Tim Miller (10)Besprekingen

Miller writes intelligently about the political gamesmanship and cynicism that have so divided America. He’s authoritative; he was there, and did some of the work.

The book is honest and thought-provoking. He ends by speculating that he and an old friend may never heal the rift between them, precisely because all that cynicism worked so well.

That’s a cop-out. All of us need to find a way to reverse the damage. Miller, as one of its architect, has that responsibility especially. Remorse is justified, honesty is admirable, but if you break that much glass, you really need to help clean it up.

I very much hope there’s a sequel that charts a path forward from here. A bright and committed guy like Miller is likely to have some good ideas.

Good, entertaining, depressing.

Former GOP operative, Tim Miller, describes the transition from support of Trump to leaving the party.

Best descriptions yet of why people fell for TFG and denied reality.

Interesting to see how the political machine works.

Fascinating book - a look behind the curtain of the Trumper/MAGA support staff. Informative and a bit depressing. Read like a juicy gossip magazine - audio version is great.½

The author seems to be a rare character: someone who was willing to work on behalf of sleazy politicians, but was unwilling to join the MAGA cult. This book is a memoir of sorts, and a history of sorts, an insider's analysis of why his friends and colleagues were unable to resist the pull of power, and found themselves losing all dignity and sense of decency in service to a madman. I found myself asking how the author, as a gay man, reasonably progressive, and seemingly a self-reflective moral person, could work as a GOP operative, against his own interests, enabling and amplifying the worst impulses of conservative extremists. It's a fascinating look behind the scenes of the high-power world of national politics. His analysis, of both himself and his party, is brutally honest and forthright, if ultimately disheartening. If you're trying to understand how the GOP was transformed from a political party to a mob of crazed berserkers intent on destroying American democracy, this book is at least part of the answer.

3.5 In reading books like these I'm trying to get a understanding of how our country came to be where it is today. A country that seems hellbent on throwing our hard won democracy away, while in the Ukraine they are fighting and dying to hold on to theirs. Tim Miller was an insider who worked on various campaigns, a challenge, a game of one upmanship, until Trump. There he drew the line and in this book he explains why he did while so many did not. People he worked with, friends who saw the threat Trump posed, but still were drawn into supporting a man many knew was unfit and a detriment to this country.

He explains them by type, uses specific names and shows how these people became complicit, many who still are. Power, self delusion,wanting to be an insider, so many reasons, so many who knew and know better. Chris Christie, Elise Stefanik and others who continue to play a game with our very lives, makes me so angry, helpless and very afraid of what will be left of our country. If those in power won't speak the truth. When the quest for power embraces the lies, runs on hate and makes the extremes the normal, where do we go from here?½