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Take It Back: A Battle Plan for Democratic Victory
TOP TEN REASONS WHY REPUBLICANS SUCK
10. They're so incompetent they couldn't pour pee out of a boot if you wrote the instructions on the heel.
9. They lie like a rug. They lie like a dog. They lie like . . . ummm . . . a dog's rug. We mean, they just lie all the time.
8. They're a pack of crooks.
7. They are unbearably sanctimonious.
6. They have no sense of humor.
5. They're losing the war on terror.
4. They've put our economic future in Beijing's hands.
3. They steal elections.
2. Oh, yeah. They're destroying the planet, too.
1. They suck up to power.
10. They're so incompetent they couldn't pour pee out of a boot if you wrote the instructions on the heel.
9. They lie like a rug. They lie like a dog. They lie like . . . ummm . . . a dog's rug. We mean, they just lie all the time.
8. They're a pack of crooks.
7. They are unbearably sanctimonious.
6. They have no sense of humor.
5. They're losing the war on terror.
4. They've put our economic future in Beijing's hands.
3. They steal elections.
2. Oh, yeah. They're destroying the planet, too.
1. They suck up to power.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
James Carville
35 books46 followersJames Carville is an former U.S. Marine, political consultant, commentator, actor, media personality and pundit. Known as "the Ragin' Cajun," Carville gained national attention for his work as the lead strategist of the successful presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Carville was the co-host of CNN's Crossfire until its final broadcast in June 2005. Since its cancellation, he has appeared on CNN's news program, The Situation Room. As of 2006, he hosts a weekly program on XM Radio titled 60/20 Sports with Luke Russert, son of NBC's Tim Russert. He is married to Republican political consultant Mary Matalin.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 16, 2020
Back To The Future--A Better One
Written by Mandi Chestler on May 6th, 2007
Book Rating: 5/5
Take It Back charts the way back to a better future for democracy and America. Carville and Begala give practical, can-do advice on how the Democratic Party can actually win elections and get our country back on track. They present their case with wisdom, moderation and humor. The result is a book well worth the listen.
July 7, 2009
I like listening to books-on-tape in the car. This is probably because I’m getting older and can’t stand most of the music played for "kids these days" on the radio. I wouldn’t mind listening to more talk radio if I could find someone who shared my biases. Even that darn NPR is too far to the right for me with its nutty journalistic commitment to "balance." Please! You can’t "balance" the truth with a bunch of lies.
The last couple of weeks I have been making my way through a recorded version of James Carville and Paul Begala’s book, Take it Back. The idea of the book is to call Democrats on the carpet for (1) being wimps that need a backbone transplant, (2) being too darn complicated in their approach to their message, and (3) just generally being intellectually elitist in their attitudes.
That’s a message that the Dems need to be hear, but I’m having trouble getting through the book because its tone is so insufferable. It’s ironic in a way, because despite their attempts to seem all down-homey (the CD starts with some nice banjo playing), they end up being just as condescending as the wimps they’re attacking. It’s also pretty easy to call other people wimps when you don’t have much to lose. And, despite the fact that the most-used phrase in the book is, "It's simple," they end up dealing with an extremely wide array of issues that I can’t even keep track of (we’re talking five full-length CD’s).
In the end, these guys end up proving their own point and demonstrate exactly why liberals can’t make it on the talk radio circuit: They’re boring. There are a lot of ways to be boring including getting into complications and details no one can follow, not giving people a take-home sound bite, and just generally yammering on about things people don’t really care about that much. But these guys' biggest problem is they can't write or tell a joke that's worth a damn.
The "best" one I’ve heard so far: "They [the dems:] are, in our view, like the proverbial blind people examining the donkey...Hey! We're Democrats and we can't very well use an elephant analogy!"
I think if I ever run for president, a good fraction of my campaign budget is going to be used to hire Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld to write jokes for me.
The last couple of weeks I have been making my way through a recorded version of James Carville and Paul Begala’s book, Take it Back. The idea of the book is to call Democrats on the carpet for (1) being wimps that need a backbone transplant, (2) being too darn complicated in their approach to their message, and (3) just generally being intellectually elitist in their attitudes.
That’s a message that the Dems need to be hear, but I’m having trouble getting through the book because its tone is so insufferable. It’s ironic in a way, because despite their attempts to seem all down-homey (the CD starts with some nice banjo playing), they end up being just as condescending as the wimps they’re attacking. It’s also pretty easy to call other people wimps when you don’t have much to lose. And, despite the fact that the most-used phrase in the book is, "It's simple," they end up dealing with an extremely wide array of issues that I can’t even keep track of (we’re talking five full-length CD’s).
In the end, these guys end up proving their own point and demonstrate exactly why liberals can’t make it on the talk radio circuit: They’re boring. There are a lot of ways to be boring including getting into complications and details no one can follow, not giving people a take-home sound bite, and just generally yammering on about things people don’t really care about that much. But these guys' biggest problem is they can't write or tell a joke that's worth a damn.
The "best" one I’ve heard so far: "They [the dems:] are, in our view, like the proverbial blind people examining the donkey...Hey! We're Democrats and we can't very well use an elephant analogy!"
I think if I ever run for president, a good fraction of my campaign budget is going to be used to hire Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld to write jokes for me.
January 1, 2008
Got this in my Christmas stocking. I think the giver got it at the dollar store. In a nutshell - what the democrats do wrong. Should be a thicker book. And I'm a dem. Remember to vote!! Make history!
December 10, 2007
See my blog post on it:
http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...
http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...
March 3, 2009
So obvious it hurts, not that it was bad, but that others in the Dem party hadn't been doing what these guys called for.
December 21, 2010
This was a good book, even if you don't agree with Carville's point of view. He has some unique insights into American culture and the ways in which we express our views through politics.
July 18, 2013
used audiobook
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews