David Pepper (2)

A very good political thriller that doesn't strain your credulity.
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I'm now marked as an old man with certainty, since, although the battle is long over (if there was one), I cannot read "impact" for "affect" without wincing. Even worse are the widespread use of "impacted" (exclusive of the dental literature) and, more horrible still, "impactful". I know how the generations before me felt when they encountered the now thoroughly acceptable "hopefully". The author is young enough and open-minded enough for this usage to appear frequently in this novel. I only mention it to warn the elderly.… (mais)

I read about this book in an article in the New Yorker. It reminded me of "Evil Geniuses" by Kurt Anderson. The premise is that the right wing monied part of the conservative Republican Party has decided that controlling state houses is the best way to achieve their goals. That would be to maintain the power of the white mail wealthy minority while suppressing the rights of the multi-cultural developing majority in this country. I live in California where the majority in the elected offices and state. houses is Democratic. Pepper would say that we are the good guys. His state is Ohio and he spends much of the book detailing how laws are being passed to reduce the voter roles of minorities while giving more power to the state legislature where the Republicans have the super majority. Instead of passing laws that reflect what most Ohioans want their goal is give more control over elections to the state houses with the Governor and courts having less say in the outcomes. They control that state maps and have so much gerrymandering of districts that in a state that is slightly red the Republicans state legislature is 75% republican. Basically minority rule. Pepper points out that states are Laboratories of Autocracy and get their game plans from organizations like ALEC(American Legislative Exchange Council) which is funded by donors such as the Koch brothers. The book has a lot of details and probably could have gotten its message across with less of these details, but the message is clear. Left unchecked democracy is being threatened. Pepper does end by listing 30 actions items that can be employed to combat the take over of state houses. This was a worthwhile read. Pay attention to what goes on in your state houses.… (mais)