Books We Read: Mini-Reviews of Two GOP Whistleblowers

How to Rig an Election
Allen Raymond
2008 Simon and Schuster
256 pages

What Happened
Scott McClellan
2008 PublicAffairs
368 pages

This time around, we’re taking quick glances at two books from Republican whistleblowers. McClellan, the former Bush press secretary, became a nine-day wonder on the pundit circuit, while Raymond’s book garnered far less coverage. It should have been reversed, because when all is said and done, there is far more meat on the bones of Raymond’s book than on McClellan’s.

Books for Discussion

At least two books are coming up for review and discussion: Scott McClellan’s What Happened and Allen Raymond’s How to Rig an Election. Preliminary thoughts: McClellan’s intentions are good, but he’s just not far enough removed from the “Washington bubble” to do a good job of telling the unvarnished truth. As for Raymond, a former Republican campaign operative who went to prison in 2006 for illegal electioneering tactics, his book makes it obvious that once you enter the world of electoral politics, the biggest struggle is not ideological: it is to retain your soul.

What are you reading? Let’s talk it over.