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How to Beat the Democrats and Other Subversive Ideas

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How To Beat The Democrats: And Other Subversive Ideas by political strategist and commentator David Horowitz is a biting, determined, severe, and unquestionably partisan political manifesto. Sharply blaming Democrats and the political left for "undermining America's security" and contributing to a climate that allowed the September 11 attacks, How To Beat The Democrats pulls neither punches nor opinions. The majority of this politically conservative book consists of harsh attacks upon the left for being "unrepentant" in its too-light treatment of accused and convicted criminals, too-lax defense policy, too-much spending, and worse. While How To Beat The Democrats presents numerous strongly worded arguments, with plenty of anecdotal illustration, it is emphatically not a "how-to" book that teaches the reader tips and techniques for winning elections against Democratic opponents. Rather, How To Beat The Democrats is a book of ideas, powerful and unrestrained. Though Horowitz's specific political assertions may be challenged and countered by opposing political views, his emotional honesty in speaking so unambiguously is beyond dispute and really quite refreshing.

David Horowitz is the Noam Chomsky of Conservatism -- yet Horowitz actually knows what he's talking about. A former 60's radical, Horowitz knows firsthand the motivations and mentality of the Left and exposes the hypocrisy and underlying Socialist/Marxist philosophy that drives the Democratic Party and Liberals in power today.

The book is mostly an expose of the failures of the Democratic Party that have caused more harm than good to the nation, but mostly to the very people Democrats claim to fight for: the poor and minorities. Horowitz goes a step further, though, and documents the ways that Republicans have and are trying to level the playing field between rich and poor and eliminate discrimination in matters of education, jobs, Social Security, etc.

Horowitz's call to arms for Republicans is simply the acknowledgement that Republicans have a tendancy to use gentleman's tactics when it comes to political warfare; something Democrats have never restrained themselves to. Horowitz challenges Republicans to fight back with the issues, arguing that confronting accusations with solid facts is key.

It's unfortunate that this book is titled "How to Beat the Democrats", because it will most likely turn a lot politically-moderate readers away before they even crack the cover. This is a book that every voter should read, whether Republican or Democrat, and draw one's own conclusions from the facts Horowitz provides to support his claims.

I spent much of my life outside the USA - altogether over 20 years, and involving 4 continents. I've yet to see one place that favorably compares with the USA, in that our country is about the ideals, ideas and inspirations of free people. We're not without fault to be sure, but FREE people - do we really realize what that means? While I was serving in Vietnam, Jane Fonda (exactly my age) was encouraging and consorting with our enemy. For the longest, I was unable to totally understand how this could happen and why some of our citizens can actively support our enemies, and apparently hate our great country and every ideal it stands for.

This book, together with Patrick Buchanan's "The Death of the West" has given me clear insight into the nonsensical and dangerous thinking of the progressive left. I learned that it is actually a movement which theorizes that "If I can control your thinking, I can reshape the world according to my philosophy and thereby make it a better place." The left's message of hope to the downtrodden is generally a lie, since leadership of the movement is actually built on the hedonistic fragrance of self aggrandizement. This idea goes all the way back to Adam and Eve's becoming enthralled by the beast's temptation to "become as Gods", to the citizens of Babel's attempt to construct their own highway to heaven, and to Karl Marx' attempt to erect heaven on earth for the world's downtrodden. Never mind that Communism has murdered over 100 million human beings during it's existence, while simultaneously the left in our country suggests we busy ourselves with such trivialities as racial profiling! Although the modern day leadership of the left may nor be card carrying communists, their activist ideas are essential the same. The sad part is that socialism, in any form, can never be a success. I remember a young tour guide in Russia telling me just after communism had fallen that the citizens always knew it was a lie. To be sure, socialism must be built on a lie because it against human nature and attempts to force it's tenents on humanity must be accomplished forcefully, i.e. by resumption of the gulags, funny-farm camps and mass murders.

The real danger rests in the fact that it is a shock how few people in our country have taken the time to inform themselves about the dangers of this movement. Thomas Jefferson said that an informed populus is the key to democracy. It is equally true that all of us in one way or another are our own worst enemy, and I often think this about blind followers of the activist left.

Horowitz has hit it big with this book. Just the introduction alone gives you insight on how Bush used the some of the same principles to win in the 2000 election(not that he got them from this book). If you are a conservative fustrated with liberals always beating you down, read this book and you will be able to gain insight and win with strategies that are introduced here. If you are a liberal, well....

Horowitz hits the nail right on the head (no pun intended). This is precisely how the GOP needs to campaign against the Democrats. On the issues, the GOP would win every election. After all, how many people truly don't want lower taxes, a stronger military, a better educational system, school choice, tougher crime laws lower energy prices etc. Not too many. But, the general public doesn't really pay much attention to the issues. What gets their attention are emotional appeals and symbolism. That's where the Democrats excel, and that's what the GOP needs to understand and work on. This book is all about how to do that. It's about framing GOP policy in an emotional and symbolic way so that voters get the message. The GOP is slowly learning these lessons and it's about time. This would be a very important book for anyone running for office or studying political strategy.

In How to Beat the Democrats and Other Subversive Ideas, Horowitz uses ruthless intellect to demolish the foundations upon which the new Left has tried to rebuild itself following the collapse of communism across the world.

