The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise [Hardcover]

Joe Scarborough (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 9, 2009

In this groundbreaking book, Joe Scarborough tells Republican Party bosses what they don’t want to hear, explains why Democrats are making matters so much worse, and then shows leaders of both parties the way forward.

The Last Best Hope draws on the forgotten genius of conservatism to offer a road map for the movement and the country. Delivering a searing indictment of the political leaders who have led us astray, Scarborough inspires conservatives to reclaim their heritage by drawing upon the strength of the movement’s rich history.
With independent thinking and straight talk, Scarborough explains:

• How Washington and Wall Street conspired to create the housing bubble that caused America’s financial meltdown

• How the “candidate of change” has not only maintained but accelerated the reckless spending policies that led us to this historic economic collapse

• How Washington’s bailout culture will cripple America’s future if left unchecked

• How Barack Obama’s stimulus plan devolved into a socialist spending spree that would make FDR and LBJ shudder

• And how conservatives need to take a closer look at Ronald Reagan’s political career before claiming his great legacy

A fearlessly argued conservative manifesto that brings American conservatism into the twenty-first century, The Last Best Hope is a must-read for all who care about the direction America is heading.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this disappointingly mundane book, Scarborough, host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, mistakes his skills at showmanship for those of critical analysis. From the Iraq War to the recent financial crisis, his arguments amount to little more than a superficial précis of the current political moment. For most readers, this book will be an ideological retread and an unimaginative slog. Unlike the recent writings of Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat, whose New Majority labored to be a prescriptive way forward for conservatives, Scarborough hardly gets outside of the well-traversed policy debates and received wisdom of Beltway professionals. While he sees his book as a blueprint for a renewed conservative politics, his only stab at unconventional thinking is to advocate a conservative embrace of green politics. For all the book's flaws, it never descends to ad hominem attacks or becomes a platform for gross personal vendettas, nor does it trade in the self-regard of the Olberman or O'Reilly variety, which is to Scarborough's credit. But these qualities are not enough to recommend readers pluck this one from the shelf, or even the bargain bin. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Conservatives need to read this book. Joe Scarborough is a real conservative.”
—Jed Babbin, Human Events

“In this engaging and timely book, Joe Scarborough undertakes a critical mission: the reinvigoration of conservatism in America. Aiming to take conservatives beyond reaction and beyond sentimentality, he asks the big questions, and does not shy away from offering answers. This is an important contribution to one of the most vital debates of the day.”
—Jon Meacham

“Joe Scarborough can save the GOP. This is a lively, likeable and important book. So my fellow Republicans–rejoice. We have a face! Now let’s get to work.”
—Christopher Buckley

“The Last Best Hope is must reading for anyone who cares about the conservative movement.”
—Peggy Noonan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Crown Forum; First Edition edition (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307463699
• ISBN-13: 978-0307463692
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a former Congressman from Florida and the host of Morning Joe, along with Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. You can watch Morning Joe each weekday morning from 6am to 9am Eastern on MSNBC.

You can also catch Mika and I on The Joe Scarborough Show at http://www.wabcradio.com each weekday morning from 10am to 12pm Eastern.

I've authored two books. Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day, published in 2004, predicted the collapse of the Republican majority and US economy due to the Republican Party's reckless spending. The Last Best Hope, which came out this summer, offers my view on how to restore conservatism and hope to America.

Before going into television, I was also the publisher and editor of the award-winning newspaper "The Florida Sun."

Currently, I live in New York with my wife, Susan, and our four children.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At the crossroads in conservatism June 9, 2009

By FrKurt Messick HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

There is no mistaking that Conservatism in the United States is in turmoil right now. A few years after there was a sense of triumph and the idea of a permanent Republican majority in Washington, there was a sort of Gotterdammerung, and the structure came crashing down with the loss of both houses of Congress and the Presidency, in addition to a number of state and local positions, to the Democrats.

However, the death of the Republican party specifically, and Conservatism generally, has been exaggerated, much in the way the demise of the Democratic party was also overstated in the early 2000s. Joe Scarborough, who as a Congressman during the Gingrich as the Contract for America progressed, made a name for himself by being a solid conservative, offers an interesting perspective of the rise and fall of the ideology and practice over the past few decades. It is interesting that during the divided government of Republican Congress and Democratic Presidency, we had budget surpluses. When the Republicans gained complete control, that was not sustained.

