Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future [Hardcover]

James Carville (Author), Paul Begala (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2006

By being too timid and too weak, too hesitant and too confused, Democrats have allowed Republicans to run amok.

Republicans today control everything: the White House, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the federal bureaucracy, the military, and the corporate special interests and their lobbyists. They operate powerful right-wing organizations, right-wing think tanks, and a conservative media that serves as an attack dog against Democrats.

Republicans have used their absolute power to corrupt our democracy, degrade our military, weaken our health care system, diminish our stature in the world, damage our environment, reward the rich, hammer the poor, squeeze the middle class, bankrupt our Treasury, and indenture our children to foreign debt holders.

In this important book, James Carville and Paul Begala show Democrats how they can "take it back." They offer a clear-eyed critique of their party's failures and make specific, concrete recommendations on how Democrats can avoid losing elections on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, gay rights, and moral values and start winning them on health care, political reform, energy, the environment, tax reform, and more.

Carville and Begala say that liberal Democrats are right that too many establishment Democrats kowtow to corporate interests and shamefully supported George W. Bush's rush to war. And moderate Democrats are right to complain that too many Democrats are out of step with middle-class values, too removed from people of faith, too enthralled with intellectual and cultural elites.

But the problem with the Democrats, Carville and Begala argue, is not ideological. It's anatomical. They lack a backbone. "Take ItBack" is a spinal transplant for Democrats and an audacious battle plan for victory.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An intelligent, carefully outlined strategy to seize power from the Republicans and restore it to its rightful place slightly left of center, this book (despite Carville's "Ragin' Cajun" claim to gonzo liberalism) is remarkably reasonable and cleverly calculated to appeal to a broad spectrum of Americans. Carville and Begala have a solid grasp of the issues that concern the majority of citizens: moral values, political corruption, taxes, health care, energy issues and, of course, the war in Iraq. They are most persuasive when arguing for seemingly common-sense policies: their energy plan-conservation, environmental remediation and making a "real commitment to alternative fuels"-is based on the handling of the energy crisis of the 1970s that saw the U.S. cut energy use and oil imports while growing the GDP. Regarding health care, the authors argue for allowing employers to buy into the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, which offers 180 different plans to 9 million government employees. Some of the authors' arguments are harder to swallow; for example, the extremely speculative notion that had Al Gore been elected president, 9/11 could have been averted. And criticism of Republican leadership often devolves into name-calling and mudslinging. (Jack Abramoff, in a stroke of timely luck, receives his own section titled "The King of Republican Sleaze.") That aside, Carville's and Begala's book is a refreshing entry into a field long overcrowded by polarized, pedantic screeds.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

With the inimitable styles for which they are known, Democratic political consultants Carville and Begala dissect the 2000 and 2004 elections when Republicans triumphed over Democrats and take a long-range look at the national impact of the Bush-Cheney years. Rather than cry over the recent losses, Carville and Begala applaud the strengths of the Republicans and strongly advise the Democrats to recast the respective images of the two parties and take the lead on social and cultural issues. On abortion, Democrats need to stand up to pressure groups and advocate to reduce the need for abortions; on gun control, they should respect gun owners and enforce the laws already on the books; on Iraq, they should challenge Bush to win the war and respect the military; on energy, they should push for independence on oil; on taxes, they should advocate for taxation of wealth. Citing numerous instances of Democrats shying from identification with religion, the consultants strongly advise that those who have such beliefs should express them, and the party should point to the religious basis of policies to provide for the poor and protect the environment. With great humor and frequent jabs at the Bush administration--Louisiana native Carville is particularly incensed about the handling of the New Orleans flooding--these consultants offer a thoughtful and passionate appeal for change in the Democratic Party and the nation. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074327752X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743277525
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,224,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pick it up, Read it and try to refute the facts, January 25, 2006

By 

Old MacDonald (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future (Hardcover)

I was challenged by a friend to read this and try to refute the facts brought up by the authors about the current rampant corruption in the Republican Party. Honestly, as a former Republican voter, I have to agree with the authors.

1. The current Republican Party is not my father's party, nor the party I thought it was.

2. The amount of corruption in this Republican Party and current administration would make turn of the century Robber Barons blush.

3. The evidence cited in the book is irrefutable. The current Republican Party and current administration do not have our (Americans) best interests at heart. To them it is Party first, Greed second and maybe, Americans a distant third.

Lastly, what makes this book all the more readable is the fact that they (authors) own up to the horrible mistakes made by the democrats in the last two presidential elections. I hate to admit it, but if democratic strategists follow the steps to 'take back' the government, as outlined in this book, my former party is in big trouble.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sun Tzu for the Democrats in the Age of Bush, January 12, 2006

By 

Eric English "dissoi logoi" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future (Hardcover)

This is the first truly ground-breaking contribution to the "How on earth can Democrats win if they couldn't even beat Bush in 2004?" genre. Carville and Begala stake out a position that bridges the gap between bold Progressivism and DLC-style triangulation.