After reading this book you have to ask how Bill Clinton and Tony Blair can sleep at night.

Used as a campaign blueprint, How to Beat the Democrats offers conservatives the tools to take on the Left in electoral combat which have been sadly lacking over the last decade.

The difference between the liberal left and the conservative right is far more than where one stands on a spectrum of issues that range from abortion to Iraq to gun control. In HOW TO BEAT THE DEMOCRATS, David Horowitz draws upon his decades long dalliance with radical causes to suggest that the difference is one of a world view. Where the right focuses on the rights of the individual the left sees the individual as a mere cog in a collective wheel that allows those at the center to see themselves as the possessors of a moral vision that points toward a time when all races, genders, and creeds will be rendered equal by legislative fiat.

The first half is a primer for Republicans to defeat Democrats head to head in elections at all levels. What has given Democrats the edge in all victorious contests over the last few decades is that they have recognized the difference between what appeals to the heart and what appeals to the head. The heart can be persuaded by false rhetoric, out and out lies, and suggestive television ads. The head by logic and cool reason. The left is the master of the heart, the right is the domain of the head. Horowitz demands that conservatives stop assuming that liberals are running a debate according to a linguistic Marquis of Queensbury and be willing to attack the left on areas and issues that they are most vulnerable. To do this successfully, Republicans must learn an entirely new set of rules: (1) politics is a war of emotions (2) politics is a war of position (3) politics is all about fear (4) politics is about hope. Those who can frame a contest by tagging themselves as the party of hope can label the opposition as one bereft of it. Those who can frame a contest by tagging the opposition as one that the voters should fear will win. Horowitz includes numerous examples of these formulae. The Democrats' stand on social security is illustrative. They claim that the Republicans will STEAL the savings of a lifetime by allowing claimants to invest their savings in the stock market. Horowitz urges the Right to claim the opposite: namely that it is the Democrats who will cheat claimants by refusing to allow the estates of deceased claimants to inherit social security benefits, a result that cannot occur under current social security rules but is a commonplace under standard stock market regulations. Horowitz also lambasts the Clintons as the most vile, most self-centered power seekers to ever hold high office.

In the second half, Horowitz discusses the views of noted leftists like Noam Chomsky, Robert Sheer, and Hillary Clinton, all of whom would rather call Marx a capitalist than to say even one nice word about George Bush. But it is Horowitz's closing chapters on "The Unrepentent Left" that imbues his book with its damning denunciation of the left. He sees the inner circle of the left as those who possess a inner vision of themselves as the forerunners of a elitist, socialist world, one in which they will found and run. That such a world has never suceeded in the long and lamentable catalogue of failed ideologies does not deter them in the least. It is this collective failure to recognize the cold realities of their failed vision that marks the left as both dangerous and deluded. To combat them, Republicans must adopt the tactics of what has worked supremely well against them. This, then, is the message of this book.

As usual, Horowitz delivers a great read. This book is divided into three sections. First, the undermining of American security by the Clinton Administration. What you will read is absolultely shocking. We have all heard the criticism of Clinton for his indiscretions, but this is much worse. After reading this, you will have an even greater appreciation for President Bush. The second section is where the title of the book comes from. He deals with the various strategies of the Democratic Party and offers ways for the Republicans to counter them. He also addresses many of the major issues of the day and explains how Republicans can take the high ground and defeat the Democrats on every issue. Anyone who is on the fence about the privatization of Social Security needs to read what Horowitz writes. The last section appears to be a collection of essays dealing with various radical groups and people throughout recent history and what they are doing today--you will be surprised!

Horowitz hits the nail right on the head (no pun intended). This is precisely how the GOP needs to campaign against the Democrats. On the issues, the GOP would win every election. After all, how many people truly don't want lower taxes, a stronger military, a better educational system, school choice, tougher crime laws lower energy prices etc. Not too many. But, the general public doesn't really pay much attention to the issues. What gets their attention are emotional appeals and symbolism. That's where the Democrats excel, and that's what the GOP needs to understand and work on. This book is all about how to do that. It's about framing GOP policy in an emotional and symbolic way so that voters get the message. The GOP is slowly learning these lessons and it's about time. This would be a very important book for anyone running for office or studying political strategy.

David Horowitz exposes the Dems' lowbrow and underhanded campaign tactics that they use with reckless abandon - playing the race card and instilling fear of the "evil" Republicans into their dim-witted constituents. Horowitz, a former far left anti-war activist of the 60's, knows the virtually isurmountable depths to which the Left will plunge in order to achieve their egomaniacal objectives - power and prestige.

Horowitz explicates the Democrats' insular and inane platform: Big Government that should, when in doubt, tax and tax again mercilessly - and spend your hard-earned money on a wasteful bureaucratic agenda that serves the Democrats' own agenda. Horowitz explains the incessant pandering of the Dems to their indigent and indolent constituents consisting of illegal aliens, minorities, and anti-Americans. They somehow continue to maintain their voter base through a degrading, yet somehow effective, strategy that instills fear into their followers' hearts that the Republicans will eliminate Social Securtiy, abortion, and institute a racist regime the moment they are elected. This book should evoke fear into the hearts of sanctimonious fearmongering Dems everywhere.