![]() I'll try to address the sub-points below, though some may be less adequately covered since occasionally I had to listen on the go and couldn't take great notes.Ī core point he makes is the idea that government agency officials are "far from the voting public" and thus it's essentially undemocratic to use them heavily. In terms of solutions, the only real one he offered was "starve the government" and with only a few pages of explanation, so this is more a book about banging the drum to raise awareness of these problems rather than aiming people towards a particular solution. In particular, they have expanded the number and scope of federal agencies like the CFPB which have a lot of unilateral power to dish out fines and then allocate those proceeds to crony causes and charities and agencies which help further a cycle of voting democratic, expanding budget, and driving more fining power. Democrats, since they tend to see solutions to problems as "the government should step in and fix this", have presided over its expansion and set that agenda. Jason's key contention is that the US government is an expanding bureaucracy and that's a bad thing because it distances the activities of the government from elected representatives and instead puts it in the hands of low accountability "b-players" who entrench themselves and drive social agendas. Where he could present a balanced perspective that tries to expand knowledge (eg by addressing the obvious critiques of his points) and still make compelling arguments, he instead doubles down and pushes for emotional impact by resorting to cheap shots or eye-rolling statements like "A globalist agenda that seeks to weaken America". The tone of the book has that "straight off of Fox News" one-sided and emotionally-charged style, which can make it difficult to approach the value of the content. For those people without a lot of exposure to conservative media points, this book will help illuminate why a lot of issues are unexpectedly emotional for this base and also open up a range of new (and valuable) topics that aren't covered well in the more liberal media. I'll try to be fair to the former without ignoring the latter, because one-sided arguments and the use of straw-man tactics are ultimately far less convincing than balanced perspectives. This is a tough book to review because it makes a number of important arguments that are simultaneously undermined by the author's omnipresent bias and use of low rhetorical devices to make unsupported points. ![]() ![]() But it’s a fight that’s still eminently winnable, and Chaffetz reveals the playbook. To take back our country, the American people need to understand that they’re in a new fight. ![]() In The Puppeteers, Chaffetz reveals Electing the right leaders is no longer enough. The White House or the Congress may change hands, but the left remains in power. Using both government and non-governmental institutions, leftists have bypassed the legislative process to compel institutional compliance with partisan goals. ![]() Increasingly, the work of government is being done by people outside the government-unelected power brokers who are invisible to the American public but who pull the strings, set the agendas, create the incentives, and write the rules we must all live by. But now, he says, winning elections will not be enough. For generations, conservatives have hoped that freedom-loving congressional majorities could turn back the tide and restore America’s liberties and prosperity. AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Why does it feel like no matter what happens in American politics, the Democrats still get their way? When he left Congress in 2017, Jason Chaffetz still thought elections could save us. ![]()
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