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Julie Kelly

Disloyal Opposition: How the NeverTrump Right Tried―And Failed―To Take Down the President Hardcover – July 7, 2020

by Julie Kelly (Author)

133 ratings

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The election of Donald Trump in 2016 didn’t just shock the country, it jolted the Republican Party and forced an overdue reckoning between rank-and-file Republicans and party leadership. Long-held beliefs promoted by the Republican Party establishment were smashed in real time as Republican voters, and millions of Obama voters especially in the Midwest, rejected the bi-party consensus on illegal immigration, international trade pacts, and losing foreign wars. The GOP―and the conservative movement―was upended by a brash Manhattan mogul who connected with coveted working-class voters in a way no other Republican presidential candidate had in three decades.

Stung by his ascendancy as Republican voters rejected one establishment candidate after another during the presidential primaries, exiled conservative leaders banded together to form what is known as “NeverTrump.” This cabal of self-proclaimed conservatives includes two former Republican presidential nominees, former Republican lawmakers and Bush administration officials, campaign consultants, and editors and writers at top conservative publications.

After failing to stop Trump in 2016, NeverTrump became part of #TheResistance, a crusade primarily organized by the Left to sabotage Trump’s presidency. The very same people who had used the Republican Party as their vehicle for power, fame, and influence are actively working to destroy the party’s leader and punish Trump-supporting Republicans in Washington. NeverTrump helped deceive the public about nonexistent Russian election collusion and supported impeaching the president. Some jumped on the Left’s mob against Brett Kavanaugh and the Covington Catholic High School students. NeverTrump opposed nearly every Trump policy without offering any alternative to what they derisively called “Trumpism.”

At the same time, NeverTrump became what they claimed to despise about Donald Trump: petty, vengeful, bombastic, reactionary, and abusive. As a result, it’s imperative that those associated with NeverTrump never hold a place of influence in the GOP again.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Disloyal Opposition is a deft exposé of NeverTrump, a small group of former conservatives, nearly all of them occupying posts in Washington, who never came to terms with the election of Donald Trump and have spent the last three years working against everything they once believed. Julie Kelly names names in this rapid-fire account, describing how these formerly influential conservatives joined with Democrats and left-wing philanthropists in a campaign to bring down the most conservative president since Ronald Reagan.”―James Piereson, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and president of the William E. Simon Foundation

“Julie Kelly offers a bombshell description of the descent of the so-called NeverTrump Republicans from initial opposition to Trump to bitter and often ugly derangement―ending, as she points out, in political irrelevance, echo-chamber banality, Beltway neuroticism, hypocritical renunciations of most of their own prior positions, useful idiocy in service to the billionaire Left, and careers reduced to Twitter obsessions. Throughout her entire j’accuse exposé, Kelly names names and pulls no punches in a lively, carefully documented, and damning anatomy of one of the strangest cases of collective political suicide in modern memory.”―Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

“Rarely have dismalness of subject and liveliness of treatment come together in such a delightful way. Julie Kelly gives us a blow-by-blow treatment of the Washington Generals’ team bus catching fire, spinning out of control, and speeding off a cliff. The spectacle is horrible, yet you can’t help feeling that the people on board deserved it.”―Michael Anton, lecturer and research fellow, Hillsdale College

“It’s no surprise the Left wants to destroy President Trump. But some people who call themselves ‘Conservatives’ have the same objective. Find out who they are and what they’ve done by reading Julie Kelly’s Disloyal Opposition. President Trump broke the establishment, including fake Conservatives like Bill Kristol. Julie Kelly’s Disloyal Opposition is essential reading for all who believe in Making America Great Again.”―Sebastian Gorka, host of America First and former strategist to President Trump

Julie Kelly shows how many Republican publicists have masqueraded their growing identity with America’s leftist ruling class by pretending mere opposition to Donald Trump’s peculiarities. Disloyal Opposition performs a valuable service by demonstrating that the Never Trump movement opposes not one man, but rather the American people’s priorities - in short, that politics has consequences. --Angelo M. Codevilla, professor emeritus of international relations at Boston University

About the Author

Julie Kelly is a former political consultant in suburban Chicago and a stay-at-home mom. She is a senior contributor to American Greatness. Her past work can be found at the Federalist, National Review, the Hill, and the Wall Street Journal. Kelly wrote about food policy, agriculture, and climate change before covering politics in the Trump era. She lives in Orland Park, Illinois, with her husband and two daughters.

