The Destructionists Audiobook By Dana Milbank cover art

The Destructionists

The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party

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The Destructionists

By: Dana Milbank
Narrated by: Dana Milbank
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NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A scalding history of twenty-five years of Republican attempts to hold on to political power by any means necessary, by a hugely popular Washington Post political columnist

"A thorough and scathing account of how the Republican Party fell prey to Trumpism."—The New York Times Book Review

In 1994, more than 300 Republicans under the command of obstructionist and rabble-rouser Congressman Newt Gingrich stood outside the U.S. Capitol to sign the Contract with America and put bipartisanship on notice. Twenty-five years later, on January 6, 2021, a bloodthirsty mob incited by President Trump invaded the Capitol.

Dana Milbank sees a clear line from the Contract with America to the coup attempt. In the quarter century in between, Americans have witnessed the crackup of the party of Lincoln and Reagan, to its current iteration as a haven for white supremacists, political violence, conspiracy theories and authoritarianism.

Following the questionable careers of party heavyweights Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, and Rudy Giuliani, and those of many lesser known lowlights, Milbank recounts the shocking lengths the Republican Party has gone to to maintain its grip on the American people.

©2022 Dana Milbank (P)2022 Random House Audio Americas Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government United States

Critic reviews

"A thorough and scathing account of how the Republican Party fell prey to Trumpism."—The New York Times Book Review

"[Milbank] has well-honed edge as a commentator...[his] fans will not go away disappointed."—NPR

"Milbank compresses every awful political occurrence of the past quarter century into a page-turner that is both difficult to stomach and hard to put down."—Foreign Affairs
Comprehensive Historical Analysis • Insightful Political Commentary • Excellent Narration • Chronological Clarity
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This is a good review to show how bad or improper actions will have serious consequences in following years. This book explains when bad politicians are allowed a platform then later there are more difficult challenges to the core of democracy. This book should become a film documentary for a wider audience to understand who are/were our elected officials.

A good review to answer how we got here

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This mandatory reading for all those who want to understand how we got to the politics of hate. I am 74 years old. I lived through all the sign post Milbank covers. I really needed someone to connect the dots for me…he did just that. I am greatly indebted to him!

Connecting the Dots

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Meticulously researched, this will anger, horrify, and terrify you. A "must" read. Please read it before you vote.

Meticulous

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Nothing new in Dana's book, but it provides a great summary of where we are as a nation. It's a cold bucket of water on the head to hear such a point by point review of where the GOP is today.

Great Summary

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This book pulled everything out of my memory and put it together to make it make sense.

Incredible

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No scoops, just a terrific and authoritative overview of how one political party let morality and country take a backseat to power - and succeeded, at a great cost. Those who most need to absorb and embrace this book’s message, unfortunately, will not.

How we got into this mess

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The Destructionists should be required reading for any citizen who cherishes our democracy and wants to understand the very real threats to same that exist.

Democracy in Peril

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The hypocracies of the Rs is well-detatiled through concrete examples of their spineless "leaders." Truth be known, they have succumbed to one man. Well done.

It is real.

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This is an excellent dissection of the corpse that is the later Republican Party - I was a lot more oblivious back in the 1970s and 80s, but even so, I could sense that something wasn’t right.

Little did I realize how “not right” things were, but when I got interested in the Civil War (50+ books later) the parallels between the 1850s and now were patently obvious. The incomprehensible, twisted, bigoted mindset that basically tanked any hope for a “United States” has been there since well before that war, and the deliberate dumbing down of the citizenry over decades has created a malleable populace of sheep easily led over the cliff.

This is Germany in the 1930s all over again, and it’s appalling.

Illuminating & terrifying

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Great book to listen to and I got a lot of "Wow, I forgot about that" moments. Few statements in this book can be seen as assumptious but far to many are based on facts that the accused said or did publicly. All in all, it's a book that really makes you think about the future of this great country.

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