Whatever It Takes

By Elizabeth Drew

Book Overview

In this highly original and provocative account of how our political system actually works, Elizabeth Drew shows convincingly that the real contest for political power in this country in 1996 wasn't the Presidential election, but a far more important fight, with much higher stakes. She introduces a surprising set of characters, the leaders of a close-knit collection of groups on the right for whom nailing down a realignment of power in their favor took clear precedence over winning back the White House. The real political story of 1996 - the struggle for long-term political predominance - was fought in the contest for the House of Representatives. By holding Congress, this coalition of interests on the right hoped they could control the national agenda into the twenty-first century." "With her access to the back rooms and closed meetings, Elizabeth Drew has written the secret history of a titanic battle. She reveals the details of the often ruthless strategies conservative activist groups used to insure their hold on the House of Representatives. Drew shows that Republican leaders, in fact, decided to throw Dole overboard much earlier than was realized, and discloses the other brutal decisions that were made lest his inept campaign get in the way of their more pressing goals." "She proves with indisputable new evidence how both Parties and special-interest groups on all sides made deals, pooled information, and spent money in ways that made a complete sham of the campaign finance laws - in some cases with actions that were legally questionable. She demonstrates conclusively the devastating effect of the revelations late in the election of the Clinton team's abuse of the campaign spending laws, and she provides important insights into what campaign finance reform must look like in order to fix a broken system.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670875368
• ISBN13: 9780670875368
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.0" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Who Do I Have To Sleep With?

I am a political junkie and have found this author to be one of the better ones when it comes to detailing the inside the beltway battles. This is almost a unique talent, to be able to basically detail one conversation after another and make it exciting is no small feat. This book details out the political action committees, special interest groups and lobbyists in their rather unseemly pursuit of gaining favor and influence with the only group of people that actually get paid to spend half of their time begging for money, Congressmen. The book details out what took place in the 1996 elections, not from the point of view of the politicians, but from the point of view of the people who are paid to bribe, sorry I mean influence the politicians. Even though I have read a great number of books about modern politics, this was the first time I read a whole book detailed to this part of the Soft Money generation process. You almost feel like you need a shower after each chapter of this book. The non stop cajoling and sweat talking these guys and gals had to do was just a bit sickening. I guess it is like the old saying about sausage, it is great to eat but you do not what to watch it being made. About the only redeeming quality these special interest people had was that they really did come off in the book to be committed to whatever was there group. I guess it may be the only way to be successful in that type of job. The author spent most of her time focusing on the Republican races and mostly conservative groups. The author explained that this focus was due to the fact that the Democrats held the White House and she wanted to focus on the challengers. This made sense to me, but the dirt she digs up on the way these people do business tends not to leave them in a good light. Given that she focuses mostly on the Republicans, it does seem to give the impression that the book is somewhat bias. Then again maybe it was just me as I tend not to be a big fan of rather right leaning groups, but like to read balanced books. Overall was my only concern with the book. The book was well written and very informative. It is a wonderful item to add to your collection and really opens your eyes to just how unattractive fund raising is.

Interesting, well-researched political junkie book

For those of us who love modern political histories, this a very good book. It examines campaign finance in the real world, with highly detailed and researched insights into how one modern election was approached by candidates and those with money. it has some fascinating inside scoops and details that washington-insiders and those who follow politics closely will love. For example, it examines the role of gingrich and other republicans during the budget debates and government shut-down, providing details I've never heard before (and I read the Wash. Post each day and review articles and books on this subject often.Bottom line: if you want a good look into how money really corrupts our politicians, and a glimpse into how much power the interest groups have, read this book.