Voting to Kill: How 9/11 Launched the Era of Republican Leadership

by Jim Geraghty and Jim Geraghty

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with Sneum, Mark Ryan describes how Tommy made an incredible escape from Denmark in a battered old Hornet Moth aircraft - which he had to refuel in mid-air by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743290429
• ISBN13: 9780743290425
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great ready, funny author

This is a wonderful book by a great author. Jim Geraghty is a smart, insightful, and funny man. Though I disagree with his political views the book is very good at presenting both sides of the argument. Read it and Love it!

Nothing Subtracts like Division . . .

Jim Geraghty's oddly titled book takes a timely look back at the elections of 2002 and 2004. As the subtitle points out, these elections inaugurated "an era of Republican leadership." In the 2000 presidential election, the Republican nominee lost the popular vote, even as Republicans were losing four seats in the Senate and two in the House. But in the 2002 midterm election, Republicans defied historically grounded expectations of further losses and instead regained two Senate seats while holding their own in the House. Standing for reelection in 2004, George W. Bush not only won a narrow majority of the popular vote, but also increased his vote total by more than 11,000,000; Republicans picked up four seats in the Senate and two in the House. The era of Republican consolidation, if not dominance, seemed to have arrived In this book Geraghty sets out to explain why. He finds the answer in Republican leadership on the issue of national security. He argues that 9/11 altered the psyche of the average American voter, attuning him to the mortal peril posed by the enemy who showed his face to such devastating effect on that day. "While the intensity of the post-9/11 emotions will fade to a certain extent," Geraghty writes, "something in the American consciousness changed permanently that day." In making his case, Geraghty tells the story of the elections of 2002 and 2004 mostly from the outside - thematically, drawing on the contemporaneous words of participants, pollsters, consultants, observers, commentators, journalists and, lest we forget, the bloggers. Perhaps most striking is Geraghty's account of how quickly Democrats reverted to form following 9/11. Geraghty notes the initial, twisted post-9/11 reactions of such far-Left figures as Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore. Geraghty points out, for example, that within 24 hours of the 9/11 attack, Michael Moore was imputing guilt to the United States for "taxpayer-funded terrorism" and suggesting that some kind of cosmic payback was at work. Geraghty mordantly writes that "neither additional years nor the passage of weeks seemed to temper the reaction of those farthest to the left." On the contrary, Geraghty shows that the intemperance of the far Left worked itself into the heart of the Democratic establishment as Senate minority leader Tom Daschle and Democratic party chairman Terry McAuliffe attended the 2004 Washington, D.C., premiere of Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Geraghty devotes a chapter to the proposition that Moore became a symbolic face of the Democratic party in 2004 and concludes: "The party that has the more appealing faces wins the elections." For the duration of Michael Moore's career, Republicans should pray to their God that Moore remains face of the Democratic party. Geraghty places the ascendance of national security as an electoral issue in the context of events since 1972, and especially of the rise of McGovernism as the practical foreign-policy doctrine of the Democratic party. Th

Jim Geraghty: one of the more sensible National Review writers

A number of writers at the National Review foolishly believe that it might be good if the Republican Party is rebuked in the November elections. Thankfully, Jim Geraghty has his head screwed on tight. The author clearly understands that the Democrats cannot be trusted with national defense issues. We are at war with Islamic nihilism and this struggle cannot be won if terrorism is considered merely a nuisance to be handled by our local police departments. No, the terrorists must be either killed or imprisoned. A middle ground solution is not viable. The catchy title of chapter ten says it all: "You Can't Win If You're Angrier at Halliburton Than Osama bin Ladin." Too many Democrats perceive George W. Bush as far more of a menace than Islamic terrorism. One can't "Even Trust Hawkish Democrats," adds Geraghty. Such individuals are placed under enormous pressure by the leftists surrounding them on a daily basis. The risk that they might eventually capitulate is not worth taking. Geraghty points out that it is downright weird when left-winger Senator Hillary Clinton is "The Democrats' Most Unlikely Hawkish Role Model." Republicans, however, still "need to appear as reluctant warriors" and not overly eager war lovers. Destroying terrorists is a necessity, and not an inherently enjoyable activity. The war on terror will not end anytime in the near future. Tragically, the GOP is the only game in town. We cannot afford to have "The Party of Terrorists' Rights" running our government during this Post 9/11 era. Please read Jim Geraghty's book before entering the voting booth next month. You should also consider buying a few extra copies to give to your friends and neighbors. David Thomson Flares into Darkness

Outstanding!

Geraghty has written the must-read book of the political season. It portends that even in the face of crappy poll numbers and an occassionally ill-focused agenda, Republicans are likely to continue their string of electoral successes in large measure because voters don't trust the Democrats and the American left to successfully prosecute the War on Terror. Geraghty's book is exhaustively researched and yet remains a pleasure to read. His blogger's wit and irreverance combines with spot on analysis to make this the political book of the year.

why the Michael Moore Party can't win

Geraghty makes a persuasive case that the war on terror is not an election issue, but THE issue, and the reason why the Republicans are likely to dominate for some time to come unless the Democrats change their tune. Unfortunately, he makes an equally strong case that the Democrats probably won't change their tune in the foreseeable future, due to a large constituency that doesn't take terrorism seriously. Geraghty does overstate his case in some instances, and understates it slightly in others, which is why I gave it 4 stars rather than 5. It's a pretty good book, but with a little more editing it could have been a great one.