Product details

Publisher : Encounter Books (July 7, 2020)
Language : English
Hardcover : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1641771143
ISBN-13 : 978-1641771146
Reading age : 18 years and up
Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #497,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #495 in Nationalism (Books)
- #604 in Political Parties (Books)
- #997 in Elections

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133 ratings

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Helen Souza

This book is well written

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020

Finally, the truth of the corrupt actions taken against a sitting president.

63 people found this helpful

Helpful

kathy scott

Julie Kelly exposes the Never Trump evil plans, past and present

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020

What Julie Kelly has been writing about since Trump won, is the hypocrisy and outright lies the Never Trumpers impose on our President and the people looking for honesty in reporting. I never knew any NTs until I got on twitter and read their disdain for our country. These war monger fake conservatives were an influential part in Bush deciding to go to war with Iraq. Trump knew better and still does. This is why NT ppl have it out for Trump and our country. Thank you Julie for identifying the true enemy of the ppl. I suspect Ms. Kelly will write great words for us to read in the future as well, especially for this most important election ever. She is a true Patriot.

56 people found this helpful

Helpful

J. A. Kessler

Well researched and footnoted. Tightly argued and spot on.

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2020

Julie Kelly's tireless research uncovering the deceptive racket of professional "conservatives" who found Trump an inconvenience for their monopoly on so-called respectable commentary (that is, the kind of commentary emanating from the "good boy Right" resigned to losing in perpetuity) is a must read. This is no fly by night rant. Kelly has spent years documenting these hypocrisies and the book is meticulously footnoted for the careful reader. All the same, Kelly brings her trademark spirit, pullings no punches but landing every one on well-deserving targets.

53 people found this helpful

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Mrs. GB

No one holds the Nevertrump crowd more accountable than Julie

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

Julie pulls no punches. She exposes the GOP elites of DC who've sold us out to China and endless wars over the past few decades shaming us with their brand of morality while profiting from our ignorance. Thanks to writers like Julie, we have become knowledgeable about the preening peacocks of the DC cocktail circuit and will never go back to their books, their publications, their cruise ships or their empty commentary ever again.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Robert C Hobart

Devastatingly accurate

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020

Julie Kelly calls out the treachery and dishonesty of the NeverTrumpers, the so-called "principled conservatives" who, it turns out, are neither principled nor conservative. She allows their own meticulously-quoted words and actions to show exactly who and what they are, a takedown that is especially useful now when they are trying to hand power over to the Left.

48 people found this helpful

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Scott Delaney

Buy the print edition before they cram it down the memoryhole

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

Julie Kelly presents the definitive chronicle of the NeverTrump phenomenon - it's too small to be called a movement - from its inception in the calumnious "Against Trump" issue of National Review in January 2016 to the declaration by the ever-shrinking group's putative leader that "we are all Democrats now" at the outset of the 2020 campaign.

Well written and clearly sourced, Kelly paints an accurate portrait of the craven, smug, and often hysterical machinations of this small group of malcontents fulminating with impotent rage on Leftist cable news programs and social media.

Using direct quotes presented in context, Kelly exposes their charade of "standing on principle" as a thin veneer to mask their contempt for President Trump and the roughly 90% of the Republican voters who support him and his agenda.