Make no mistake about it: while this book calls for a big tent attitude on issues like abortion, it is decidely NOT another rallying cry for a retreat to the center. Contrasting their vision to the moderate, wishy-woshy "something for everyone" campaigns Democrats have waged (and usually lost) in recent years, Carville and Begala demonstrate that Democrats can win when they have a strong, simple message rooted in morality and principle. They make a persuasive case that an anti-corruption, pro-energy independence, pro-tax fairness, and pro-health care agenda is both good policy and good politics. Best of all, they do so with considerable wit and charm, annihilating the common Republican depiction of liberals as "elitist" and "politically correct." In both content and form, an indispensable guide to progressive political strategy.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Thought-Out Recommendations!, January 13, 2006

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future (Hardcover)

Democrats have failed at the basics: defining their message, attacking their opponents, defending their leaders, inspiring their voters. "Take It Back" is focused on a set of issues believed to have cost Democrats recent elections, and presents alternative approaches.

The Kerry-Edwards ticket carried only 8 states outside the Northeast, while Republicans took 97 of the 100 fastest growing counties with a margin of 1.7 million. The Republicans did it on the basis of being regular guys (vs. Democrats seen as snots). Bush tied Kerry among college graduates, but beat him 53 to 47 among the non-college group.

Bush's campaign portrayed Kerry as weak, waffling, and weird. No president has lost re-election in wartime - knowing this, Bush used 9/11 as his answer to everything. Portrayed the election as "a choice, not a referendum" in response to Bush's low poll numbers. Attack, attack, attack - that was the Republican focus - Kerry's not one of us. Conversely the Democratic Convention banned attacks on Republicans.

Abortion: The percent of abortions dropped from 28 to 24.5 under Clinton (was unchanged under Reagan) - the authors sees this as partly due to the expanding economy, and the Clinton commitment to sex education and contraception. Democrats should also stress that being "pro-life" means doing something regarding jobs, health insurance, and support for mothers.

Americans are conflicted on abortion - they don't want to ban it, but do want to restrict it. (Examples include precluding abortions during the last three months, wanting the M.D. to inform potential patients of abortion alternatives, requiring a 24-hour waiting period, requiring those under 18 to get parental consent, requiring a woman to inform her husband first, and banning partial-birth abortions. Yet, despite these strong preferences for restrictions, all eight Democrat candidates supported the special interest groups in this area and supported no restrictions. Instead, Democrats should focus on efforts to reduce abortions - eg. a 95% cut in ten years, backed by specific programs.

Gun Control: The NRA says "enforce the laws already on the books" - we don't need more. Actually they opposed passage of those laws, but realize they don't have the votes to repeal them. McCain-Lieberman sponsored a bill to extend background checks for gun show buyers - however, this is like tilting at windmills because only an estimated 1.7% of crimes involved guns bought at gun shows. The authors further suggest a position of leaving the topic to the states - 18 states already require background checks for those buying at gun shows. Carville and Begalla also suggest Democrats show respect for gun owners.

Gay Rights: At best .08% of the total population is direction affected by the gays in the military issue - again, not worth getting into the hassle. Instead, should focus on the approximately 10% in the general population to ensure employment non-discrimination (a position supported by polls). Another suggestion is to repeat that Dick Cheney is correct - its possible to oppose gay marriage and acknowledge that such relationships deserve some legal protection. Still another suggestion is to attack Republicans for attempting to divide the nation and distracting us from more important (per polls) issues.

Religion: Democrats should give voice to their faith - for example, argue on moral and even religious grounds that all Americans should have economic security, health care, and educational opportunity. Republicans are wrong to restrict religion to individual moral choices and sexual ethics. Democrats should quote Christ and the Bible in the discussion about progressive taxation (Luke 12:48), point out that most eggs for use in stem cell research are going to be destroyed anyway - one might as well get value out of them. As for charges that Democrats will throw out the Bible - respond that the Republicans are violating a basic commandment (bearing false witness), and we'll need even more reliance on prayer if the Republican programs continue. Republican inconsistencies should be pointed out - eg. Sen. Santorum believes it is bad for mothers to work, yet repeatedly opposes measures that would make this less necessary (eg. healthcare, higher wages) - while reaping great benefits himself as a Senator.

Defense: "If you're not tough enough to fight Dick Cheney, you're not tough enough to fight Osama bin Laden." Carville and Begalla believe that Democrats have allowed the Republicans to steal this issue, and use as an example Bush's first opposing the idea of a Dept. of Homeland Security (Dem. idea), then supporting it but making a major flap out the minor issue of civil service status for its employees.

At this point "Take It Back" degenerates into numerous well-worn Bush criticisms on various topics (energy, environmentalism, Katrina response), and offers few if any constructive suggestions in some areas (eg. Iraq). Further, it does not deal with the serious issue of outsourcing American jobs - manufacturing and service, thus relegating Democrats to "me too" status on NAFTA, WTO, etc. The initial topics and recommendations, however, were very impressive, and suggest the type of thinking needed to make Democrats effective again.