Scarborough contends that the Republican party stopped being conservative, and that that was their primary problem. They spent too much, became too adventurous, and too confident of their own abilities to act alone in the country and in the world. As Scarborough said, one can't double the national debt and claim to be the fiscally responsible party. The party needs to be a big tent party again, according to Scarborough, which means it need to have a place for both Cheney and Powell.

Everyone quotes Ronald Reagan, he states, and that ideology is a good conservative one, but the specifics of Reagan's policies won't necessarily work today. It is more of an attitude, Scarborough says - Reagan was not someone who emphasized "hate" in the way that some conservative commentators do today. If the Republicans are to survive, Scarborough contends, then they must be more inclusive and become once again true to their conservative roots. This is an interesting feature - Scarborough admires Ronald Reagan, but he does not deify him. Reagan had many great qualities, but Scarborough refuses to engage the revisionist history that removes all flaws from Ronald Reagan. True conservatism much take Reagan warts and all, realizing that there was much success despite the flaws.

Scarborough is in some ways an outsider to the current conservative trend. His position on the liberal network MSNBC demonstrates this in some respects; his failure to always adhere to party or ideological talking points also demonstrates this. However, this also makes him a more effective critic, as he is far from being a liberal. In the book, Scarborough also addresses a few topics that also show this - he has criticism for the current Obama administration with their continuation of spending policies that are fiscally suspect (without denying the fiscal irresponsibility of their immediate predecessors, as some other conservative commentators often do). He also looks at the economic issues of the Wall Street banking collapse, including the collusion of both Democrats and Republicans over the past twenty years that contributed to an unsustainable housing bubble, whose collapse contributed greatly to this now-worldwide economic recession.

For those who enjoy watching Scarborough on the Morning Joe program on MSNBC, this will be a welcome book. For those who enjoying arguing with Scarborough, this will also be a welcome text. For liberals, conservatives and moderates, there is something here worth reading. We are at a crossroads in American conservatism, and Scarborough's text is an interesting addition to the ongoing debate.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing! June 28, 2009

By Loyd E. Eskildson HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

I like Joe Scarborough, and I'm generally relatively conservative. I also like the generally non-partisan way he began the book - admitting that our record deficits, socialist spending sprees, reckless foreign policy, and an economy racing towards bankruptcy were originated by Republican leaders, though now President Obama is making things much worse. Scarborough also criticizes Republicans for holding rabid, unyielding ideologies, and asserts that conservatives must understand they can never again take a laissez-faire attitude towards Wall Street, even though they're opposed to limitations on small businesses.

Such open-mindedness made me hopeful that this would be a thoughtful work. Instead, Scarborough drags readers through a ideological analysis of too many current topics, using just the unyielding ideological approach that he earlier decried. (Ideological tours of current events are for me, a pragmatist, a totally boring and useless approach.)

Bottom Line:: Scarborough's "The Last Best Hope" is just too blah to recommend, and not vitriolic enough to get upset about.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Liberal's review June 15, 2009

By B. Flinchbaugh

Format:Hardcover

After the era of George W. Bush, I started leaning left and was drawn to Obama during the campaign. I voted for him, but now am concerned with his fiscal irrationality and "dig the hole deeper" mentality. I also abhor people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and think that Newt and Cheney are the destroyers of the RNC.

But in this book, Scarborough clearly lays out the difference between GWB and conservatism. He reminds us that Bush was more liberal than he was conservative on matters of military use, foreign diplomacy, and more socialist on matters of TARP and bailouts. The problem now is that the current republican leaders have bought into the GWB madness too, leaving the party in a state of total disarray and leaving the US with no conservative-intelligent choices.

The RNC needs to do as Scarborough says and adopt green policy. They also need to distance themselves from dogmatic ideologues on all fronts, especially (imo) the evangelical right. If republicans could somehow bring themselves back to being fiscally responsible while not trying to impose ideology on the people, they would be on the road to recovering from the Bush mess.