Once considered the brain trust of Republican policy, they now occupy themselves promoting every Democrat and Deep State scheme to take down President Trump. From the creation of the Steele Dossier, to the corrupt Operation Crossfire Hurricane, to the Mueller probe and the persecution of Gen. Michael Flynn, to the impeachment fiasco, Kelly documents, in their own words, NeverTrump's unwavering defense of Obama era abuses of FISA and the weaponization of the Department of Justice, first against the Trump campaign, and then the Trump administration itself.

And they don't confine themselves to scheming against President Trump and his administration. In Disloyal Opposition Kelly recounts, again using their own words in context, NeverTrump's vicious attacks on Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Covington Catholic kids, and evangelical Christian supporters of President Trump.

Eventually President Trump will leave office, the Republican party and the conservative movement will have new leaders, and the NeverTrump will seek to reclaim their positions as conservative opinion makers; Julie Kelly's Disloyal Opposition will be a bulwark against that.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael

A fascinating, if bewildering chronicle of political insanity

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent, readable chronicle of NeverTrump and its descent into lunacy. Kelly is detailed but concise, never getting lost in the weeds. That the book is so withering yet mostly resists gratuitous swipes says much about its subject.

There is one aspect of NeverTrump that Kelly does not delve into, and that is their motivations. Which of them were brought down by ego, and which by greed? Which became bent out of shape as a result of Trump's victory, and which were running a scam the whole time? A full accounting of this sad, destructive chapter in the history of American politics and political conservatism will have to wait--probably until some of these folks have entirely left political life--but meanwhile this book presents the awful blow-by-blow in accessible fashion.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

M. Blankenship

Love Julie Kelly

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020

You can always tell when someone is telling the truth. All the trolls show up to give bad reviews.

34 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

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J. Rupp

Useful Idiots for the Left

Reviewed in Germany on October 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

„The Never Trumper Republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our Country than the Do Nothing Democrats. Watch out for them, they are human scum!“
Mit diesen unfreundlichen Worten warnte Präsident Trump am 23. Oktober 2019 auf seinem Twitter-Account vor solchen Feinden seiner Person, die sich einst auf der rechten Seite des politischen Spektrums befanden. Diese sogenannten „Never Trumpers“ verabscheuen nicht nur die Politik von Donald Trump, sondern sie hassen ihn auch ganz persönlich und unterstellen ihm generell, ein besonders schlechter Mensch zu sein.
In dem hier zu besprechenden Sachbuch befasst sich die amerikanische Publizistin Julie Kelly mit dieser Gruppe von Intellektuellen, Aktivisten und Politikern, denen sie höchst kritisch gegenübersteht. Bei ihren informativen Ausführungen lässt sie keinen Zweifel daran aufkommen, dass diese die konservative Bewegung und die „Grand Old Party“ verraten haben. In der Ära nach Trump sollten sie daher keinen Platz im rechten Lager mehr haben.
Hierbei muss man berücksichtigen, dass die Autorin schon seit langem zu den schärfsten Kritikern von „Never Trump“ gehört. Bereits bevor sie damit begann, exklusiv für American Greatness zu arbeiten, urteilte sie über Bill Kristol, den informellen Anführer von „Never Trump“, wenig schmeichelhaft:
„Kristol could have been a thoughtful part of the Republican tradition of loyal, intraparty opposition, a vanguard of the basic principles and ideals he has promoted for more than two decades. Instead, he has become what he criticizes the president of being — a witless, selfish caricature who pushes conspiracy theories and appeals to the basest instincts of an angry populace. It’s time everyone, especially conservatives, stop taking him seriously.“ („Bill Kristol’s Now Reduced To Begging Mike Pence To Dethrone Trump“, The Federalist, August 9, 2017)

