Politics & Government
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Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell
Former Republican political operative Tim Miller answers the question no one else has fully grappled with: Why did normal people go along with the worst of Trumpism?
As one of the strategists behind the famous 2012 RNC "autopsy," Miller conducts his own forensic study on the pungent carcass of the party he used to love, cutting into all the hubris, ambition, idiocy, desperation, and self-deception for everyone to see. In a bracingly honest reflection on both his own past work for the Republican Party and the contortions of his former peers in the GOP establishment, Miller draws a straight line between the actions of the 2000s GOP to the Republican political class's Trumpian takeover, including the horrors of January 6th.
From ruminations on the mental jujitsu that allowed him as a gay man to justify becoming a hitman for homophobes, to astonishingly raw interviews with former colleagues who jumped on the Trump Train, Miller diagrams the flattering and delusional stories GOP operatives tell themselves so they can sleep at night. With a humorous touch he reveals Reince Priebus' neediness, Sean Spicer's desperation, Elise Stefanik and Chris Christie's raw ambition, and his close friends' submission to a MAGA psychosis.
Why We Did It is a vital, darkly satirical warning that all the narcissistic justifications that got us to this place still thrive within the Republican party, which means they will continue to make the same mistakes and political calculations that got us here, with disastrous consequences for the nation.
As one of the strategists behind the famous 2012 RNC "autopsy," Miller conducts his own forensic study on the pungent carcass of the party he used to love, cutting into all the hubris, ambition, idiocy, desperation, and self-deception for everyone to see. In a bracingly honest reflection on both his own past work for the Republican Party and the contortions of his former peers in the GOP establishment, Miller draws a straight line between the actions of the 2000s GOP to the Republican political class's Trumpian takeover, including the horrors of January 6th.
From ruminations on the mental jujitsu that allowed him as a gay man to justify becoming a hitman for homophobes, to astonishingly raw interviews with former colleagues who jumped on the Trump Train, Miller diagrams the flattering and delusional stories GOP operatives tell themselves so they can sleep at night. With a humorous touch he reveals Reince Priebus' neediness, Sean Spicer's desperation, Elise Stefanik and Chris Christie's raw ambition, and his close friends' submission to a MAGA psychosis.
Why We Did It is a vital, darkly satirical warning that all the narcissistic justifications that got us to this place still thrive within the Republican party, which means they will continue to make the same mistakes and political calculations that got us here, with disastrous consequences for the nation.
Editorial Reviews
Tim is a supremely gifted storyteller who writes with brutal honesty and stylish gallows humor about the GOP's toxic mix of opportunists, joy riders, and grifters who enabled Donald Trump's rise and guaranteed his enduring grip on the Republican Party. Tim takes a scalpel to the malignant tumor smothering American democracy by dissecting his own friends and onetime colleagues. The most valuable contribution of Tim's book may be the anthropological examination of just how little separates a ‘normal' Republican from an activist working to overthrow a free and fair presidential election. - Nicolle Wallace
Tim's smart and witty takes on the current madness of our political times has been my balm of Gilead. In this book, Tim examines what makes some people abandon their principles to align with the current center of power and what makes others hold fast to their convictions in spite of finding themselves suddenly on the outs. As a former Republican partisan, Tim breaks it all down in precise bombs of truth and keen insight into some of the more awful truths of human nature when it comes to the allure of power. - Jane Lynch
Mea culpa and tell-all, Tim Miller's Why We Did It reveals why and how a generation of Republican politicos bent the knee to a president so many of them privately feared and despised. - David Frum
From any dark experience springs something hopeful and good. In the Trump years, that bright side has been Tim and his compatriots who took up arms to fight the MAGA scourge. Before this book, I understood why the crazies and kooks went along with Trump, but now I fully grasp why smart, supposedly ‘normal' Republicans did, too. Tim's observations are clear-eyed, wise, brutally honest, and darkly hilarious. Everyone should read this book, especially fellow Democrats who want to better understand our political foes. - James Carville
