It's My Party

July 31, 2000
Robinson, a former Reagan speechwriter (now a Hoover Institution fellow and host of PBS's Uncommon Knowledge), presents "a travel book, one tourist's notes as he journeyed across the territory of the Republican Party" in search of what it stands for now that Reagan is gone. Along the way. he looks at the party's history, its fortunes in the South, relations with Hollywood and the press, party loyalties and ethnicity/religion/geography/culture, women and the gender gap, a comparison of Republican fortunes on national and local fronts, and two candidates: George W. Bush and, rather unfortunately, Rudy Giuliani (who has since withdrawn from the New York senatorial race). Robinson is a Reaganite, a true believer who agreed with "nearly every word Ronald Reagan uttered," and this makes his assessment of the party somewhat predictable. However, he also displays what has become a rare quality: healthy partisanship. Rather than simply worshiping whatever can be labeled "Republican," Robinson expresses a desire to improve the party and its chances for success even if that calls for recognizing Republican foibles. He suggests, for example, that narrowing the gender gap is going to require making appeals to the concerns of women, and that this is not all bad; instead of taking an unyieldingly tough line on social issues, "showing a little heart would do the party good." He recognizes that at times the party can seem "absurd" and "pigheaded" without discarding his belief in its central principles, especially standing for "traditional morality." Even non-Republicans will find this kind of mild but honest criticism interesting, especially since Robinson professes his "love" for the party without insulting anyone not similarly inclined.

August 9, 2000
This lighthearted look at the Republican Party is intended for the reader who "has no desire to master the minutiae of the Republican Party, just a sense that he'd like to look into it a little" says Robinson, cofounder of the Dartmouth Review, former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and host of the PBS talk show Uncommon Knowledge. The author bases his material on the journal he kept as he traveled around the country this spring talking with Republicans in and out of government to get a sense of the party's demographic and geographic composition. His analysis is superficial and largely uncritical, although he admits that by failing to find ways to appeal to minority, ethnic, and female voters, the party limits its chances of winning in national and many statewide elections. An optional choice for public libraries.--Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo Lib.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2000
With the approach of the November elections, this book provides an interesting look at the Republican Party, one that will evoke cheers from true believers and occasional scorn from Democrats and Independents. Robinson is a lifelong Republican, raised in a Republican family and a Republican community, who later became a "professional" Republican and worked in the Reagan White House as a speechwriter. Robinson uses his own recollections and interviews with a cross section of Republicans to present an image of the party and its values. But as a great admirer of Reagan, he finds the party post-Reagan poorly defined and lacking direction. Robinson notes the divisions within the party and the differences between true believers and pragmatists. He traces the history of the party and is glowing in praise for the Republican "crusade" to end slavery. His insistence on the race neutrality of the Republican party is incredible. Although Robinson denies he's a zealot, his is a more affectionate than critical look at one of the nation's major political parties. ((Reviewed August 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)