document”.
“A document” without a title and without a named source.
In clinical sciences reports, a reference like that is labeled as “private communication”, not as scientific finding. But hey, politics and journalism are not medical sciences.
Again, the boundary between journalism and gossip reporting has fine line, often plainly invisible.
Mr. Peters learned this genre of book writing from the prolific Washington Post famed journalist Bob Woodward.
#
The book opens with an imaginary description of an unrelated event from 2008:
"Air Force One broke through the dense layer of clouds over Fairbanks on its descent into Eielson Air Force Base, a sprawling, remote outpost in the most remote state in the union."
Poetic, but hardly based on factual weather conditions during that flight.
Elsewhere other presidential journalist likes to embellish their writing with sugar frosting-like descriptive details.
This book claims to be a historical review of the Republican Party. Others will evaluate it for Republican Party related historical details. It may serve as another selective source of information for future students of the American political system as it happened in the early 2000s.
But the author can’t avoid to repeatedly getting stories linked to Trump who is, for now, the retired U.S. president.
#
And the author dislikes Trump.
So his best-selling approach is to compare Trump to Hitler.
The author brings in the famed Hitler propagandist, Helene “Leni” Reifenstahl. She directed in the 1930s the Nazi propaganda films that received worldwide attention and acclaim.
No other than the New York Times’ film critic Hal Ericson wrote:
"Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl prefers to concentrate on cheering crowds, precision marching, military bands, and Hitler's climactic speech, all orchestrated, choreographed and illuminated on a scale that makes Griffith and DeMille look like poverty-row directors". Better yet, she made the Time magazine front cover in 1936.
There is nothing more emotionally energizing in a journalist’s armamentarium than comparing someone to Hitler. And Jeremy W. Peters does it well. (Chapter 8 titled – “That’s Hitler!”).
#
The book has a big problem. This book is outdated.
It was released on February 8, 2022, yet 16 days later the sitting president, Joe Biden turned himself into a wartime president. - The war against Russia. It is a war between the U.S. and Russia where the battle ground is in Ukraine.
Trump may be involved in an insurgency. Congress is still collecting sworn testimonials. That chapter in history is still being written.
Trump is an extrovert. Trump, to his credit, proved to be a shrewd negotiator with other international leaders - friends and foes alike. It was repeatedly said on him that is unhinged. He was allegedly called a moron.
Today we are in a different era and the U.S is led by a president who appears to have demonstrable cognitive lapses while in public.
NOTE: No foreign war started during Trump’s presidency.
Little note: This book is expensive. So I borrowed a copy from my friendly public library.
www.mandylender.net www.mandylender.com www.visionofhabakkuk.com
#DonaldTrump #RepublicanParty #BetsyDeVos #ReincePriebus #BobWoodward #LeniReifenstahl #JeremyPeters #Hitler #JoeBiden #NewYorkTimes #TimeMagazine
December 16, 2022
While many people see Donald Trump as the catalyst for change in the Republican Party, New York Times journalist Jeremy Peters traces earlier party restlessness in his book, "Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and got Everything They Ever Wanted."
By the time of the Tea Party tax revolt, the GOP was moving away from Bob Dole's and John McCain's political policies. Peters writes, "*Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in 2008, is a prototypical link bridging the transition from the populist Tea Party to the populism of the Trump era. Her 2006 victory in the Alaska governor's race served to propel her into the national spotlight as a rising star, lavishly promoted by conservative media. Despite Palin's skimpy resume, McCain took a calculated risk by naming her as second on the ticket rather than going with his original inclination to pick veteran congressman Joe Lieberman, a move that would have ineluctably incensed the GOP's conservative element. Logic dictated that Palin would balance the ticket by appealing to a new breed of young Republicans comprising the party's anti-establishment wing."
Change in the party was also being pushed by right-wing media personalities Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, who united Republicans against Democrat President Obama. "GOP articulating a more radicalized conservative voice while effectively muting the dwindling moderates in the process. Discourse and compromise, essential when considering bipartisan legislation, yielded to recalcitrance and dogma."
