The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party's Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest to Take Back the White House

by McKay Coppins

Overview

The explosive story of the Republican Party's intensely dramatic and fractious efforts to find its way back to unity and national dominance.

After the 2012 election, the GOP was in the wilderness. Lost and in disarray. And doggedly determined to do whatever it took to get back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. McKay Coppins has had unparalleled access to Republican presidential candidates, power brokers, lawmakers, and Tea Party leaders.

Based on more than 300 interviews, The Wilderness is the book that opens up the party like never before: the deep passions, larger-than-life personalities, and dagger-sharp power plays behind the scenes. In wildly colorful scenes, this exclusive look into the Republican Party at a pivotal moment in its history follows a cast of its rising stars, establishment figures, and loudmouthed insurgents — Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, and dozens of others — as they battle over the future of the party and its path to the presidency.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316327411
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

McKay Coppins is a senior political writer at BuzzFeed, covering national politics, the Republican Party, and the major figures in the conservative movement. Formerly, he was a reporter for Newsweek. Coppins was listed as one of the Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2012, included on Politico's list of 2012's "breakout reporters," and identified as a rising TV pundit in Details magazine. He lives in New York.

Table of Contents

A Note on Sourcing ix

Introduction 3

Part I Exile

Chapter 1 The Exodus 7

Chapter 2 The Biltmore Caucus 30

Chapter 3 Battle Hymn of the Bleeding Heart Conservatives 49

Chapter 4 The Coroners 66

Chapter 5 Outreach 73

Part II Prophets

Chapter 6 The Stand 95

Chapter 7 "It's Not You, It's Me" 119

Chapter 8 Daddy Issues 129

Chapter 9 The Chosen One 148

Chapter 10 All In 159

Chapter 11 Gridlock 171

Chapter 12 Seeing the Light 177

Part III Wandering

Chapter 13 Coalition Building 197

Chapter 14 Into the Fever Swamps 222

Chapter 15 Inner-City Education 234

Chapter 16 Double Bind in the Greenroom 243

Chapter 17 From Teacher's Pet to Troll 260

Part IV Promised Land

Chapter 18 Ball and Chain 277

Chapter 19 Midterms 290

Chapter 20 Shock and Awe 300

Chapter 21 Homeland Security 315

Chapter 22 The Crusade 334

Chapter 23 Donnybrook in Des Moines 344

Chapter 24 The Promised Land 352

Acknowledgments 373

Index 375

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2016
Following their defeat in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican Party began wandering a political wilderness, looking for a prophet who could lead them into the promised land in 2016. Drawing on over 300 interviews with the current GOP candidates, Coppin, senior political writer at BuzzFeed News, provides a dizzying, brilliant guide to the behind-the-scenes chaos, along with fully drawn portraits of the men and women who would be president. Jeb Bush, for example, shows a lifelong tendency to ignore the rules and use blunt force to get what he wants. Bobby Jindal transforms from a wonkish technocrat into a "Christian culture warrior and small-government absolutist." Carly Fiorina might have swapped places with Sarah Palin as the party's female candidate of choice, but must strive to avoid being seen by the party establishment as "playing the gender card." Rand Paul clashes with his father, Ron, over ideology. Donald Trump emerges as a showman, willing to speak his mind on any issue. As this book trenchantly shows, the Republican Party is still searching for a way out of the wilderness. Coppin is a superb guide for voters seeking clarity about the ideas and styles of the current Republican candidates. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

One of BuzzFeed's Best Nonfiction Books of 2015

"Coppins is a dogged reporter...and a deft storyteller....Lively and worthy reading for Americans who just can't get enough of one of the stranger major-party nomination fights in recent history."—John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle

"In summary, Coppins' book was all I hoped it would be: fun and full of previously unknown stories that shed light on these GOP hopefuls."—W. Scott Lamb, The Washington Times

"A resounding study of the 'clash of egos and personalities' that is the Republican primary scramble. And what a clash it is.... A must for politics junkies."—Kirkus Reviews

"Smart and entertaining.... Offering up one revealing, behind-the-scenes story after another, [Coppins] covers their histories — going back decades — up through the present, when their political futures remain very much up in the air.... The Wilderness is helped immensely by the fact that Coppins is such a talented researcher and compelling writer. At times his irreverence is reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson's sober and more lucid political pieces...."—Jim Swearingen, The National Book Review

"Slimebag... true garbage."—Donald Trump

"Coppins catches his subjects and their inner circles saying the darndest things....A welcome Baedeker to the personas that populate the 2016 Republican contest."—Lloyd Green, The American Conservative

