MNA Online Book Club — The Longest Con by Joe Conason

Join us online Sunday April 12th at 2 p.m. to discuss The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism by Joe Conason.

The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump's path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him.

From the "professional anti-communists" (whose tactics even J. Edgar Hoover despised) to the "populist" grifters of the Tea Party movement and the religious charlatans of the "prosperity gospel" (who provided a pious front for Trump), the right-wing ripoff has remained remarkably consistent, even as personalities change and new technologies emerge: Stir up anger and resentment, demonize political opponents, promise vengeance, and collect donations from the gullible. It's a highly lucrative game that any unscrupulous charlatan can play, as many have-and they are named in this book.

In an unsparing and often comic narrative, Joe Conason explores the right's long, steep descent into a movement whose principal aim is not to protect freedom or defend the Constitution, but merely to line the pockets of pretenders and blowhards whose malevolent tactics now endanger the nation.

*****

Tentative future books:
That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones
Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization by Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Wisdom of Plagues by Donald McNeil
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

If you are interested in any of these titles, or have other book suggestions, please message me or leave a comment below.

Please note: The link for joining the meeting is only visible to those on the attending list. If you are on the wait list you will not see the link unless a spot opens up and you are moved to attending.