When the history of this era is written, the dominant question will likely be, How did this happen? Tim Miller's Why We Did It offers a crucial insider's answer to that question. It's a must-read report from the belly of the beast detailing how the unimaginable becomes inevitable. Looking back at a career in politics and being horrified at what you were part of is not the most fun exercise in life. Tim examines his role with clear honesty, sadness, and an amusing sense of the absurd. This is a big, important book. Read it. - Stuart Stevens
Tim's smart and witty takes on the current madness of our political times has been my balm of Gilead. In this book, Tim examines what makes some people abandon their principles to align with the current center of power and what makes others hold fast to their convictions in spite of finding themselves suddenly on the outs. As a former Republican partisan, Tim breaks it all down in precise bombs of truth and keen insight into some of the more awful truths of human nature when it comes to the allure of power. - Jane Lynch
Mea culpa and tell-all, Tim Miller's Why We Did It reveals why and how a generation of Republican politicos bent the knee to a president so many of them privately feared and despised. - David Frum
From any dark experience springs something hopeful and good. In the Trump years, that bright side has been Tim and his compatriots who took up arms to fight the MAGA scourge. Before this book, I understood why the crazies and kooks went along with Trump, but now I fully grasp why smart, supposedly ‘normal' Republicans did, too. Tim's observations are clear-eyed, wise, brutally honest, and darkly hilarious. Everyone should read this book, especially fellow Democrats who want to better understand our political foes. - James Carville
When the history of this era is written, the dominant question will likely be, How did this happen? Tim Miller's Why We Did It offers a crucial insider's answer to that question. It's a must-read report from the belly of the beast detailing how the unimaginable becomes inevitable. Looking back at a career in politics and being horrified at what you were part of is not the most fun exercise in life. Tim examines his role with clear honesty, sadness, and an amusing sense of the absurd. This is a big, important book. Read it. - Stuart Stevens
Readers Top Reviews
JakeVKJakeVKAurel
There is no shortage of former people around Trump holding back info and writing a book revealing it all. This ain't what this book is. This book written by somebody that spent their career laying the ground work for Trumpism to take root and owning up to it. Real contrition can be identified when somebody tries to do the work to make up for what they've done. Tim Miller reveals all the dirt here. He brings it to the surface so we can see it all laid out in the daylight. I highly recommend reading this one.
Jean MasonJakeVKJ
I read the book in one day. It was a fascinating examination of how the Republican political class responded to the phenomenon of Donald Trump but someone who knew many of the players. Miller's examination of his own motives and behavior pre-Trump when he was enmeshed in the world of GOP politics helps put the situation in perspective
MasrikiJean Mason
There are some Trump supporters who would believe it at face value if Donald Trump suddenly told them that rattlesnakes would make good housepets. They would rush to the pet store to buy them and get furious when they found out there was some law or regulation against it. They would claim a huge conspiracy by the Deep State that would only get more elaborate as the days go by, complete with third-hand eyewitness accounts that do not stand up to a 2-minute Internet search or a 4th grade science textbook. And for some reason, incomprehensibly, there are what seem to be otherwise-normal people who support Trump, who have been the subject of much less attention. Miller explains both phenomena, which includes Republicans within government who transformed from being repulsed by Trump to his acolytes. In either case, what is going on with them is not exactly a long-term winning approach for the Republican party.
MasrikiJean Ma
I have read what seems like a thousand “how did we get here?” books from former Republicans. This is as introspective, honest, funny, and insightful as it gets. It’s smack-you-in-the-face perception mixed with just plain fun reminiscing. Can’t recommend enough.
John P Wixted M
Tim Miller is an excellent writer--both in the traditional sense, and in the way he weaves "modern" vernacular into his prose. The writing would sound almost "just" conversational if it weren't so sophisticated. His exploration of this specific subject is timely and we're lucky to be given a peek behind the curtain that he is uniquely positioned to part. Honesty is in such short supply nowadays but Tim doesn't shrink from calling himself on the carpet for his part in how we got here. In doing so he gives us a better understanding of how we might fix ourselves.