Soon Trump saw an opportunity to build upon his TV celebrity status and jumped on the anti-Obama bandwagon questioning his birth certificate and criticizing Muslims in this country. *While speaking to an anti-immigration audience at the 2014 New Hampshire Freedom Summit, characteristically veering off script, Donald Trump received a rousing ovation when he boasted of building a secure border fence. By 2015, with the mainstream media failing to take him seriously, Trump was gaining momentum with the radical right. His narcissistic demeanor, style over substance, and crude vernacular notwithstanding, Trump's populist message resonated with anti-establishment Republicans, witnessed by his steady bump in the polls. He demonstrated an uncanny ability to exploit his target audience's distrust of the party machine by playing the role of victim while portraying the RNC establishment as victimizers, potentially spinning the nomination to a more conventional candidate. His message was well received by traditionally Democratic-leaning unions when he drew a correlation between immigration and job loss for the American worker.
Soon, Trump became the darling of the Tea Party and others who were no longer satisfied by traditional Republican pols. Trump would face off against Hillary Clinton. When reporters would bring up his sexual exploits, Trump would discuss Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs. *The nadir of the anti-Clinton conspiracy theories was the infamously surreal Pizzagate scandal, which implicated the Clintons in a child sex ring, the illusion fabricated by Hillary's apocryphally decoded, hacked emails.
His campaign was filled with accusations and lies. When scandalous stories became public, Trump fought back. *There was a collective gasp among evangelical Christians when the Access Hollywood tape broke; however, their ultimate support for Trump was primarily predicated on the rationale that he was the lesser of two evils. Their allegiance would be rewarded, with one of their own, running mate Mike Pence, spearheading the President elects transition team and ensuring that fellow evangelicals were well represented in the newly minted Trump Administration."
Trump followed the same playback during his presidency. When caught in a lie, who would Denise ever say it or blame his favorite foe, fake news? When he lost his bid for a second term, he pushed back, challenging the accuracy of the votes.
The insurgency may have begun with a Tea Party revolt, but the result was a shakeup of the party and its beliefs beyond what most people could have imagined. It depends on Trump, his supporters, and the party's stalwarts. This book does a very good job of capturing everything that has taken to today.
By the time of the Tea Party tax revolt, the GOP was moving away from Bob Dole's and John McCain's political policies. Peters writes, "*Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in 2008, is a prototypical link bridging the transition from the populist Tea Party to the populism of the Trump era. Her 2006 victory in the Alaska governor's race served to propel her into the national spotlight as a rising star, lavishly promoted by conservative media. Despite Palin's skimpy resume, McCain took a calculated risk by naming her as second on the ticket rather than going with his original inclination to pick veteran congressman Joe Lieberman, a move that would have ineluctably incensed the GOP's conservative element. Logic dictated that Palin would balance the ticket by appealing to a new breed of young Republicans comprising the party's anti-establishment wing."
Change in the party was also being pushed by right-wing media personalities Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, who united Republicans against Democrat President Obama. "GOP articulating a more radicalized conservative voice while effectively muting the dwindling moderates in the process. Discourse and compromise, essential when considering bipartisan legislation, yielded to recalcitrance and dogma."
Soon Trump saw an opportunity to build upon his TV celebrity status and jumped on the anti-Obama bandwagon questioning his birth certificate and criticizing Muslims in this country. *While speaking to an anti-immigration audience at the 2014 New Hampshire Freedom Summit, characteristically veering off script, Donald Trump received a rousing ovation when he boasted of building a secure border fence. By 2015, with the mainstream media failing to take him seriously, Trump was gaining momentum with the radical right. His narcissistic demeanor, style over substance, and crude vernacular notwithstanding, Trump's populist message resonated with anti-establishment Republicans, witnessed by his steady bump in the polls. He demonstrated an uncanny ability to exploit his target audience's distrust of the party machine by playing the role of victim while portraying the RNC establishment as victimizers, potentially spinning the nomination to a more conventional candidate. His message was well received by traditionally Democratic-leaning unions when he drew a correlation between immigration and job loss for the American worker.
Soon, Trump became the darling of the Tea Party and others who were no longer satisfied by traditional Republican pols. Trump would face off against Hillary Clinton. When reporters would bring up his sexual exploits, Trump would discuss Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs. *The nadir of the anti-Clinton conspiracy theories was the infamously surreal Pizzagate scandal, which implicated the Clintons in a child sex ring, the illusion fabricated by Hillary's apocryphally decoded, hacked emails.