Kelly geht zunächst auf die Formierung von „Never Trump“ näher ein. Dabei stellt sie auch die Protagonisten ihrer Arbeit vor. Neben Kristol sind dies vor allem Jonah Goldberg, Mona Charen, David French, Bret Stephens, Jennifer Rubin, Max Boot, Charles Sykes, Stephen F. Hayes, Rick Wilson, Tom Nichols und John McCain. George Will, John Podhoretz und David Frum werden dagegen nur am Rande berücksichtigt.
Ihre gegen Trump und dessen Unterstützer gerichteten Beiträge veröffentlichten sie zunächst in konservativen Organen wie dem Weekly Standard, National Review oder Commentary. Aber auch linksliberale Zeitungen wie die Washington Post und die New York Times publizierten ihre Artikel oder beschäftigten sie gleich ganz als Kolumnisten.
Kennzeichnend für diese Gruppe von „Never Trumpers“ ist ihr Unvermögen, politische Situationen richtig einzuschätzen. So gingen sie als Erstes davon aus, dass Trump die republikanische Präsidentschaftskandidatur nicht erringen würde. Als Zweites waren sie dann davon überzeugt, dass „The Donald“ gegen Clinton chancenlos sei. Und als Drittes stand es für sie fest, dass Trump die Amtszeit von vier Jahren nicht durchstehen würde. Nicht ohne Schadenfreude stellt die Autorin fest, dass diese Prognosen allesamt nicht eingetroffen sind.
Ein wesentlicher Grund, warum die „Never Trumpers“ immer derart falsch lagen, besteht für Kelly darin, dass sie jeden Kontakt zur republikanischen Basis verloren haben. Sie sind derart abgehoben, dass sie politische Realitäten ständig außer Acht lassen. Zum gleichen Ergebnis gelangt auch Michael Doran, der in seinem Beitrag dazu ausführt:
„Trump, it turned out, read the conservative electorate much more accurately than the finest minds in Republican punditry did. He identified immigration, drugs, unemployment, and, yes, religious liberty as key issues that the media, the Democrats, and, to a certain extent, the Republican Party establishment were ignoring or downplaying.“ („The Anti-Trump Conservative Firing Circle Is Wildly Out Of Touch With The American Electorate“, The Federalist, July 10, 2018)

Diese permanente Entfremdung von ihrem früheren Umfeld sorgte dafür, dass die „Never Trumpers“ ihre konservativen Prinzipien vollständig aufgaben. Positionen, die sie einst vehement vertraten, spielten nun keine Rolle mehr. Stattdessen bewegten sie sich jetzt in einem progressiven Umfeld, das sie zuvor ablehnten und bekämpften.
Auf einmal sprachen sie vom menschengemachten Klimawandel und setzten sich für das Pariser Klimaabkommen ein, welches von Trump aufgekündigt worden war. Sie entdeckten das Recht auf Abtreibung und wollten von einem Recht auf Waffenbesitz nichts mehr wissen. Jede Ansicht, die der Präsident äußerte, wurde quasi automatisch von ihnen abgelehnt.
Damit verhielten sie sich genauso wie die politische Linke, die Trump ebenfalls hasste und verabscheute. Es ist deshalb nicht überraschend, dass „Never Trump“ nun die Demokraten in ihrem Krieg gegen die Republikaner unterstützte. So riefen sie bei den Kongresswahlen von 2018 offen dazu auf, demokratische Politiker zu wählen. Da die „Grand Old Party“ zur Partei von Donald Trump verkommen sei, müsse sie mit ihm untergehen. Kelly nennt sie daher schon in einer Kapitelüberschrift „Useful Idiots for the Left“.
Wie nützlich „Never Trump“ tatsächlich für die linken Kräfte ist, zeigt sich auch an der finanziellen Unterstützung, die den ehemaligen Konservativen von progressiven Milliardären zuteilwird. Der tiefe Hass auf „The Donald“ ist der gemeinsame Nenner, der diese unterschiedlichen Partner verbindet. Und da die Bezahlung stimmt, werden konservative Überzeugungen, die „Never Trump“ angeblich verteidigt, ganz schnell vergessen.
Mit Bezug auf die unheilige Allianz zwischen Bill Kristol und Pierre Omidyar, dem Gründer von eBay, meint die Autorin hierzu passend: „In less than two years, the ‘conservative’ who vows to uphold conservative principles and values against the Bad Orange Man was on the take from a progressive Silicon Valley tycoon opposed to every policy the conservative movement has promoted for the past three decades.“

