First published 2009
Award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal investigates the fringe movements that have captured control of the Republican Party. His reporting reveals how Sarah Palin received blessing from a Kenyan priest known for witch exorcisms, how establishment figures like John McCain must appease theocratic forces to remain viable, and why Palin represented the inevitable choice for a party dominated by religious extremists. Blumenthal documents the personal crises plaguing conservative movement leaders: mental illness, addiction, domestic violence, sexual scandals, and worse. Drawing on psychologist Erich Fromm's theories about anxiety-driven authoritarianism, he argues that personal dysfunction fuels the radical right's appeal. The book traces how individual psychological crisis has reshaped conservative politics and transformed the Republican Party's trajectory for generations to come.
Genres: american, political-science, politics, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, personal-crisis
Setting: Kenya
Period: 21st-century
416 pages · Hardcover · Nation Books
Content warnings: addiction, domestic-violence, mental-illness