The Destructionists

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

By: Dana Milbank

Narrated by: Dana Milbank

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

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

A good review to answer how we got here

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.

Connecting the Dots

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!

Meticulous

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

Great Summary

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.

Incredible

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

Best history/analysis of GOP’s weaponization of hatred and division

I’ve listened to a lot of books about the GOP and Trumpism, and this is the best. It rejects the GOP as passive victims of Trump voters’ authentic rage, and instead shows that Trump and Trumpism are intentionally created weapons against democracy. Their silence about the evils of this era isn’t just negligent. For some, it’s just reckless failure to act when action is obviously required to prevent massive collateral damage. But for many, notably McConnell, it’s intentional. Trump is the GOP’s bomb, and destruction of democracy is the intended target, and sometimes it causes collateral damage to people the GOP values.

well written and how very true

Best book on the unfortunate state of the Republican party and hence the resultant state of our democracy. Should be required reading for all but the ones who need to read it the most won't.

Democracy is still in danger!

This is a very insightful book which reminds people when the absence of truth started for the Republican lawmakers. Newt Gingrich had a key role in presenting a false narrative wherever he went.

Trump took it to an entirely different level and may still do damage. McConnell and his cronies should be ashamed of themselves, but they aren't.

God help us in 2024.

very informative

I definitely liked the reader. very well done cleared up some of my questions.

A scary but true story!

Liked it all. Gives me great concern for the future of the U.S. and our democracy,