Die Anbiederung an das linke Lager führte zwangsläufig dazu, dass die „Never Trumpers“ vom rechten Publikum abgestraft wurden. Am deutlichsten manifestierte sich dieser Sachverhalt beim Untergang des Weekly Standard, der es dank seiner Herausgeber geschafft hatte, seine konservative Leserschaft nach und nach zu vergraulen. Kelly fasst dieses Trauerspiel folgendermaßen zusammen:
„For the first two years of Trump’s presidency, the Weekly Standard was far from an independent voice — it served as an organ for the Resistance. The publication did little to advance ‘conservative’ ideas or offer conservative alternatives to Trump’s policy agenda; in fact, the magazine and its top editors, including editor Steve Hayes and editor-at-large Bill Kristol, repeatedly took cheap shots not only at Trump and his administration but at Republican lawmakers who supported the President.“
Der Präsident kommentierte das Ableben des Weekly Standard in einem Tweet vom 15. Dezember 2018 nicht ohne eine gewisse Genugtuung: „The pathetic and dishonest Weekly Standard, run by failed prognosticator Bill Kristol (who, like many others, never had a clue), is flat broke and out of business. Too bad. May it rest in peace!“
Dank seiner neuen linken Geldgeber war Kristol jedoch bald wieder im Geschäft. Er gründete die Webseite „The Bulwark“, mit welcher er den Kampf gegen Trump fortsetzte. Auch „The Dispatch“ wurde von „Never Trump“ aus der Taufe gehoben und gegen den Präsidenten in Stellung gebracht. Den Verlust des renommierten Weekly Standard können diese Projekte allerdings nicht kompensieren. Dazu fällt ihr Ansehen in konservativen Kreisen zu gering aus. Entsprechend ist der Schaden, den sie Trump und dessen loyaler Basis zufügen können, höchst überschaubar.

„Never Trump“ war sich gleichfalls nicht zu schade, die angebliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen Team Trump und den Russen zu propagieren. Dabei befanden sie sich erneut auf der Seite der Demokraten, der linken Leitmedien und der permanenten Bürokratie, die gemeinsam versuchten, Trump zu stürzen. Bei diesem unredlichen Versuch konnte jeder, der für „The Donald“ arbeitete oder der ihn verteidigte, angegriffen werden. Der enorme Machtmissbrauch, der damit einherging, wurde von „Never Trump“ gedeckt und aktiv unterstützt. Die Autorin führt hierzu aus:
„NeverTrump would remain prolific peddlers of collusion hype, helping the Democrats mislead the American public for three years that the Trump campaign was in cahoots with the Kremlin prior to Election Day.
In the process, NeverTrump abetted the biggest con job in American political history while covering up the legitimate scandal, one that will be documented as the most egregious abuse of federal power ever wielded against a U.S. presidential campaign.“
Von konservativen Prinzipien wie Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Machtbegrenzung oder Verantwortungsbewusstsein blieb nichts mehr übrig. Der Zweck, Trump zu zerstören, rechtfertigte jedes Mittel. Bereits im vorigen Jahr bemerkte Kelly dazu sarkastisch:
„Because Trump is president, now it is “conservative” to appear on left-leaning cable news shows and editorial pages to suggest the president — without evidence — is a Russian shill, agent, stooge, and worse, a traitor, whose days are numbered. Because Trump is president, now it is “conservative” to attack Republican lawmakers attempting to expose how unelected bureaucrats abused their power to target innocent Americans.“ („NeverTrump’s Complicity in Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax“, American Greatness, March 24, 2019)

