Ryan Sager

This is a pretty good look at the reasons why the Republican Party is falling apart. Some of the stuff in the book I have known about from other readings, and observation, but Sager works well to confirm some of what I knew. Though he is writing from a conservative point of view, namely as an interested party, he still is able to look at the GOP and discuss what is happening to them. The main argument of the book is that the GOP is divided between two major camps: the "leave me alone" libertarians and the fundamentalist evangelicals who strive to pretty much create a theocracy. Sager does not use the word theocracy, but in how he describes the goals of the evangelicals in terms of wanting to use government to impose their moral agenda he may as well be using the word since he pretty much defines theocracy. These two camps are tearing the party apart. The libertarians are mostly taken for granted (the ones who have not left the party), and the evangelicals have pretty much hijacked the party, as illustrated by G.W. Bush's administration.

Though the book was written two years before the 2008 election, a lot of it feels very prophetic. Reading it now, knowing how certain events turned out, gives you an appreciation of how the GOP has pretty much allowed itself to be hijacked, and worse, how that party now pretty much exists to hold on to power by any means necessary. That is a point made in the book as well, and Republicans, true Republicans, should be concerned that the party they thought was about small government, less taxes, and more free enterprise is now the party of even more government, more taxes, more wars of choice, and less free enterprise for the sake of imposing a religious agenda that most of the country does not want. Because at the end of the day, most people are closer to the "leave me alone" philosophy.

Personally, I have no love for the GOP. And especially after the last 8 years, watching them self-destruct is kind of a pleasure; they had it coming. But I have no love for the Democrats either, who seem bent on just playing dead and pandering as well to their interest. Politicians in the end. This book was interesting because it looks at the GOP over time. I found the historical overviews particularly interesting as a someone who likes to study history. And I see once again that it is necessary to study history to avoid mistakes, something the GOP clearly is not doing now. Republicans probably should read this book (or read it again if they have not done so recently). But the other side also should look it over, just to know what is going on. This provides a pretty good explanation, though not the total answer, of why the GOP is acting as it is now. Some of their obstructionism these days becomes clear once you understand where they come from; it does not make it right, but you get an idea of how this has been building over time.
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