The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine

When the Republican Party took over Congress in 1995, it promised to reduce the size of the federal government, eliminate the corruption and excesses of the Democrats, and change the way Washington works. Instead, as Matthew Continetti reports in this unsparing exposé, the Republican majority has overseen the largest expansion of federal power since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and established close and scandalous ties with special interest groups and corporate lobbies.

CAN THIS PARTY BE SAVED? portrays the rise of the new breed of Republicans running Washington today. It tells the full stories of the names splashed in the headlines: Tom DeLay, who clawed his way from the back benches of Congress to emerge as the symbol of the GOP’s unholy alliance with corporate America; and Grover Norquist, the antitax activist who engineered the Republican takeover of the lobbying industry. It reveals, too, how Newt Gingrich, once the conservative movement’s greatest spokesperson and visionary, sacrificed idealism for wealth and influence.

This year’s midterm elections will be a testing ground for the American voter. CAN THIS PARTY BE SAVED? provides vital information for readers across the political spectrum, from conservatives fighting to revitalize Gingrich’s revolutionary vision to liberals battling for a stronger voice in Congress.