Trainwreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too Soon)

by Bill Press

Overview

One of America’s best-known progressive commentators reveals that, far from betraying conservative ideals, George W. Bush’s administration has behaved exactly as anyone would expect of a group that believes government is evil and always doomed to failure. Bill Press demonstrates that conservative positions have remained consistently wrong, and that, from its inception, the movement was dedicated to tearing things down, not building them up. Trainwreck will convince you that the conservative movement has remained on track for decades—and that, from the beginning, those tracks were headed for disaster.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470182406
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.46(w) x 9.36(h) x 1.05(d)

About the Author

Bill Press is the host of XM and Sirius Radio's Bill Press Show, which is also syndicated in many cities across the country, and writes a syndicated column for Tribune Media Services. Formerly the host of CNN's Crossfire, Press has written several books, including Spin This!, Bush Must Go, and How the Republicans Stole Christmas.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

PART ONE.

Chapter One: Loving the Great Outdoors.

Chapter Two: Restoring Honor and Dignity to Government.

PART TWO.

Chapter Three: Making Americans Safer.

Chapter Four: A Safeguard Against Tyranny.

Chapter Five: Avoiding Pointless Foreign Adventures.

PART THREE.

Chapter Six: Cutting Waste, Fraud and Abuse.

Chapter Seven: The Party of Fiscal Responsibility.

Chapter Eight: Less Power to Washington.

Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

* In a domestic cooptation of the neocon “End of History” thesis, talk radio host Press (Spin This!) argues that conservatism's record of failure should condemn it to a subordinate place in American politics—it can survive to check “the excess of the majority,” argues Press, but must never again be allowed to govern. For Press (who unfurls a dishonor roll of scandals, policy failures, corporate toadying, double standards and outright criminality), this betrayal of public trust has meant the betrayal of conservatism's own purported principles. Thus, citing the conservative “canon” of the mid-century right-wing intellectual Russell Kirk, and even Barry Goldwater, Press lambastes Bush, Cheney and other Republicans for turning away from the ideals of small government and limited executive power. Likewise, on the environment, conservatism was formerly synonymous with conservation, notes Press, pointing to early Republican leadership on this score from Teddy Roosevelt to California state senator and “environmental pioneer” Peter Behr. These contradictions rarely come as revelations—indeed the bulk of this narrative will be familiar to anyone paying even passing attention to the news—but by presenting all this material together, Press creates a serviceable election-year handbook for voters, particularly the Democratic opposition. (Apr.) (Publishers Weekly, January 28, 2008)

From the Publisher

In a domestic cooptation of the neocon "End of History" thesis, talk radio host Press (Spin This!) argues that conservatism's record of failure should condemn it to a subordinate place in American politics-it can survive to check "the excess of the majority," argues Press, but must never again be allowed to govern. For Press (who unfurls a dishonor roll of scandals, policy failures, corporate toadying, double standards and outright criminality), this betrayal of public trust has meant the betrayal of conservatism's own purported principles. Thus, citing the conservative "canon" of the mid-century right-wing intellectual Russell Kirk, and even Barry Goldwater, Press lambastes Bush, Cheney and other Republicans for turning away from the ideals of small government and limited executive power. Likewise, on the environment, conservatism was formerly synonymous with conservation, notes Press, pointing to early Republican leadership on this score from Teddy Roosevelt to California state senator and "environmental pioneer" Peter Behr. These contradictions rarely come as revelations-indeed the bulk of this narrative will be familiar to anyone paying even passing attention to the news-but by presenting all this material together, Press creates a serviceable election-year handbook for voters, particularly the Democratic opposition. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly