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donnasaur's review against another edition
4.0
This is horrifying, but not surprising. People who believe that they are conservative for their own interests should really read this, it is illuminating.
alisarae's review against another edition
4.0
After reading this book you will have serious ethical inhibitions voting for Republican candidates, so be ye warned.
Several times this quote by Louis D. Brandeis appears: "We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Out of context, this may sound like something that is super pro-socialist, but the book does a very good job of showing how true it is.
The final chapter gives a few relevant numbers regarding estimated spending during the 2016 election cycle:
- Democratic Party - $1 billion
- Republican Party - $1 billion
- Koch bros and billionaire friends (minus Trump, btw) - $889 million
Those numbers alone should make you do a double-take and question what the motivation is, because they obviously believe they will get good returns on their investment.
(note: 4/5 stars because sometimes Mayer uses language that is obviously biased and it's hard to see what her sources are... describing the expressions of people, quoting bloggers without giving specifics, etc)
Several times this quote by Louis D. Brandeis appears: "We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Out of context, this may sound like something that is super pro-socialist, but the book does a very good job of showing how true it is.
The final chapter gives a few relevant numbers regarding estimated spending during the 2016 election cycle:
- Democratic Party - $1 billion
- Republican Party - $1 billion
- Koch bros and billionaire friends (minus Trump, btw) - $889 million
Those numbers alone should make you do a double-take and question what the motivation is, because they obviously believe they will get good returns on their investment.
(note: 4/5 stars because sometimes Mayer uses language that is obviously biased and it's hard to see what her sources are... describing the expressions of people, quoting bloggers without giving specifics, etc)
janey's review against another edition
4.0
Man, sometimes I wonder whether I'm just a masochist, reading these horrifying books about the shit that goes on behind closed doors. Mayer published this in 2016, and Trump is only mentioned once or twice, but voter fraud as a right wing rallying cry is raised in a chillingly prescient section. Among other things, it is fascinating and disgusting to read her perspective on people who would come to dominate headlines during the four years after publication and to see how much they owe to the Koch network.
heidilreads's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure I can say this is a good book, it's too frustrating... But I feel slightly more aware of what has been going on and why the Democrats can't seem to get anything done.
mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
5.0
This fundamentalist coup has been in the works for 50 years. Its finally peaked and is paying dividends. And we are informed and will fight back.