Conservatives Without Conscience | 
 enlarge | Author: John W. Dean
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  162 reviews
Sales Rank: 253296
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0143038869
Dewey Decimal Number: 320.520973
EAN: 9780143038863
ASIN: 0143038869
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
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Amazon.com
In Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean, who served as White House counsel under Richard Nixon and then helped to break the Watergate scandal with his testimony before the Senate, takes a vivid and analytical look at a Republican Party that has changed drastically from the conservative movement that he joined in the mid-1960s as an admirer of Senator Barry Goldwater. Listen to our interview with Dean as part of our July 13 Amazon Wire podcast (along with interviews with Garrison Keillor and Henry Rollins) to hear how he originally conceived of the book with the late Senator Goldwater, and the social science research he drew on to put together his portrait of the "conservative authoritarian." (You can subscribe to regular Wire podcasts here.) And take a look at Dean's choices for the best books to read on the American presidency in our Grownup School feature.
Product Description
On the heels of his national bestseller Worse Than Watergate, John Dean takes a critical look at the current conservative movement
In Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean places the conservative movements inner circle of leaders in the Republican Party under scrutiny. Dean finds their policies and mind- set to be fundamentally authoritarian, and as such, a danger to democracy. By examining the legacies of such old-line conservatives as J. Edgar Hoover, Spiro Agnew, and Phyllis Schlafly and of such current figures as Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, and leaders of the Religious Right, Dean presents an alarming record of abuses of power. His trenchant analysis of how conservatism has lost its bearings serves as a chilling warning and a stirring inspiration to safeguard constitutional principles.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 157 more reviews...
a conservative perspective on conservatives without conscience July 21, 2008
well once again, we learn things about people in power that we would rather not know because it makes one feel so lied to, so angry that our lives are ofton in their hands in government. and this is not good for high blood pressure, but I am really thankful that there are people who will tell the truth, that there are even Republicans who have some integrity.
 Great gift for a person interested in politics June 22, 2008
We received the book in time for Father's day and it was exactly as advertised. Delivery was on time and the book was in excellent condition as it was new and a great price on your special. The gift was greatly appreciated. It is very good reading for anyone who is interested in politics.
 Southern Strategy Overlooked June 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although Mr. Dean gives us a very good look at right wing authoritarianism, he misses, perhaps because of the connection of the book's concept with Barry Goldwater, the very cause of the take over of what used to be the Party of Abraham Lincoln by these people. It was the Southern Strategy, developed by Goldwater and furthered by Nixon, that caused this. While many other earlier conservative movements were more libertarian in nature, Southern politics has always been authoritarian. When the Republicans invited the Southern Dixiecrats in they did not realize the implications this would have and that they would take over. As Senator Lott said many times, the spirit of Jefferson Davis is alive and well in the Republican Party. You cannot be the Party of Lincoln and the Party of Davis. No tent is that big.
Mr. Dean should have reviewed Dr Augustus Cochran's book "Democracy Heading South: National Politics in the Shadow of Dixie" and Michael Lind's book "Made in Texas: The Southern Takeover of American Politics" and Andrew Manis "Southern Civil Religions in Conflict: Civil Rights and the Culture Wars".
No Kid Glove Treatment for Authoritarian Conservatives March 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Former Watergate figure John Dean wrote a compelling critique of the conservative movement in the United States in his book "Conservatives Without Conscience". The author starts out explaining why the book was necessary and how it had been his hope to refrain from serious political commentary. He then discussed events where conservative hacks made attacks against him and his wife that were unfounded, and that he became the victim of slanders from former Nixon henchmen, G. Gordon Libby and Charles Colson. These events led him back into the public spotlight and convinced him that there had been a fundamental, and authoritarian change in conservatism from the Goldwater conservatism that had initially inspired John Dean. Dean also mentions that this book was inspired by Barry Goldwater and was intended to be a collaboration with him, had he lived.
In the book, John Dean looks at various efforts to define conservatism within the United States and the disparate ideologies that have somehow been embraced and coalesced into modern conservatism. Dean analysis the modern conservative movement and very pointedly takes aim at the authoritarian evolution of that movement and psychological efforts to understand both "authoritarian followers" and "social dominators" within conservative authoritarianism. He also defines different factions within the conservative movement and outlines their differences and their commonalities.
Dean pulls no punches in his examination of "social dominant authoritarians." Guys like Tom Delay, Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson, and particularly, Dick Cheney are hammered with a searing white hot examination of their careers and characteristics. Cheney, as our nation's most dominant Vice President to a weak-minded and shallow President, is seen in the book as deliberately fundamentally changing the United States towards more central control within the Executive Branch.
Though Dean's book is a couple of years old, what he wrote makes sense of alot of what has happened since he first published it, and in this regard, Dean's analysis is helpful in predicting future administration actions and why they will engage in their behavior. The constant cries of "executive privilege" to hide administration misdeeds will not go away in an era dominated by "conservatives without conscience."
Authoritarians, driven by power, rather than principle, will do anything they can get away with to keep that power. Democrats and libertarian leaning Republicans should take heed and warning, that these authoritarians will not be going away any time soon. Even if they receive temporary setbacks, they see their role as permanent and fore-ordained.
If you could criticize Dean's book, it would be the harshness and anger that seethes under the surface in his analyses. However, Dean seems to have a real sense of just how dangerous, "conservatives without conscience" are to our Republic and seems to, through a bit of "shock and awe", trying to awaken us from our slumber, to let us know exactly what is at stake.
Authoritarians March 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book opened my eyes to the problem in Washington: Authoritarianism. Why does Washington think that all Americans need the government to be our parents? This book exposes the sickness that so much of Washington has, the belief that the government needs to tell us what to do. The book explains how we came to where we are today: Authoritarian Followers. People in government that are suppose to be critical thinkers capable of coming to their own conclusions, are actually Authoritarian Followers looking upward in rank for someone to tell them what to think and how to vote. Hence the rubber stamping our Congresses have resorted to, God forbid our representatives actually read the legislation, or researched facts! How much easier to just agree than to actually learn the facts and stand up for what is right, not popular. I am very pleased that John Dean is exposing these lazy, irresponsible politicians for what they are: Followers. I pray for my children's sake that the voters will get educated on this issue and will remove these incompetent fools.
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