Un-Trumping America

February 1, 2020
Democrats must get it together if they hope to win in 2020 and reverse what the author sees as the anti-democratic current dominating American politics. In a natural follow-up to his bestselling Yes We (Still) Can (2018), Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama and co-host of Pod Save America, combines an unrelenting assault on Donald Trump and the GOP with outlines of a plan for Democrats to win elections and reverse the current course of the country. He begins with an analysis of how the GOP has accomplished what it has--virtually all of which he despises and derides. Among his principal villains are Fox News, the Koch brothers, Mitch McConnell, and Paul Ryan, whom he ridicules in a final section titled "Bonus Content: A Paul Ryan Rant for the People in the Back." Pfeiffer aligns the GOP with racism and with cynical appeals to white voters; he condemns gerrymandering, voter purges, and the Citizens United decision; he declares that the GOP puts winning and party above country. To remedy all this, the author offers dozens of pages of suggestions for Democrats--e.g., change the media strategy (go more for social media), diminish the role of big money in campaigns, expand voter registration and turnout, make major changes in the Senate (eliminate the filibuster), and reform the design of the Supreme Court. He ends each of the later chapters with suggestions for "What You Can Do To Help." Of course, the author realizes that none of these reforms can occur without big Democratic victories in the House, Senate, and White House. Throughout, Pfeiffer pulls no punches. He blasts Fox News for "pure partisan propaganda," labels Brett Kavanaugh "a moral travesty," and calls the National Rifle Association "one of the most evil and effective forces in politics." An admonitory and heavily--unsurprisingly--partisan book that offers gleams of hope to those feeling hopeless.

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February 1, 2020
There's an Appalachian saying, frequently applied to politicians, that "the turtle doesn't get up on the fence post by himself." Pfeiffer, former Obama staffer and one of the hosts of the popular political podcast Pod Save America, provides ample evidence of the ways Donald Trump is just such a turtle. Mostly, it involves Republicans, particularly the Freedom Caucus, billionaire campaign donors, and Mitch McConnell. But in laying out this argument, Pfeiffer also lays out the path for Democrats to save the day, not by beating Republicans at their own (dirty, he convincingly claims) game but by, like, actually doing democracy. First, rethink campaign strategy for the twenty-first century, then fight voter suppression and empower nonvoters. The next Democratic president should then work with Congress to lower the voting age, reform the Supreme Court, and grant statehood to Washington, D.C. Most important, Democrats need to drive home the message that they are the party of the people. Pfeiffer's decades of political experience means the call for change is coming from inside the system, which will leave some readers cautiously hopeful.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The popularity of Pod Save America, the upcoming presidential election, and Pfeiffer's political savvy will create the perfect storm of media attention and patron demand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)