It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump

Oh man this book is fantastic. Of course its a bit of confirmation bias on my part. I grew up in a Republican household in a conservative community but have never been able to square the contradictions and hypocrisy that Ive seen in the party over the years. I usually dont bother with books that rail against Donald Trump. His flaws are so obvious that theres no point in wasting my time. But this book is different because its written by a conservative who obviously cares about the direction of the Republican party. He pulls back the curtain and shows how Republican strategy has been leading towards Donald Trump since the 1960s. Of course a similar book could be written about the Democratic party but thats not what youre going to find here. Its not a book about how much better the Democrats are than the Republicans, just an honest look at how the GOP has lost its way. If you are a fan of Donald Trump and the current direction of the party you arent going to appreciate this book but if you are a conservative who feels like youve lost your party than its worth listening to.

While libraries of books will be written in an effort to understand how and why the US elected to its highest office a man without morality, character, or intellect, I have been more interested in understanding how an entire political party collapsed in just a few months. Trump has turned his back on literally every single tenet of conservatism, and his Congressional supporters hold him so close it\’s impossible to tell where one starts and another ends. Stevens provides an unsparing \’autopsy\’ of the party he helped to build. He flinches neither from his own role nor the utter pessimism with which he views the future of the party. In fact, he concludes that there is no longer a Republican party…a party without ideas, integrity, or policy is simply a cult. The pain Stevens feels in painstakingly tracing the fault lines of the GOP is palpable, as is his final conclusion: all the values and principles touted by Republican leaders were a lie, a facade to hide naked power grabs, and to maintain wealth and privilege. Indeed, he concludes that even the most baseline level of decency is utterly absent throughout the GOP, with the possible exceptions of Larry Hogan and Charlie Baker. In my opinion, whatever the result of the 2020 elections, time will prove the eternal accuracy of Rick Wilson\’s infamous prediction: \”Everything Trump Touches Dies\”.

The author spent decades electing Republicans as an internal operative and consultant. He lays bare the demise of the Republican Party. The book is chock-full of examples that Republicans can\’t ignore, and the rest of the country needs to understand. He explains how cheating, racism, and playing on fears he got multiple Republican candidates elected to all levels of government. Basically, \”…five decades of hypocrisy and self-delusional.\” He also works expose the lies perpetrated the anti-science conservative media, and how they, like the republican party, have had to rely on conspiracy theories and alternative facts to stay in power. He shows how Republicans are not interested in fiscal responsibility and have been the party of the rich, systematically marginalizing non-white voters. He explains how Trump rose to power and how he will try to stay in power by cheating, from slowing down mail delivery, to even putting Kanye West on the ballot. That\’s right, Trump\’s attorneys are adding a black secondary presidential candidate, in order like Nixon did in the south, to pull voters away from the Democratic candidate. A must-read for anybody that wants to see the truth elegantly laid out in an entertaining read.

Didnt know who Stuart Stevens was until today. Very glad to have been introduced to him now!

This author clarifies the reason behind the Republican party\’s madness. Winning at the expense of anything good has become their mantra. Be prepared to grit your teeth.

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