At War with Government

This book is an interesting, informative, and alarming exploration of the way that popular distrust in government has been wielded by Republican politicians to gain and maintain political power. Fried and Harris trace the origins of anti-government sentiment to the founding of the United States, writing about the government skepticism that underpinned the American revolution and the way that this skepticism manifested itself in the foundational pillars of American democracy. While Fried and Harris do quickly trace the history of this distrust through the present, the bulk of the analysis occurs from the Reagan era onward, with detailed chapters laying out the way that Republican lawmakers used their positions of power, or lack thereof, to stoke distrust in government as a way to further political objectives. Fried and Harris are clear in their argument that there is nothing inherent in the Republican party platform or principles that should make stoking government distrust inevitable. Instead, it was political actors within the Republican party who utilized often hypocritical and contradictory political opportunism to exploit some of the worst impulses of a subset of Americans for personal political gain.

In addition to writing about the ways that leaders in the Republican party harnessed distrust to advance political objectives, the authors also discuss the logical end for which skepticism in government ultimately manifests itself. Fried and Harris make the compelling argument that stoking suspicion towards the American government is a short-term solution to win elections. Over the long term, distrust not only makes it impossible to govern, but also creates a never ending feedback loop. Moderate conservatives willing to compromise are targeted and primaried out of office, but without super majorities, an absence of compromises makes it impossible to legislate and improve people's lives. Without legislation, there is little to run a campaign on other than an anti-government screed. Although mentioned a few times in passing, I think the book would have benefited from a deeper analysis of the role of right wing media in fueling the flames of distrust. In particular, an emphasis on talk radio may have added an additional explanation for the rise and spread of government suspicion given the parallel timelines of the proliferation of talk radio popularity and the Reagan era.

The book concludes with an assessment of how far the politics of distrust have taken the country. Whereas in the Clinton era, anti-government messages promoted by the right stopped the passage of comprehensive health care legislation, today, the messages of distrust promulgated by Donald Trump and the Republican Party directly contributed to an insurrection. In discussing these events, the authors are quick to point out a central argument they have been making all along: promoting government suspicion may be convenient, but those who spread it can not control it forever, serving an ultimate harm to democracy. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the state of American politics and the way that a political party in the United States government gains power by railing against the institutions it works within.

When one starts reading a book like At War With Government in the current political climate there is a suspicion that maybe this is just a reaction to the unorthodox presidency of Donald Trump. Trump as illustrated by Fried and Harris is the latest and most brazen representation of some fifty years of weaponizing a very real and growing distrust in government through a series of organizations, policies, and bending institutions they control to their advantage to secure policy and electoral victories.

Conservatives have built an brand based on opposition to domestic state action, cynicism, with more than a dash of racism. Once they have power, they defund public services and eliminate regulations. Which thus proves the very government failure they moan about. But they have to move carefully because many of their constituents use the services they most often rail against. But they can usually shift the blame for why more does not get done to things like bureaucracies and/or deep states. Whatever institutions conservatives hold will become powerful in the moment.

A lot of At War with Government is intuitive but it’s frustrating because despite the authors suggestions, how does one really fight back against a system where hatred, racism, and questionable facts have proven so fruitful to obtaining power?