Take Them at Their Words: Startling, Amusing and Baffling Quotations from the GOP and Their Friends, 1994-2004

By Diana Maio and Bruce J. Miller

In the wake of the Republican revolution of 1994, when the G.O.P. won majority status in the U.S. House of Representatives and House Speaker Newt Gingrich's Contract With America made best-seller lists, Bruce J. Miller began collecting the verbal and rhetorical gems of freshman Republicans and their many friends in the media--as well as a smattering of oddities from the other end of the political spectrum. Take Them At Their Words is an amusing, shocking and revealing compendium of quotes taken from a wide variety of sources such as the Congressional Record, radio and television, newspapers, books, magazines and websites. The quotes are grouped under headings like "Earth day at the G.O.P." and "Love Thy Neighbor." Twelve contemporary political cartoons are also included.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089733521X
• ISBN13: 9780897335218
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers
• Length: 369 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

as bad as you thought

Here in one handy book are many of the outrageous things you thought you'd heard conservative extremists say, arranged in chapters by topic (education, judiciary, the Clintons, etc.) and indexed by name at the back of the book. There are over 350 pages of quotes here (in standard typeface) and I bet it would be easy to put together another volume. Quotes range from a sentence to a page, and give the context of the utterance. As one might expect, George W., Ann Coulter, Tom Delay, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Newt and Rummy figure largely, and the quotes are as outrageous as one fears. They are hateful, hate-filled and despicable, and go a long way in explaining the coarsening of American political discourse.

Fantastic amusing, yet disturbing

The republicans and their whacko and dishonest thugs in the media are well documented here. The republicans hate it because it's a record of their horrific behavior, their lies, their manipulation. People who really love this country, and the truth, will appreciate this document of republican distortion. It is time for all of us to demand truth, and this well documented book shows us how unfair the republican right really is. Highly recommended.

Excellent book, thoroughly researched

Speaking of Rush and dogs--it's interesting to see that his attack dogs have come out in full force against this book. As someone who recalls hearing the quote in question, I can understand why the extreme right would be so fearful of this book, since it clearly demonstrates the power of the printed word. To see an entire book of similarly misguided and hateful quotes is not only amusing in a perverse sort of way, but it also stands as a record of all of the divisive and ignorant comments made on a daily basis by many of the men and women who are set with the challenge of leading our nation. Bruce Miller's book is a must-read for anyone interested in American politics. Not only is it entertaining, it also provides a bigger picture of why our nation is so polarized--with so many people spewing words of hatred and fear, this book serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go if we're to reach any sort of middle ground.I highly recommend this book. You may feel like you've heard it all before, but seeing all of it collected in one place--in print--makes it all the more dramatic.

Best Served Cold

This conpendium of quotations from the radical right wing of U.S. politics and media makes good, if chilling, reading. it's only unnerving if you remember that these people very likely mean exactly the things that they've said. It leads one to wonder why people are so surprised when they finally see the far right's agenda in action, because it's clearly laid out in the words they say on a regular basis. This book deserves a place on the bookshelf of just about any American who believes in equality for all, as both a reminder and as ammunition: these words should be served up to right wingers at every available opportunity.

i've only read excerpts so far...

...but if this book is anything like the excerpts, then it should be required reading for every american! for some reason the corporate owned media has been giving the corrupt GOP a pass for years. this book looks to expose their hypocrisy and humiliate the fascists we know as republicans. hopefully, the brainwashed republican voters will read this book so they can become familiar with the corruption they have been supporting for so long. this book, and books like it, have been long overdue. it's finally time to expose the liars and hypocrites like the bush administration and their sorry apologists and propogandists like rush limbaugh and ann coulter. there's a sleeping democratic majority and this book will start to wake it up.