The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule

The audio CD of “The Wrecking Crew” is handled by Oliver Wyman, who after a few hours begins to sound eerily similar to Casey Kasem. I’ve read a couple of books labored over by Thomas Frank (“Commodify Your Dissent” and “One Market Under God”), and find that he is erudite, crisply efficient, and relentlessly adversarial with respect to the fetishization of markets as moral instruments. For those who are familiar with the machinations of self-styled “free market capitalists,” there isn’t a great deal in this book that will surprise; however, it does an excellent job of categorizing and delineating the nature and scope of modern Conservatism. It is a one-sided argument, which by no means lessens its merit – it is show more incumbent upon the opposition, after all, to mount a defense. While I agree with the central point of the book (i.e., that doctrinaire Conservatism seeks to dismantle government bureaucracy in league with the business lobby), Mr. Frank does a regrettably inadequate job of addressing inevitable counter-arguments. For example, non-Libertarian Conservatives are known for their support of some government bureaucracies (i.e., military, police, utilities, commerce, and infrastructure); a more robust explanation of why this “Constitutionalist” worldview is intellectually bankrupt seemed wanting.

On the whole, however, I found that the central premises of the book would be perfectly acceptable to many Conservatives… which is perhaps the most frightening aspect of the whole story. To the hardcore ‘Winger,’ Jack Abramoff was man who’s criminality was entirely separate from the good work he did as a foot soldier for the Republican Party. This isn’t a book about hating Conservative governance; it’s a book about understanding it. show less

What's the Matter with Kansas is one of my all-time favorite political books and helped explain my own political sojourn and how I look at modern conservatism. The Wrecking Crew is the logical successor to that book and it explains, as the subtitle suggests, how conservatives rule.

And they don't rule all that pretty. Conservatives have a basic mistrust of government in all its forms and have gone to great lengths since Reagan to make government unworkable. How? Through a series of deregulation, suppression of civil service salaries, privatizing government services and the like. None of this sound especially new, but in Franks hands, the entire endeavor takes on an intellectual clarity and made me think about conservatism in a new show more way.

The evolution from the competent civil service of years ago to "Brownie's" FEMA is bewildering, but Thomas Frank deftly explains this depressing event in all its absurdity. One of the later chapters of the book looks at life in the American possession of Saipan -- a self-described free marketeer's dream. The island is rife with social stratification, exploitation, prostitution, corporate media, and the like. Frank offers it up as a sort-of Tom Delay utopia and it ought to give us all pause. As we sit in the midst of what may be an earth-shattering economic upheaval, we ought to be very careful how much trust we place in the hands of the god of the free market. show less

Excellent analysis of the long period of Republican misrule. Frank convincingly argues that the GOP doesn't want government to work, thus they purposefully defund it and staff the bureucracy with rank incompetents. Instead of serving the public good (something that doesn't exist according to GOP ideology), the government exists to be a pinata to enrich conservatives and corporations. Frank poignantly contrasts the current corrupt regime with New Deal Washington. Frank goes off on a few too many Cold War detours but his thesis is correct and compelling. And Frank writes with a puckish sense of humor, something lacking in all too many left wing writings.

This guy is my favorite political writer! (Not that I read a a lot of them, but that's besides the point). He takes on the "Conservatives" no-holds barred. A thorough examination of what makes them tick and suggestions for ways to suppress this "demonic" ideology.You will probably find yourself sick to your stomach for most of the ride but the world will look somewhat different when you are arrive at the finish line, maybe not brighter but definitely clearer. An absolute must read. Of course, right-wingers need not apply.

I don't usually spend a lot of time on 'political' books; either I agree with them, in which case they're a waste of time, or I think they're wrong-headed, in which case they're a waste of time.

In "What's the Matter With Kansas" Frank put his finger on a phenomenon that needed explaining; in his follow-up, he's done a wonderful job analyzing what's gone wrong with the postwar 'liberal' consensus.

This is a terrific read, and I recommend it highly.

Thomas Frank's book describes how conservatives are deliberately working to wreck the US government in order to achieve their ideological aims. He describes techniques like defunding of programs they do not like and appointing the least competent people to run agencies that they hate. The book essentially ends with the financial crash of 2008 but the techniques described can also be seen in the Trump administration.

The book is mostly condemning of the GOP conservative movement. It's not a book I recommend, unless anyone needs a reminder the politics is a dirty game. The author makes the point that kick-backs and bribes are natural consequences of conservative beliefs, given that conservatives favor smaller government, if government is seen as a corrupt institution, people won't favor growth in government. But while the author's examples may well be true, it's also true that a writer of an opposite political perspective could write a comparable book about liberal leaning crooks in government. Another point he raises is that simply "throwing the bums out" may not be enough for an election day policy, since the lobbies have grown to be so powerful show more that no matter who takes office. Unfortunately, we seem to be locked into a cycle in which the system appears to perpetuate itself. show less