The Freedom Revolution: The New Republican House Majority Leader Tells Why Big Government Failed, Why Freedom Works, and How We Will Rebuild America [Hardcover]

Dick Armey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1995

Majority Leader Dick Armey explains the collapse of the Left and offers a prescription for the future of Republican leadership.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Each of these three books presents a blueprint to achieve the goals of the current political mood?making government smaller and more accountable. Their argument is basically the same: the smaller the government, the closer it is to the people and therefore the better it is. They also tout many of the same ideas: a flat income tax, welfare reform, school choice, deregulation, and privatization. Each book, however, has its own characteristics. House Majority Leader Armey (R-Texas), one of the authors of the Republican Party's "Contract with America," argues that the 1994 election, which gave Republicans control of Congress for the first time since the 1940s, was a mandate to put the provisos of the contract into place. Armey also gives details of his own life and political ideology and spells out his proposals for a flat income tax and other initiatives. Since the Contract with America will continue to be debated by Congress, this is an important work for anyone interested in the current political climate. Eggers and O'Leary, members of the Reason Foundation, discuss initiatives taken by local and state governments to privatize and streamline bureaucracies. They provide excellent case studies of these mechanisms and present a compelling argument that, given the right personnel, government services can be improved and savings achieved. Their book is important because it provides clues as to how some local and state governments will handle the block grants currently under discussion in Washington. Pinkerton, a former aide in the Bush administration, presents a rather extreme view of the changes he claims need to be made. He believes that the current political and economic course will result in the desolate worlds described by "cyberpunks" in science fiction literature. Because government provides such shoddy service, those who can afford it will pay to have a sort of secondary government?private security guards, tutors for education, and the like?while the poor and disassociated will have access to little or no quality services. Thus, he claims, a new paradigm is needed, and he espouses many of the same ideas as Armey. His premise is somewhat questionable, but he gives a decent history of how we got where we are and delineates many of the ideas currently being debated. Pinkerton's book is recommended for academic collections, while The Freedom Revolution and Revolution at the Roots are recommended for all collections.?Patricia Hatch, Emmanuel Coll., Boston. Ma.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; 1St Edition edition (June 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895264692
• ISBN-13: 978-0895264695
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armey lets Freedom ring, April 5, 2001

By 

ray - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Freedom Revolution: The New Republican House Majority Leader Tells Why Big Government Failed, Why Freedom Works, and How We Will Rebuild America (Hardcover)

In his book, Rep. Armey shows why and how Freedom is vital to ensure success for any nation. He begins with a quick history lesson, about how President Reagan gave the people the Freedom to use their own money with his large tax cuts, and how our national economy was transformed from stagnant to superlative. He goes on to show how Freedom and privatization can work in any area of public life: the economy, education, social security, medicare, and helping the needy.

His main ponit is that government cannot do all the things people want it to do. He stresses that large government is dangerous and can cause irresponsibility just as it has in our inner cities with welfare. Only with Freedom from government can people be trusted to make their own decisions and use their money as they see fit.

Dr. Armey's chapter on abortion and education can really open your eyes to see the real meaning of being pro-life and wanting a better future for our children. Unfortunately, many liberals would call Dr. Armey cold-hearted, mean, or insensitive. He is actually a realist who only wants government to stay out of our way so we can help ourselves as well as others. Through privatization, deregulation, responsibility, and trust can we in America overcome the shackles of big government and truly be Free.

And for those people who speak of Dr. Armey's gun control stance, no where in the book did he speak of gun control. Which book did you read?

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars common sense, November 9, 2004

By 

hegemoknight (chicago, il) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Freedom Revolution: The New Republican House Majority Leader Tells Why Big Government Failed, Why Freedom Works, and How We Will Rebuild America (Hardcover)

Hmmmmmm.....the Republican House Leader here says that the Minimum Wage is against the American family and should not be raised or even exist. He states that such basic labor laws as publicly funded Social Security are 'anti-family.' He says that we need a flat tax of 17% which would see the top rate on the wealthiest 2% fall by more than 50%. He favors privatization of Medicare, Social Security and various labor laws.
Any economist worth his salt would agree.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armey is on to something here!, December 31, 1999

By 

Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Freedom Revolution: The New Republican House Majority Leader Tells Why Big Government Failed, Why Freedom Works, and How We Will Rebuild America (Hardcover)

Has big government failed? Is a more conservative agenda sweeping the nation? Is government taking more of your money without asking? If you ask Dick Armey, his book will tell you yes and he may be on to something.

As House majority leader, Dick Armey has battled for lower taxes, smaller, smarter government, flat tax system and the balanced budget and is this book, Armey lays out a plan that shows why he is the majority leader.

Armey has a unique way of giving the reader the facts without condescending. Armey's ability to provide data to backup his facts is what this books a real winner. Armey knows what he's talking about.

Read how Armey wants to reduce federal regulations, bring back power to parents, abolish welfare and reduce government by half. A well-written and well-presented book makes this a must read for all!