The Right-Wing Idea Factory

The Right-Wing Idea Factory offers a remarkable history of the transformation of America's right wing-from Reagan's principled conservatism to Trump's transactional quest for power. Kettl reveals both the long roots of Trumpism in America and abroad and the forces that will surely continue to propel it. A preeminent scholar of federalism, policy, and politics, Kettl has woven a bold and persuasive account of how power is wielded in our contemporary American politics. * Sarah Binder, George Washington University and The Brookings Institution *
Don Kettl has written a comprehensive guide to the way that money and opportunity produced a flood of ideas that supported Donald Trump's conquest of the presidency. It is an invaluable resource for understanding our current political predicament. * Francis Fukuyama, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University *
People want to know how America has reached its present crisis. Don Kettl rises above the partisan noise with a thoughtful, historical analysis of how modern conservatism mutated into a threat to American democracy, making it an indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand the new rightists of the twenty-first century. * Tom Nichols, Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of The Death of Expertise *
The existential threat to our democracy did not start with Donald Trump, and it will not end when he leaves the scene. In a masterful book blending history, philosophy, and deep analysis, Don Kettl gives us the roadmap that got us here, the rise and expansion of the right-wing idea factory. If you care about the future of our constitutional system, this book is essential reading. * Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute, and co-author of It's Even Worse Than It Looks *