Matthew Royal reviewed Un-Trumping America by Dan Pfeiffer
Review of 'Un-Trumping America' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
This book's title was compelling enough to override my skepticism, but it turned out to be clickbait.
Pfeiffer reviews recent political history though rosily-tinted Democrat glasses, and outlines some legislation and policy positions that the next-in-power, old-guard Democrats should use to consolidate their power with labor unions, effectively equating old-school Democrats with democracy. This view is naive, because even assuming pure intentions, it's clear that as a party, the Democrats are ineffective at dealing with the current Republican propaganda machine and talent pipelines.
There are no recommendations for structural change; just that -- wow -- the Republicans are soooooo awful these days. No actionable plans are presented on correcting or combatting the dysfunctions of the current Republican party. No advocating re-engagement with disillusioned Trump voters in the battle against the GOP's weaponized cynicism. No acknowledgement of the growing Progressive movement within the Democratic party AND the old-guard's politically suicidal suppression …
This book's title was compelling enough to override my skepticism, but it turned out to be clickbait.
Pfeiffer reviews recent political history though rosily-tinted Democrat glasses, and outlines some legislation and policy positions that the next-in-power, old-guard Democrats should use to consolidate their power with labor unions, effectively equating old-school Democrats with democracy. This view is naive, because even assuming pure intentions, it's clear that as a party, the Democrats are ineffective at dealing with the current Republican propaganda machine and talent pipelines.
There are no recommendations for structural change; just that -- wow -- the Republicans are soooooo awful these days. No actionable plans are presented on correcting or combatting the dysfunctions of the current Republican party. No advocating re-engagement with disillusioned Trump voters in the battle against the GOP's weaponized cynicism. No acknowledgement of the growing Progressive movement within the Democratic party AND the old-guard's politically suicidal suppression of them. As an Independent, I was disappointed at the lip service paid to rebalancing power among the branches. Very few statements in this book transcended partisan politics.
Overall, this perspective suffers from being in love with the way Democrats have always done things, ignoring their own dysfunctions and diseases to recommend only minor policy changes or ramping up attacks against the Republicans, who he believes are the true source of all the problems. As if only then, things will turn around and return to how they used to be.
