BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

This is a political book, not a policy book – in other words, it about the process of getting elected and getting power, rather than what is done with that power. The extent of pure politics is evidenced by the table of contents, which includes chapter titles like The Rise to Power, The Conservative Movement, and The Looney Left -- there are chapters – fewer! -- on the Welfare State and Health Care, and those focus on the politics of those issues rather than the policy, too. Nevertheless, by digging up and publishing numerous works from Newt Gingrich's past – some of which had never been published before – this book offers deep insight into Gingrich's thinking and political philosophy.

The book also flirts with academia: it uses terms like "near-Manichaean" (p. 2), "an American Gaullist" (p. ix), and "whence he began his quest" (p. 3). Normal voters don't talk like that – those are terms that academics use to exclude normal voters from understanding what they're talking about – and writing like that has no place in the political books intended to be read by normal voters. Of course, Newt Gingrich also flirts with academia, so perhaps the authors are just echoing Newt: Gingrich uses the term "nihilistic hedonism" (p. 63), another term intended to exclude normal voters, and Gingrich is a PhD historian. And Gingrich has no excuse justifying exclusionism, since he bashes the "elite" – one chapter is derisively entitled "The Intellectual Elite" -- using elitist exclusionism in language is just as bad as the intellectual elitism that Newt bashes.

Now, about the title and layout of the book: it's modeled after Quotations from Chairman Mao, the handbook of the leader of the Communist Revolution in China, which was required reading for all Chinese citizens for decades. Its nickname was "Mao's Little Red Book", and this book's subtitle is "The Little Red White and Blue Book of the Republican Revolution." It's a very cute reference that a historian like Newt would appreciate, but of course it's exactly the opposite of Newt's philosophy.

The biggest problem with this book is that it often covers material that is too old to be relevant for the 2016 race. For example, one of the few policy chapters, entitled Health Care, is about the fight over HillaryCare in the 1990s – which became entirely outdated after ObamaCare came about in 2009. Newt's ideas still hold, but the reader must apply them in the more recent context. Bottom line: Yes, this book is old; but we wish there were an update!

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, July 2016

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Civil Rights     Newt Gingrich: GOP can no longer be the party of the country club.     Newt Gingrich: Equality of opportunity, not equality of result.     Newt Gingrich: Affirmative opportunity instead of affirmative action.

Crime     Newt Gingrich: Lock up violent criminals until they're too old for violence.

Drugs     Newt Gingrich: I used marijuana at a party once; it had no effect.     Newt Gingrich: Permissive attitudes lead to considering legalizing drugs.

Education     Newt Gingrich: Make universities about Western values, not quaint artifacts.     Newt Gingrich: Voluntary school prayer really does matter.

Families & Children     Newt Gingrich: It's conceivable I was insensitive during my divorce.     Newt Gingrich: Welfare system destroys the family; replace welfare state.     Newt Gingrich: Families are not anything other than heterosexual couples.

Foreign Policy     Al Gore: OpEd: compares U.S. to a dysfunctional civilization.     Newt Gingrich: Threats to civilization are real, & fight needs leadership.     Ronald Reagan: Knew "evil empire" would polarize but felt forced to use it.

Free Trade     Newt Gingrich: Supported NAFTA & GATT in common with Clinton administration.     Newt Gingrich: Compete in world market because we can't retreat from it.

Government Reform     Newt Gingrich: Americans want public officials to live a Christian life.     Newt Gingrich: I believe in lean bureaucracy, not in no bureaucracy.

Health Care     Newt Gingrich: Replace expensive, red-tape-ridden, litigious system.     Newt Gingrich: Socialized medicine designed to seize control of system.

Jobs     Newt Gingrich: Welfare attacks work & encourages getting out of work.     Newt Gingrich: Lower lifetime earning level if you go to Job Corps.

Principles & Values     Bill Clinton: OpEd: core activity combines counterculture and McGovern.     Newt Gingrich: As an army brat, I know how exciting military life can be.     Newt Gingrich: Grew up on military bases during Vietnam War.     Newt Gingrich: Mother married to biological father for only 3 days.     Newt Gingrich: Great Republican tradition of progressivism from 1856-1912.     Newt Gingrich: Judeo-Christian traditions and rules work.     Pat Buchanan: OpEd: Reagan says with humor what Buchanan says with anger.

Social Security     Newt Gingrich: Change how we pay for retirement but don't abolish system.

Tax Reform     John F. Kennedy: OpEd: knew that high taxes put people out of work.

Technology     Newt Gingrich: Space mirrors could uncover criminals lurking in darkness.     Newt Gingrich: Space exploration solves the world's most pressing problems.

War & Peace     Newt Gingrich: LBJ misled the American people about war in Asia.     Newt Gingrich: Use air power against every position everywhere.

Welfare & Poverty     Lyndon Johnson: OpEd: Legacy of Great Society is red tape & deficits.     Newt Gingrich: Change America one church & one organization at a time.     Newt Gingrich: Tell the poor the truth: to be middle class is to work hard.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Al Gore Democrat Bill Clinton Democrat John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Newt Gingrich Republican Pat Buchanan Reform Ronald Reagan