Conservatives Without Conscience by John W. Dean (2006)
11 August 2006Before talking about this book, I have to preface by saying I am heavily progressive in my politics, and like other progressives I support the advancement of worker’s rights and social justice and heavily support the welfare system and anti-trust laws, which seam to be going away with this administration. Now as for this book, this is a must read in today’s day and age for anyone who is interested in politics and jut what is going on with our country and it’s leadership. That being very authoritarian and while labeled Conservative in fact shares no real belief’s with the conservative movement except being radically against anything liberal. This book would be easy to dismiss if it was by some crackpot heavily liberal writer, but is isn’t. This is a well researched and documented study of the changes in the conservative movement since he joined it in the 1960’s as an admirer of the late great Senator Barry Goldwater. And the writer John W. Dean is a staunch conservative who served as White House Counsel under Richard Nixon, and who helped break Watergate with his truthful testimony to the Senate, for which many in the new Republican party tried to destroy him and his reputation. He goes up against Social Conservatives, Neoconservatives and Authoritarians who have taken over the Republican party. This is really book that everyone on both sides of the fence should read because it really gives insight into just what is going on now and why they do what they do.
The book is fairly short at 186 pages, though going to 246 with Appendixes, Footnotes and an Index. And honestly the first part is pretty dry, but it is giving history and going into different historical studies on authoritarians and their followers. Really very much a textbook on the subject, with the second half dealing with the modern Republican Leadership and the whole Christian Conservative movement with Pat Robertson and the like and how much they are influencing modern politics.
Of particular interest to me was Gingrich’s making a majority in the House, and then Delay furthering his authoritarian ways, and making the house less and less democratic, to now it is really complete majority rule, where even dissenters in their own party are not allowed and the whole K Street Fiasco, which has never been cleared up or made better even with the whole Abramoff scandal. Interesting also to read how the democrats have really done nothing about it, not even complaining publicly, when this could be a huge issue that could really help them, as it has in the past, but they don’t want to call up “process” issues which seems idiotic if you ask me.
I highly recommend that you check this book no matter what side of the political spectrum you are on. And unlike books like those by Ann Coulter this actually has all the footnotes properly logged and he gives credit to all the scientific studies his research is based on.