"Coppins excels at personalizing the tale through the ambitions, tactics and delusions of his protagonists."—Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post

"Widely sourced and compellingly written, The Wilderness offers a rich and entertaining mix of gossip and political scheming...."—Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs

"Learning about the seminal moments in the lives of some of today's GOP stars was one of the things I enjoyed most about McKay Coppins' new book The Wilderness.... A compelling read."—Matt K. Lewis, The Daily Caller

"Coppins captures these and other personal insights with the skill and style of a more seasoned political reporter. The Wilderness is a book that goes far to break up sound-bite, Twitter-enabled political messaging to reveal what voters need to know about this collection of self-styled rogues now fracturing the Grand Old Party."—Bill Barnhart, The Chicago Tribune

"A dizzying, brilliant guide to the behind-the-scenes chaos, along with fully drawn portraits of the men and women who would be president.... As this book trenchantly shows, the Republican Party is still searching for a way out of the wilderness. Coppins is a superb guide for voters seeking clarity about the ideas and styles of the current Republican candidates."—Publishers Weekly

"A wildly entertaining yet thoughtful snapshot of the Republican Party today.... If you're currently obsessing over the 2016 election, you won't be able to put this book down."—BuzzFeed

"There was once a little boy who cried that the emperor has no clothes, causing great consternation throughout the land. McKay Coppins is his reincarnation. He brings an impish, fearless clarity to the job of beholding power in all its naked strangeness."—Walter Kirn, author of Blood Will Out

"Expansively reported... Genuinely interesting dirt for the reader who considers politics a clash less of personalities than of powerful interests."—Alex Pareene, Bookforum

"Coppins is one of the sharpest political reporters of his generation and a fine writer, too."—Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies

"A fascinating book. Wonderful stories."—Trevor Noah, The Daily Show

"The invaluable McKay Coppins — that rare political reporter who understands people of faith."—Andrew Sullivan, The Dish

"A nervous geek... not fit to tie the Donald's wingtips."—Sarah Palin

"An invaluable, enlightening, and entertaining guide to the Republican Party today."—Isaac Fitzgerald, BuzzFeed

"He's not geeky, unless that means smart.... Intrepid."—The Blaze

"An intelligent filter of campaign news and an originator of it. 'Tell me something I don't know' journalism."—Jay Rosen, New York University professor and press critic

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2016
Chronicling the intraparty struggle that has roiled Republicans since the 2012 election, Coppins interviews party leaders and playmakers, including current and former 2016 presidential contenders. Coppins views the Republican Party as in flux, having not yet found its consensus leader who could unite the party's factions. (LJ Prepub Alert, 6/8/15)

Library Journal

2015-12-08
BuzzFeed political writer Coppins turns in a resounding study of the "clash of egos and personalities" that is the Republican primary scramble. And what a clash it is. The author's ground zero is the defeat of Mitt Romney in the 2012 race, refracted through the viewpoints of the different players: Paul Ryan, "fucking livid" at his running mate's devastating 47 percent gaffe; Jeb Bush, wealthy, unambitious, and resistant to Florida Republicans' ardent wish for him to occupy the job that his "dull-witted older brother had unjustly landed"; Marco Rubio, a "youthful, dynamic, Spanish-speaking superstar just waiting to take center stage and begin rectifying Romney's failures"; and many others. The darkest horse is the ubiquitous Donald Trump, busily carving out a third party in full view of the GOP. Having crossed Trump by reporting the facts—among them, Trump's contempt for Romney, who, Trump growled, "had a really shitty plane…not presidential at all"—Coppins has a prime spot on the candidate's enemies list. He is doubtless not Rubio's favorite journalist, either; among other things, the author airs Rubio's snide boast, "I can call up a lobbyist at four in the morning, and he'll meet me anywhere with a bag of forty thousand dollars in cash." That's just one of several scoops that ought to bring this book considerable buzz. Supporters of Trump, Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Sarah Palin, and a dozen or so other players in GOP politics aren't going to like it. However, though it's pretty clear that Coppins isn't wowed by any of the slate, he seems fair-minded. A few of his subjects, including Paul Ryan and Rand Paul, emerge as more substantial and more interesting than they are generally conceived to be, even as Ryan quietly seethes over the insubstantiality of the others, some of whom emerge as much worse than one might think: think Ted Cruz. Solid reportage though without much flair; one wishes Christopher Hitchens were still around to bring these revelations to life. Still, the book is a must for politics junkies.

Kirkus Reviews