From the author of Why Americans Hate Politics, the New York Times bestselling and "notably fair-minded" (The New York Times Book Review), story of the GOP's fracturing--from the 1964 Goldwater takeover to the Trump spectacle. Why the Right Went Wrong offers an "up to the moment" (The Christian Science Monitor) historical view of the right since the 1960s. Its core contention is that American conservatism and the Republican Party took a wrong turn when they adopted Barry Goldwater's worldview during and after the 1964 campaign. The radicalism of today's conservatism is not the product of the Tea Party, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne writes. The Tea Partiers are the true heirs to Goldwater ideology. The purity movement did more than drive moderates out of the Republican Party--it beat back alternative definitions of conservatism.
Since 1968, no conservative administration--not Nixon not Reagan not two Bushes--could live up to the rhetoric rooted in the Goldwater movement that began to reshape American politics fifty years ago. The collapse of the Nixon presidency led to the rise of Ronald Reagan, the defeat of George H.W. Bush, to Newt Gingrich's revolution. Bush initially undertook a partial modernization, preaching "compassionate conservatism" and a "Fourth Way" to Clinton's "Third Way." Conservatives quickly defined him as an advocate of "big government" and not conservative enough on spending, immigration, education, and Medicare. A return to the true faith was the only prescription on order. The result was the Tea Party, which Dionne says, was as much a reaction to Bush as to Obama.
The state of the Republican party, controlled by the strictest base, is diminished, Dionne writes. It has become white and older in a country that is no longer that. It needs to come back to life for its own health and that of the country's, and in Why the Right Went Wrong, Dionne "expertly delineates where we are and how we got there" (Chicago Tribune)--and how to return.
About the Author :
E.J. Dionne, Jr., is a bestselling author, a syndicated columnist who appears twice weekly in The Washington Post and nearly a hundred other newspapers, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a professor at Georgetown University. His Why Americans Hate Politics won a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was a nominee for the National Book Award. He is a regular commentator on National Public Radio and on other radio and television programs. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Mary Boyle, and their three children.
Review :
on THEY ONLY LOOK DEAD
"A luminously intelligent and quietly passionate polemic that deserves to alter the terms of American political debate."-- "New York Times Book Review"
on WHY AMERICANS HATE POLITICS:
"A book destined to become a classic in American political history."-- "Newsday"
Praise for E.J. Dionne Jr.: "The best new liberal rethinkers, like Dionne . . . are fair and sophisticated about American conservatism."--David Brooks "the Weekly Standard"
"Why the Right Went Wrong is an essential read for those looking to understand how the conservative movement has become what it is today."-- "Huffington Post"
"[Dionne] remains one of the best political writers in America. . . . The book makes the case that contemporary conservativism must reverse course on a calamitous step that conservativism took 50 years ago. There are 16 persuasive chapters, brimming with good analysis in Why The Right Went Wrong, that argue to this point. This is a book with great insight, attention to detail and beautifully researched."-- "The Buffalo News"
"Dionne is right that America needs an intelligent conservative party, and the insights of this decent man who, as an award-winning journalist for The Washington Post, has unique access to politicians make wonderful reading."-- "The Washington Post"
"In Why the Right Went Wrong, one of America's most respected journalists has produced a thoroughly documented, eminently readable account of GOP conservatism up to the party's newest turn."-- "National Catholic Reporter"
"So what went wrong? The questions itself might seem provocative. The fact that Dionne is an avowedly liberal columnist for The Washington Post would redouble suspicion. Yet it would be hard to find a more sympathetic non-conservative to attempt an answer. He has covered every election since the 1970s and is liked and trusted by Republicans and Democrats....[Dionne's] is a tempered book--suffused with the kind of moderation and balance he believes Republicans desperately need."-- "Financial Times"
"Talk about perfect timing. . . . an account of the GOP's internal tension. . . . Why the Right Went Wrong is particularly interesting in its assessment of the past decade. . . . The book is up to the moment."-- "The Christian Science Monitor"
"To understand why the current conservative crackup so confounds and confuses the Republican establishment, you have to recognize that the party is facing two separate revolts taking place simultaneously: one led by Ted Cruz, the other by Donald Trump. The first is well described by E.J. Dionne in his important new book, Why the Right Went Wrong."--Fareed Zakaria "The Washington Post"
on OUR DIVIDED POLITICAL HEART "A richly researched tour of history . . . strong enough, serious enough and grounded enough to challenge those on the other side of the divide."-- "The Washington Post"
on SOULED OUT "A deeply personal and searchingly intelligent reflection on the noble history, recent travails and likely prospects of American liberalism."-- "The New York Times"