Zuletzt geht die Autorin noch auf das Wahljahr 2020 ein, wobei sie allerdings die aktuellen Ereignisse in ihrem Buch nicht mehr berücksichtigen konnte. Anfang des Jahres sah es für Trump noch hervorragend aus. Die Wirtschaft brummte und die Aussichten von „Never Trump“, den Präsidenten doch noch niederzuringen, erschienen denkbar gering.
Mit der Viruskrise und dem Ausbruch von gewaltsamen Unruhen eröffneten sich jedoch für die zahllosen Feinde von Trump ungeahnte Möglichkeiten, ihn bei der anstehenden Präsidentschaftswahl zu besiegen. Auch „Never Trump“ schöpfte neue Hoffnung und tat so, als würde eine große Zahl von Konservativen und Republikanern gegen Trump stimmen. Kelly kommentiert dies wie folgt:
„To the untrained political eye, it might appear that a significant swath of influential Republicans oppose Donald Trump. And NeverTrump is working hard to create that phony impression thanks to millions of dollars in funding not from conservative donors but rather left-wing interests.“ („With Funding from the Left, NeverTrump’s Clown Show Hits the Home Stretch“, American Greatness, August 24, 2020)
Zu den Gruppierungen, die so tun, als ob sie konservative und republikanische Wähler in Massen ansprechen würden, gehört das „Lincoln Project“. Schaut man sich dieses Projekt etwas genauer an, stellt man schnell fest, dass es aus Leuten besteht, die politisch nicht viel vorzuweisen haben. Die Autorin formuliert es folgendermaßen:
„The Lincoln Project, flush with at least $16 million in anonymous donations so far this year, is led by a roster of GOP has-beens, including Steve Schmidt, the manager who led the 2008 John McCain presidential campaign to a humiliating defeat, and Rick Wilson, often seen on CNN mocking Trump supporters as illiterate rubes. Wilson also was loosely involved in the McCain race.“ („NeverTrump Parasites Won’t Give Up on Destroying Their Host“, American Greatness, July 14, 2020)

Die scharfe Kritik, welche die Autorin an den „Never Trumpers“ übt, ist natürlich auf ein unterschiedliches Echo gestoßen. In der ihr wohlwollend gesonnenen Besprechung von Nicholas J. Kaster kann man etwa lesen: „Kelly refers to Never Trumpers as “useful idiots for the Left,” criticism that is harsh, but on the whole accurate.“ („A Valuable Exposé of the #NeverTrump Movement“, American Thinker, August 15, 2020)
Umgekehrt urteilt David L. Bahnsen in seiner Rezension weitaus weniger wohlwollend:
„Those who read this book hoping for useful analysis of what exactly has polarized various figures on the right around their Trumpian positions are sure to be disappointed. What they will quickly learn instead is that treating all of President Trump’s critics as one monolithic group is dishonest, lazy, and ultimately unhelpful.“ („Julie Kelly’s Disloyal Opposition Is a Dishonest Disgrace“, National Review, July 31, 2020)
Dieser Zerriss geht entschieden zu weit. Wo man Kelly kritisieren muss, ist der Bezug zum Irakkrieg von 2003, wo sie den „Never Trumpers“ unterstellt, damals bereits bewußt gelogen zu haben, als es um die Frage der irakischen Massenvernichtungswaffen ging. Viele Experten und Nachrichtendienste gingen aber ebenfalls davon aus, dass der Irak über solche Waffen verfügt oder zumindest hart daran arbeitet.
Insgesamt gesehen ist es Julie Kelly jedoch gut gelungen, die unbestreitbare Widerwärtigkeit von „Never Trump“ aufzuzeigen. Wenn Präsident Trump im November abgewählt werden sollte, hätten sie zwar ihr Ziel erreicht, gleichzeitig würde allerdings ihre einzige Geschäftsgrundlage entfallen. Wenn die „Never Trumpers“ Glück haben, bleiben sie noch vier weitere Jahre für die politische Linke von Interesse. Ironischerweise ist hierzu ein Wahlsieg von Trump absolut unerlässlich.

Jürgen Rupp

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