Customer Reviews

A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

This is a phenomenal book.

Senator Miller tries to change the party he loves, making the admonishments he's been issuing privately for years, public for the world to read.

Miller has been accused by many as a political opportunist, however, these charges are easily dismissed when one considers the period of time during the party switch of Jim Jeffords from Vermont. When Mr. Jeffords flipped to the Democrat party, control of the Senate tipped toward the Democrats as well. As one can imagine, with so much power in the balance, the Republicans made overtures to several conservative Democrat Senators, Miller included. The offers were substantial. Miller stayed with his party. As he continues to to this day.

To this reviewer, Senator Miller's book is a sincere plea to his party to wake up. Miller sees his party's values, the values of FDR, JFK, Scoop Jackson, etc., over-run by special interests of the narrowest appeal. From Miller's vantage point, the Democrats reckless pursuit of power at any price has left them beholden to a strange patchwork of often competing interests--and that somewhere along the way they've lost their soul.

It's a great read--and Zell is a national treasure. If you follow politics and/or government, (And DNC Chairman, Terry McCauliffe's Review 2 or 3 reviews below not withstanding...) I think you'll enjoy this book. And if you've never read a political book in your life, this would be a great first.

I'd give it 5 1/2 stars if I could...

As a book, it is well written, and put together nicely. I enjoyed it as an easy, entertaining read, and yet thought provoking. Many negative reviews you will see is because the reader did not agree with the ideals of this book.
The book addresses something I noticed on this forum for reviews...liberals are all for freedom of speech until it contradicts what they believe. If you do not believe what they do, you are small minded, and ignorant. You are told to Shut-up and Go Home.

I found so many topics in this book, something liberals should be up in arms about. I am surprised that they are addressed in this book, and nowhere else!

Equal rights not only for women but men! THERE is an idea! How minority groups keep themselves out of prime time television. Why are our gas prices sky rocketing when we have a fuel store that would supply us with 16% of our fuel in a place that cannot be enjoyed by anyone anyway?

Look at these reviews and see if any of the negative ones actually address how the book was written, topics covered, and not their OWN personal opinion.

I'm not sure why others are trying to paint Zell as "a wolf in sheeps clothing." Miller has been extremely consistent in his viewpoint for over 40 years. Attacks on his character based on the concept of him "changing his stripes" are baseless and are a sign of a person who has no clue about Miller's history.

I suggest anyone who thinks Miller has changed his values read "Crops Values" and Listen to His Words (a collection of Miller's speeches). It is not Miller who has changed, it is the Democratic party that has changed, and probably for the worse.

Apparently, disagreeing with the Democratic Party makes you into a "liar" by default. This makes perfect sense since the Democrats -never- lie.

This is a fabulous book for anyone who's been a Democrat but has felt that there is something wrong with the party. Miller is one of the last real Democrats left. He believes in a core set of principles and doesn't change them based on what is expedient for his party. This is a real American folks, someone we can all be proud of, full of integrity even if you disagree with his views. And this book is a fabulous testament to his clarity of thought and strength of character.

As a former Marine and life long Republican I have often sworn never to vote for a Democrat. If Zell were to run I would eat those words. He is a Marine, he is an American Patriot, and he has a deep conviction of right and wrong. These Fine Qualities are looked upon with distain by today's Democrat Party and therefore alienate me as a voter. He addresses the dislike of anything not "pure to the Democrat way of "thinking" and of the Democrat party of tolerance for only that which they find tolerable. Zell Miller expresses the true meaning of "Semper Fidelis" Always Faithful. Faithful to his Convictions, Faithful to his Constituents, And Faithful to His Country. God, Country, Corps-Simple philosophies often Result in great men.

The shrill criticisms of this book speak volumes about how very credible is Zell Miller's analysis. Yes, Zell is a conservative Democrat. This is a result, not in spite of, his Southern heritage. The country should mourn his political passing and hope that men of such high character will succeed him in all levels of political office.

In this book, Zell is arguing against the vapid blather that is dominating the current Democratic political discourse. A result of which is Liberal politics' transformation into a game of gotcha rather than representative government. The Democrats are heading toward a major stand-off with the American people, and may meet the Whig's in the trash heap of history.

Zell's leadership, heart, and compassion will be sorely missed here in the heart of Dixie. Unfortunately for the party, the Democrat's will not miss him but instead hasten his departure.

As a former democrat, I can relate to Zell's feeling about where his party is heading. Or more to the point, why it is heading in the wrong direction.

Zell Miller has been a strong-nosed democrat for decades and is from the old tradition ala JFK (John F. Kennedy not the other guy trying to exploit those initials!)

In a national party no more, Zell Miller recounts his activity in the democrat party which includes being a 2 time Lt. Governor and a 2-time Governor for the state of Georgia. He has worked closely with former Pres. Jimmy Carter and was the keynote speaker at the 1992 democrat national convention for then Democrat nominee Bill Clinton.

His comments are making todays democrats cringe and he is right on. After all, that is why I left the democrat party.

Well done Zell and I believe that Chris Matthews owes you an apology for the condescending way he spoke to you after the RNC a few weeks ago. And well done on your speech at the RNC as well. Right on and truthful.

I am recommending this book to some democrat people that I know that need to be Miller-ized and see the facts. Also recommend Let Freedom Ring by Sean Hannity and Unfit For Command by John O'Niel and The Many Faces of John Kerry.

Are sad. Pathetic really. They are so plainly from embittered hate filled liberals that can't stand the bright light of scrutiny and lash out when it shines....and this coming from a very liberal democrat. If you can't admit problems with your party or your "side" of the political battle, then you shouldn't keep up with politics...