His campaign was filled with accusations and lies. When scandalous stories became public, Trump fought back. *There was a collective gasp among evangelical Christians when the Access Hollywood tape broke; however, their ultimate support for Trump was primarily predicated on the rationale that he was the lesser of two evils. Their allegiance would be rewarded, with one of their own, running mate Mike Pence, spearheading the President elects transition team and ensuring that fellow evangelicals were well represented in the newly minted Trump Administration."
Trump followed the same playback during his presidency. When caught in a lie, who would Denise ever say it or blame his favorite foe, fake news? When he lost his bid for a second term, he pushed back, challenging the accuracy of the votes.
The insurgency may have begun with a Tea Party revolt, but the result was a shakeup of the party and its beliefs beyond what most people could have imagined. It depends on Trump, his supporters, and the party's stalwarts. This book does a very good job of capturing everything that has taken to today.
March 6, 2022
Well researched.
Meticulously written.
Totally depressing.
Meticulously written.
Totally depressing.
June 14, 2022
This was a fascinating experience. I was looking for something that would take the long view (kind of a la Rick Perlstein's books, but, of course, nothing will ever be those) of the modern era of the Republican party. This book starts with Sarah Palin's rise alongside the Tea Party. Peters also did hundreds of interviews for this book, including with Donald Trump. A unique part of the audiobook is that, when applicable, the audiobook uses the actual audio of Trump talking instead of just reading a quote. I've never seen a book do that and it was pretty surprising the first time it happened. The writing style was compulsively readable/listenable with a tight story and a good ability to include a large number of key players without me wishing that I had an appendix of them all. The arc of this story is evolving, but Peters did a good job succinctly tying it all together as he and the Republicans he interviewed saw it.
January 5, 2023
I learned a lot. Never have I imagined the rift in the Republican party is so big. Never have I realized the rise of Trump and what he represented had began more than twenty years ago. Never have I realized the power of the Tea party. Never have I been so confirmed that part of the people in this country are living in a completely different reality.
Wise people say communication can resolve differences. But that depends on the two parties speaking in the same language. The situation now is that the right-wingers in the Republican party are breathing on a completely different planet, with its propaganda machine churning out fantasies left and right. How is it possible to have a conversation with them, when we don't have the same understanding of the basic facts? It's akin to arguing with flat Earthers. Nobody wins the argument, and no consensus can be reached.
With such a vast number of American people living on the fantasy planet cultivated by the right-wingers, I have no idea how the US government can move forward. It is really an us-vs-them situation. The US is divided, maybe forever divided. Are we going to have another civil war?
Wise people say communication can resolve differences. But that depends on the two parties speaking in the same language. The situation now is that the right-wingers in the Republican party are breathing on a completely different planet, with its propaganda machine churning out fantasies left and right. How is it possible to have a conversation with them, when we don't have the same understanding of the basic facts? It's akin to arguing with flat Earthers. Nobody wins the argument, and no consensus can be reached.
With such a vast number of American people living on the fantasy planet cultivated by the right-wingers, I have no idea how the US government can move forward. It is really an us-vs-them situation. The US is divided, maybe forever divided. Are we going to have another civil war?
April 20, 2022
Efficiently paced and thorough examination of the hate-mongering and conspiracy-embracing demographic of the Republican Party since the 1950s. It could almost be comedic, yet the ugly truths come with no punch lines; just a long-winded, exhausting path is laid out of endless fuzzy logic and lies. The main players who come to populate the Trump campaign are the most pathetic, as no man or woman within his pyramid of deceit, despite their tough-talking cowboy style, whether it be Sara Palin or any one of the interchangeable, frowning white males faces, show any courage in speaking up. By the election and after January 6, the lines are drawn and it's a chilling reality that, still, nearly 50% of Republicans believed their president did good. The only laugh in the book is one white male supporter crying bulbous teardrops at the end about his undying support and love for the man. Most interesting is the author detailing the elements of prejudice and USA sabotage existing in the GOP, stemming from McCarthyism and the anti-Civil Rights movement.
September 17, 2022
This book was insightful and informative. It was detailed in a way that individuals who do not follow these events closely could understand the information, while still presenting "unknown" background information for those individuals who have followed events in the US closely over the last 6 years. Easy to read and presented in a chronical context which allows the facts presented to develop along a timeline based in reality. The author goes "behind the scenes" in many instances to present more background on stories that was not fully developed in the press at the time. The author does not make conclusions about this information, he allows the persons involved to speak in their own words and leaves it to the reader to determine a final conclusion.
