The Impostors, Steve Benen

The Impostors: How Republicans quit governing and seized American politics by Steve Benen is a book that was reviewed in Washington Monthly.

Started: 8/10/2020

Completed: 8/12/2020

Recommendation: Recommended

Recommended By: The Washington Monthly

Review:

I watched Democrats repeatedly try to negotiate with Republicans and have the negotiations go nowhere.  It seemed like Democrats would make concessions to Republicans and then Republicans would vote against the bill anyway.  This book documents exactly how that happens.  The Republicans were not negotiating in good faith.  They were simply trying to undermine as much as possible legislation that they could not stop.  I had come to the conclusion that it was pointless to negotiate with Republicans and that Democrats just needed to do the right thing and pass the best legislation that they could craft.  This book goes to great lengths to explain why that is the right course of action.  It also explains one of my favorite phrases, "facts have a liberal bias."  Republicans simply do not care about the facts and build a fantasy version of the world against which they can rail.

It should be noted that this is a very left book.  There is no effort to curb adjectives or offer anything seemingly like "both sides."  That is fine, this is a book that is intent on describing how the Republican party has abandoned governing.  As such it demonstrates that point.  All the sources are strong left, because the book appeals to a left audience who finds those sources appealing.  Is this THE definitive book on Republicans in the Trump era, no.  It is, however, a collection of very strong arguments and a coherent narrative and that is refreshing.