The Destructionists is a wide-ranging look at the fundamental rot currently plaguing the GoP and how it developed over the last 25 years from Newt Gingrich on, written by Dana Milbank. Released 9th Aug 2022 by Doubleday, it's 416 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very well written, meticulously researched, annotated, and by turns infuriating and depressing excoriation of the Republican party as it stands in the USA. The author is a political commentator and analyst for the Washington Post. He draws a direct line, connecting the points along the way, from the ousting of house Republican minority speaker Bob Michel by Newt Gingrich and the following antagonistic and increasingly violent rhetoric which has become characteristic of American politics today.

It's impossible to read the book without becoming indignant (and/or nauseous) and outraged. I was left with an overwhelming feeling of futility and powerlessness. It's an important book, but one which the readers whose mind should be changed will ignore, and the ones who do understand the critical danger facing the USA will feel powerless to impact.

Four and a half stars. There were some repetitions in the text of the same players and the same occurrences discussed in differing contexts which felt like continual body blows and a rogues gallery of obstructionist destruction.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I received a reviewer copy of The Destructionists by Dana Milbank from the publisher Doubledays from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read another book recently about right wing extremism which didn't work as much for me. The Destructionists is a book that worked better for me and I think that if people legitimately think both parties are the same, this is a book I would hand to someone. This book provides the history of the shift of the right wing from Reagan era conservatives (I know, I know Reagan era conservatives have their problems, but alas) to the current GOP that appears to be a giant dumpster fire of a cult of Donald J. Trump.

This book follows the conservative movement of Clinton's time in the white house to the present day GOP. We get to know the Newt Gringich, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin, and of course Trump. There is a lot of interesting history here that provided quite a bit of light for me on how we got here. However, I recognize I'm younger and if you were adult aged during Clinton era/Bush era, it might be less powerful to you, This book was detailed and intriguing and really does work to build the case.

I would definitely read this book if you want to know more about how we got here. This book was well done and I highly recommend.

THE DESTRUCTIONISTS by Dana Milbank, a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, was recently published and is subtitled "The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party." Milbank traces the modern day evolution from the mid-1990s when Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House. Clearly not a fan, Milbank argues that "Republicans have become an authoritarian faction fighting democracy." He asserts that Republican leaders have "repeatedly put short-term self-interest ahead of the national interest" and illustrates this by investigating four major actors and their eras: Gingrich's savage attacks during the Clinton presidency; Karl Rove's "dishonesty" during the Bush presidency; Mitch McConnell's (and Sarah Palin's) assault during the Obama Presidency and the ongoing debacle that Trump has created. What is even more interesting is the pattern of action which Milbank documents with Republicans "hacking away at the foundations of democracy and civil society" through "their war on truth, their growing exploitation of racism and white supremacy, their sabotage of the institutions and norms of government, and their dehumanizing of opponents and stoking of violence." Kirkus' review aptly labels THE DESTRUCTIONISTS "A well-researched, dispiriting dissection of politics." Yes, Milbank devotes roughly a third of the text to notes in this disheartening chronicle. He certainly focuses on the negatives, barely mentioning Liz Cheney and making no reference to other brave Republicans like Adam Kinzinger or Rusty Bowers. The events and motives Milbank chooses to stress make reading difficult at times for anyone who values America's traditional values. Interested to learn more for yourself? The Washington Post has made an excerpt available here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/04/dana-milbank-republican-destructionists-book-excerpt/

This book explains how the destruction of the tolerant America started with Newt Gingrich. His felonious and misleading commentary on everyone from welfare recipients the Clintons ET see it’s just mine boggling. So many Republicans in the past 25 years and more have wasted time and taxpayers money. From the suicide of Vince Foster, The 200 page detailed report a bill Clintons extra marital relationship with Monica Lewinsky all the way to trumps birther complaints and the list goes on and on it waste taxpayers money and time that we could be focusing on things that really matter, but because some white people are so intimidated by those who are educated and not Caucasian they make up lies and distractions so that the people cannot see who is really the better candidate and thanks to mob mentality and those of lower intellect that cannot think for their self the problem persist and it’s all covered in The Destructionist by Dana Milbanks. Let’s hope we don’t need a more updated version of this book in 25 more years. This truly made me sad to read and when I read about the black senators and the disrespect they received walking in to tax funded building wanting to do the work for the people. This is sad in a national embarrassment and if you’re not embarrassed then you’re part of the problem. I highly recommend this book and it should be mandatory reading for college students. I was given this book by net galley and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Thank you Doubleday and Netgalley for sharing this non-fiction title with me. As you might expect, the book was maddening to me, reminding me of all the discord that I have lived through (Newt Gingrich started his rise when I was in my late 20s). So many things I had forgotten about over the years, causing my blood pressure to spike anew. Up until halfway through the book, I thought it was a definite 5 star read. It in the latter half, I began to tire of hearing the same examples repeated. Believe me there are plenty of examples and many of them support more than one of the areas Milbank has divided the book into. But that fact alone really diluted those 4 areas he chose to address, to the point that I could no longer remember which area we were talking about. It all ran together. Overall a very good read, but brought down by the sheer repetitiveness of the lists. But if he was trying to prove a point through examples, that was definitely accomplished.