This past election had two great candidates for Most Hated by the Left: Dick Cheney and Democratic turncoat, Zell Miller. It is easy to see why. Miller's speech at the Republican National Convention was not only viciously vitriolic, it was a naïve, poorly informed diatribe loosely disguised as a keynote address. The next day, people on the left were excoriating Miller and the national media replayed his challenging Chris Matthews to a duel over and over again. However, something about this whole situation bothered me greatly. After all, how does someone go from being the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention one year, tearing into a president named Bush, to twelve years later speaking at the RNC on behalf of another president named Bush? I decided to find out so I went out and bought his book.

The truly fascinating thing about Miller, after all, is that he has remained a Democrat. Although, yes, he backed Bush in '04 at no point does he extol the Republican Party itself--ever. We need to remember that it's been decades since Strom Thurmond led the Southern mass exodus from the Democrats to the Republican Party over the issue of integration. Obviously, Miller's remaining a Democrat was not a simple matter of heritage, a yolk that many Southern politicians before Miller have thrown off without a second thought. Reading Miller's book you come to understand something pretty quickly: Miller is a Democrat through and through. He speaks extraordinarily admiringly of the New Deal and FDR (can you find a Republican who would?). He proudly talks about his various education initiatives, his excellent environmental record, his efforts to get the Confederate emblem off Georgia's state flag, his disgust over his race baiting as a young man and his later championing of minority rights, etc. Obviously, he holds some conservative positions, but overall, it's clear he truly believes in the Democratic ideal of government as a force for good in the lives of its citizens, especially those in need of help. He governed Georgia as a Democrat and we must ask ourselves what in God's name happened to drive this man to so ferociously lash out against his own party.

The answer is simple: regional pride and a desperate desire to save his party from itself. The regional pride stems from the fact that any Southerner is damn proud to be a Southerner. They are deeply proud of their heritage and have an almost tribal-like view of their shared history. You attack one, you attack them all. Miller knew before going to Washington that the pundits on the right claimed the Democratic Party was not only out of touch but openly disdainful of the South. He didn't believe it; but that soon changed upon his arrival in D.C. He was shocked to find out that many in the national party really did think of the South as a poor, backwater area and thought that white Southerners voted Republican because of religious zealotry, integration (read racism) and/or they were ignorant of what Republicans were doing to them economically. What Miller quickly realized was that all that was absolute nonsense; Democrats were really just prejudiced and horribly ignorant of the true state of the South.

In order to back up his claim he cites some statistics. First off, Miller points out that in 1990 (actually, 1970 according to the May 4, 2003 Atlanta Journal Constitution) African Americans held 565 elected offices in the old Confederacy. By 2000, that number had increased ten fold. Which is not to say that there is no racism in the South; Miller readily acknowledges this and argues passionately for its complete eradication. However, it has subsided somewhat as seen by the seven African Americans who have been elected to statewide office in Georgia which is 70 percent white. As Miller points out, while two white Democrats, Roy Barnes and Max Cleland were losing re-election in 2002 with about 46 to 47 percent of the vote, two black Democrats, Attorney General Thurbert Baker and Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond, were winning re-election with about 56 to 57 percent. The Atlanta Journal Constitution also points out that the removal of the Confederate emblem from the flag was passed by a popular referendum.

Why does Miller cite all this? He is absolutely incensed over the fact that many in the Democratic party think Southerners still vote Republican for the same reasons that Strom Thurmond switched parties in the sixties (even though Thurmond himself came to strongly regret his anti-segregation policies). Moreover, he contends that the reason Democrats are losing so badly in the South has nothing to do with ignorance of the voter, is has to do with ignorance on the part of the national party. He contends that as long as the Democrat idea of reaching out to the Southern voter involves nothing more than slapping a Southern face on the national ticket, we will always lose. What he advocates is a return by the Democratic Party to the ideals of FDR, to the days when Democrats cherished American's heartland instead of deriding it. As he points out, it would not be all that difficult. Miller knows that the more we ignore the heartland of this country, the more we will continue to condemn ourselves to the permanent prison of a minority party. His book is a desperate attempt to help us avoid that fate. However, as his speech to the RNC shows, he has concluded that, basically, we're doomed. I, on the other hand, honestly believe that the day will come when we Democrats return to our New Deal FDR roots and once again formulate a powerful and compelling vision of a society based upon the values of compassion for the weak, help for the poor, and a society in which everyone gets a fair shot. Until, that day, however. . .well, let's just say that any liberal who said after this past election, "Things couldn't get any worse," is going to be in for a very, very rude awakening.

I really enjoy Mr. Miller's plain-spoken methods. A quick read, this book covers a variety of topics and is never monotonous. At times this book transcends politics with good old-fashioned common sense. Personally, I enjoyed the segment about accepting responsibility for your own actions, which is what a lot of people fail to do in our society.

Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and the variety in politics is what makes things interesting, but Mr. Miller is correct in his assessment of the Democratic Presidential candidates and the leanings of the Party today. A little less special interest pandering, and a lot more caution would temper the candidates "anger" and possibly make them a more appealing party once again to voters they have lost in the past.

This is a well written fast read and was more like sitting down and having a conversation than reading a book. He did sometimes ramble off, but I loved it. I enjoyed his personal story, his honesty (even about his reasons and motives through out his long political career). I must assume those giving bad reviews have not read the book or they would realize that this is not a hateful, angry, finger-pointing book. It's more about a man who is saddened by the state of his party and who is trying to point out how he hopes and believes they can get back on track. I strongly recommend this book to members of all political parties.
God bless you Zell and God Speed.