Amazon.com Review
A leading figure in the American conservative movement for over 40 years, Mickey Edwards was a prominent Republican congressman, a former national chairman of the American Conservative Union, and a founding trustee of the Heritage Foundation. When he speaks, conservatives listen. Now, in this highly provocative and frank volume, Edwards argues loud and clear that conservatives today have abandoned their principles and have become champions of that which they once feared most. Amazon Exclusive
Read a letter from Mickey Edwards, author of Reclaiming Conservatism.
Dear Amazon Reader,
Having been repudiated even in states they had long dominated, Republicans woke up on November 5th faced with the challenge of rebuilding a political party that had been transformed overnight from powerful to pitiful. They should have seen it coming. In my book, Reclaiming Conservatism, I describe precisely how Republicans in the White House and in Congress became the enemies of the principles they once stood for, a threat to constitutional government, and a party thoroughly deserving of the rebuke it has received. I explain specifically how conservatives can again earn the public’s confidence.
Now Republican leaders are trying to find the way back. In the process, they are continuing to look in the wrong direction, unwilling to face the reality of the disastrous choices that led to their defeat. So-called conservatives, they have abandoned true American conservatism--which is properly focused on limited (not small) government, individual liberty, and prudent governance--and have instead become the champions of wiretapping, government secrecy, federal deficits, questionable wars, and a nasty kind of politics that even questions the patriotism of those who disagree with their policies.
The Republican Party long stood for the principles at the heart of the American Constitution, including a belief in the wonderful possibilities of self-government (instead of the anti-government rhetoric it has since embraced). It celebrated ideas instead of the rabid anti-intellectualism it has come to cherish. It celebrated diversity (Barry Goldwater argued that there was no such thing as a merely common man) rather than demanding sameness in religion, values, and beliefs. The Republican Party does not need to re-invent itself--it merely needs to remember what it once was.
Sincerely,
Mickey Edwards
From Publishers Weekly
This book is a cri de coeur by former Republican congressman Edwards, a veteran conservative founding trustee of the Heritage Foundation who once ranked as the national chairman of the American Conservative Union. Edwards believes that conservatism has abandoned the ideas of limited government that once inspired it. This has been, he argues, the paradoxical price of conservative electoral success, and the process of winning and retaining this power has brought its own temptations. Taking Washington required coalition forming with neoconservatives, the religious right and former supporters of George Wallace who all owed little to the Goldwater-style conservatism in which the thing being 'conserved' was the liberal revolution embodied in the Constitution. According to Edwards, these other views have intensified as the Bush administration presides over an evolving security state, and the movement Edwards once held sacrosanct is now unrecognizable. This is a critique with force and eloquence, but its author is better at defining what has, from his perspective, gone wrong, than providing persuasive suggestions as to how conservatives of his mindset are meant to win elections today. (Mar.)
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Review
"With erudition an passion, Edwards presents his case for reclaiming the former conservatism and ends with eight steps, e.g., 'Reread the Constitution.' First read this book. For all collections."--Library Journal"Readers from across the political spectrum will care about the issues Edwards raises."--Booklist"Edwards has issued a passionate plea for a return to the kind of conservatism that cared about people, not power. His argument is that it is the Constitution that matters, not partisan advantage, and that true conservatives care about equality of opportunity, not privilege."--The Honorable Jack Kemp"This is an excellent book, lucid and compelling, and it sounds a clarion call to all Americans to unite and protect that most precious of documents, the United States Constitution. A marvelous work."--William S. Sessions, Former Director, FBI"A long-time leader among conservatives, Mickey Edwards minces no words in this stinging indictment of the men and movements that he blames for betraying conservative principles. This is a courageous effort to help regain his vision of conservatism."--David Gergen, Harvard University"This book reminded me again why I am a Conservative. It is a great wake up call and a plan to action."--Ed Rollins"Mickey Edwards is a rarity--a long-time professional politician with a deep sense of history and philosophy, someone who combines a knowledge of politics and policy with an intellectually sophisticated framework. This book should be read by every politician, and especially every presidential candidate, who pontificates on the American political system and the U.S. Constitution."--Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research"Mickey Edwards has written a book that rings as clear as the Liberty Bell. His unflinching assessment of our endangered political order ought to be read by every American citizen."--Sean Wilentz, Princeton University"Edwards' analysis is a case study in the old axiom that 'power corrupts'--it is a critique that deserves to be read."--David Keene, National Chairman, American Conservative Union"Writing with passion, wisdom and lucidity, Edwards provides a scathing critique of the Congress's acquiescence in the dangerous and unprecedented concentration of power in the Bush presidency. Reclaiming Conservatism is a tour de force."--Thomas E. Mann, The Brookings Institution Book Description
A leading conservative offers a searing critique of the modern conservative movement
About the Author
Mickey Edwards is on the faculty at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and is a Vice President of the Aspen Institute. After leaving Congress, he taught at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for 11 years and was selected by students as the outstanding teacher in the school. He was a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and other major newspapers.