One of the best books I have head on this topic.
One of the best books I have head on this topic.
May 4, 2022
A pretty comprehensive look at how the GOP was consumed by autocrats and totalitarians, nothing new or earth-shattering, but interesting nonetheless to see the dots connected. The author posits that the turning point was Sarah Palin's elevation to a stature of which she was unworthy, and it's kind of hard to argue with that. We all knew that she was an absolute nightmare, but I don't think any of us realized just how destructive her presence and her politics would end up being. It was also interesting seeing how the Tea Party morphed from a fringe movement of wingnuts to the mainstream ideological monstrosity that right-wing politicians and their supporters now adhere to. Scary stuff.
June 16, 2022
Everyone asks how was Donald Trump able to rise through the Republican party and become so powerful and how did he attract so many voters? This book answers those questions better than most. Looking back at Republican politics for the last 25 years gives a clear overview of how the tea parties rise and fall along with voters lack of faith in politicians lead to the rise of Trump. The only downside was, I thought it would spend more time around Jan 6 but it's only mentioned in the final chapter.
August 5, 2022
Must Read
I had to stop reading several times because the severity of the truth can be overwhelming. However, this book is well-written, eye opening, and thoughtfully presents a scary analysis of our recent history and serves as a warning for our nation's political future. We cannot ignore the cult of Trumpism and the threat to our democracy. While reading recent historical events covered so well by Jeremy Peters, I realized how easily it became to be immersed in Trump World with the constant affront to basic human decency. Mr Peters, I look forward to your next book!
I had to stop reading several times because the severity of the truth can be overwhelming. However, this book is well-written, eye opening, and thoughtfully presents a scary analysis of our recent history and serves as a warning for our nation's political future. We cannot ignore the cult of Trumpism and the threat to our democracy. While reading recent historical events covered so well by Jeremy Peters, I realized how easily it became to be immersed in Trump World with the constant affront to basic human decency. Mr Peters, I look forward to your next book!
February 27, 2022
This is a chilling book about everything that led to January 6. The hardest part of this book was understanding the reasons for the evangelicals embracing Trump; truly depressing. The scariest part is the end, where Trump plots his revenge on those he feels betrayed him; truly ominous.
My only issue are the emphasis on Palen and the omission of Newt, who was much more important in the scheme of things. Overall, powerful and a plea to not slumber; democracy is still at risk.
My only issue are the emphasis on Palen and the omission of Newt, who was much more important in the scheme of things. Overall, powerful and a plea to not slumber; democracy is still at risk.
April 24, 2022
I am trying to understand how the Republican Party has changed in to the Party of Trump. This gives a picture of how that has happened. More importantly to me I get a better idea how people who I know have changed. Now I must decide how to go forward. There does not seem to be any possibility the party or the people in it will change back. This gives a pretty clear picture of now and the future so I guess I am the one who must adjust.
August 26, 2022
It's frightening how easily and how quickly a demagogue has taken hold of such a historical and longstanding political party in the US and this book goes to some lengths to explain how this has come about tracing the roots back to the start of Bill Clinton's presidential candidacy. This is the context of which we will go to when democracy dies in the US. The trajectory of this happening is looking more likely each day we see what's taking place in the US today.
February 28, 2022
A real eye opener. This nutty GOP shit has been a long time marinating. Biggest takeaway for me was just how gone Republicans are. Between 16-20 I thought this was an aberration. But nope. These people are totally convinced of their conspiracies. It’s progressives and liberals who think they can stop the Jan 6 crowd. But it’s no use. They have been building this for 40 years if not more.
April 13, 2022
A nice summary of how things have evolved to where we are in 2022. Some of the detail was interesting but not many surprises. It does provide a good coherent history of the changes that have led to a reactionary Republican party that will be with us for many years to come and might lead to the failure of the republic.
June 22, 2022
Good recent history of the Republican Party, following little known threads from Pat Buchanan through Sarah Palin to Donald Trump as the anti-establishment wing of the Party become ascendant. Helpful in understanding today's Republicans, although not so helpful in terms of how to maintain and preserve our democracy.
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