Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party » (Unabridged)

Max Blumenthal is one of the most constantly cited young journalists in America and has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show, Democracy Now!, and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. His articles and video documentaries have appeared in the Daily Beast, The Nation, the Huffington Post, Salon.com, Bill Moyer-s Journal, MSNBC-s Morning Joe, Al Jazeera English, and many other publications. He is a correspondent for the Daily Beast, a research fellow for Media Matters for America, and a Puffin Writing Fellow for the Nation Institute. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

An intimate, investigative portrait of how the purveyors of the politics of personal crisis and redemption brought down the GOP—and why they’re still calling the shots for the party

Publishers Weekly

Journalist Blumenthal documents the movement of conservative evangelicals from the political wings to center stage, delving into the psyches of those who now lead a Republican Party "fixated on abortion, homosexuality and abstinence education; resentful and angry." Guided by Eric Hoffer's 1951 cult classic The True Believer ("Faith in a holy cause, is to some extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves,") and Eric Fromm's 1941 psychoanalytical study of the Nazi movement (Escape from Freedom), Blumnthal suggests that childhood abuse has shaped the personalities of key leaders, including Focus on the Family guru James Dobson. Blumenthal is at his best examining these characters up close, including presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and his born-again conversion; John Hagee, a Pentecostal pastor who lauded Hitler for "forcing the Jews to Israel"; Sarah Palin, whose political aspirations first came to her as part of a religious conversion; and evangelical pastor Ted Haggard, a self-proclaimed spiritual warrior caught in a relationship with a male prostitute. For those who enjoyed Jeff Sharlet's Capitol Hill exposé The Family, this makes a spicy follow-up.
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Introduction Escape from Freedom 1

Ch. 1 God's Government 17

Ch. 2 Creating a Monster 23

Ch. 3 What God Wants Him to Do 32

Ch. 4 Marching Through the Institutions 38

Ch. 5 The Personal Crisis Industry 47

Ch. 6 The King of Pain 54

Ch. 7 Satan in a Porsche 67

Ch. 8 The Killer and the Saint 73

Ch. 9 A Dangerous Woman 78

Ch. 10 Cheap Grace 84

Ch. 11 The Addict and the Enabler 97

Ch. 12 Casino Jack, the Face Painter, and the Sausage King 103

Ch. 13 Talk to Her 114

Ch. 14 The Bad Cop 125

Ch. 15 Boldly Affirming Uncle Tom 137

Ch. 16 Feeding Baby Monsters 153

Ch. 17 Human Tools 167

Ch. 18 The Wide Stance 207

Ch. 19 Pastor Ted's Excellent Adventure 216

Ch. 20 The Nightmare of Christianity 236

Ch. 21 The Party of Dobson 251

Ch. 22 The Party of Death 265

Ch. 23 The Hate Boat 272

Ch. 24 A Matter of Tone 279

Ch. 25 The Family That Prays Together 285

Epilogue: The Anointing 311

Acknowledgments 315

Notes 317

Index 381