The Skimmer

The Wrecking Crew

By Thomas Frank Metropolitan Books; 369 pages

Conservatives are just a gang of bullies in this polemic by the author of What's the Matter with Kansas? The volume stars jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, with a supporting cast that includes Grover Norquist and Tom DeLay. It explains how cynical conservatives have wrested control of the government by railing against its very existence, all while using federal perches to funnel billions into the pockets of lobbyists and the corporations they represent. "Conservatism, as we know it, is a movement that is about greed," steered by the right-wing "chiselers" on the Hill and inside gleaming K Street offices, Frank writes. He offers one damning anecdote after another, like the tale of an especially effective and wealthy lobbyist that made him "want to curl up with a bottle of scotch, set the Sex Pistols record on infinite repeat, and forget this city of bought men." The only solution: "wholesale renovation of the federal apparatus." Liberals will nod approvingly and smirk the whole way through, while conservatives will grind their teeth to the gums. Which is probably what the author had in mind.

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