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Bushwhacked (Abridged): Life in George W. Bush's America Audiobook
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(3.03) - 1,423 listener ratings
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From Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, authors of Shrub, Bushwhacked is a hilarious, no-holds-barred look at George W. Bush and his administration, and an essential book for understanding the full, destructive impact of his presidency. For years, bestselling political commentator Molly Ivins has been sounding the alarm about George W. Bush. In Shrub, her 2000 skewering of presidential candidate Bush, the inimitable Ivins, with co-author Lou Dubose, offered a devastating exposé of Dubya’s career and abysmal record as governor of Texas. Now, in their second book on our current White House occupant, Ivins and Dubose take the wire brush to the Bush presidency and show how he has applied the same flawed strategies he used in governing Texas to running the largest superpower in the world. Bushwhacked brings to light the horrendous legacy of the Bush tax cut, his increasingly appalling environmental record, his administration’s involvement in the Enron scandal, and the real Bush foreign policy—botched nation building in Kabul and Baghdad, alienation of former allies—and, unfortunately, much more. Ivins and Dubose go beyond the too frequently soft media coverage of Bush to show us just how damaging his policies have been to ordinary Americans—“the Doug Jones Average,” rather than the Dow Jones Average. Bushwhacked is filled with sharp observation, humor, and compassion for the people often ignored by the federal government and the Washington press corps. With the war on terrorism posing unprecedented challenges to our civil liberties, and with the Bush economic policy in shambles, it is high time for a close look at the state of our Union. Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose provide just that in Bushwhacked—an incisive, entertaining, and damning indictment of the Bush presidency. We've been Bushwhacked Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose on: Dubya’s involvement in the failure of Harken Energy Corporation: “There are countless subjects on which George W. Bush might have pleaded ignorance in 1990, but a failing oil business was not one of them.” Dubya’s accomplishments as governor of Texas: “As full-time residents of the state that gave you tort reform, H. Ross Perot, and penis-enlargement options on executive health plans, we’re obliged to warn you that if Dubya Bush really had exported ‘the Texas Miracle,’ the country would be in deep shit.” Dubya’s environmental record: “Bush has a chemical-dependency problem, but it’s not cocaine. It’s Monsanto, Dow, and Union Carbide. They wrote the checks that put him in the Texas governor’s mansion....Bush had two voluntary emissions-control programs here in Texas. One involved polluting industries. The other was directed at adolescent males, who were encouraged to ‘try abstinence.’ Only 3 of our 8,645 most obnoxiously polluting refineries actually volunteered to cut back on their toxic emissions. Numbers on teenage boys are not yet in.” Why the Republican Party is the party of unregulated meat and poultry: “The Republicans win elections in the ‘red states’ in the center of the country, where cattle and chickens are produced and slaughtered. Democrats win their elections in the ‘blue states’ on the coasts. Republicans use the USDA to pay off their contributors in the red states. The result of that crude electoral calculus is laissez-faire food-safety policy whenever a Republican is in the White House. (If you must eat while the Republicans control the White House, both houses of Congress, and the judiciary, you might want to consider becoming a vegetarian about now.)”
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"What journalism should be! Molly & Lou show the importance of good government, of having qualified people in power who recognize the importance of their jobs, of government in curbing excesses from greed...all before Katrina and "heckuva job, Brownie"! Conservatives don't believe government is the solution, then they make sure it's not by getting into power and dismantling programs and regulations that are in place to protect against greed, a natural outgrowth of unregulated markets. Too bad more journalists don't concentrate on the effect of government on every-day people."
— Jack (5 out of 5 stars)
Bushwhacked Listener Reviews
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" I dearly miss Molly Ivins. I've learned more about how government really works by reading her than anyone else. Molly had the respect to share politician's policy records and not gloss over them because it's too boring or unsexy. To the contrary, she makes the machinations of government a story I want to see more of. I've never had the reaction to a journalist's death like I did when Molly died. Just as many have speculated about how the discourse will be adversely affected this fall without Tim Russert, I think it will suffer equally without the voice of Molly Ivins. "
— Todd, 2/5/2014 -
" Story of George W. Bush and how his brand of compassionate conservatism has changed America and how it changed Texas beforehand. Very fond memories in reading his book at the Lubbock Airport in 2004 after the wedding of my good friend, Bryan. "
— Steven, 2/4/2014 -
" Have I mentioned this week just how much I miss Molly Ivins? I really miss her. Or really, anyone who can write with humor about politics while still feeling righteously pissed. "
— Kaethe, 1/25/2014 -
" Great political journalistic writing. I love Molly Ivins. America lost a great journalist and writer when she died. "
— Kristina, 1/22/2014 -
" Should this book be classified under "horror, nonfiction"? Thank goodness Molly Ivins is(was) a writer gifted with a very funny wit, cuz these tales will scare the poop outta ya. Very educational as well, and she makes it pretty clear that, though we no longer have a shrub in the White House, this book is still extremely relevant. Yikes. "
— Allison, 1/17/2014 -
" Another great book written by Molly Ivins who grew up with George and knew him his entire life and her opinion of his presidency. "
— Gerry, 1/15/2014 -
" My review written after I finished the book in 2004: Molly Ivins delivers once again! She's always so great in her wit. It's amazing to me that she can make utterly irritating things funny. Just when I thought I was outraged enough, I read the next chapter and became even more outraged. This President has been so reckless and he needs to be voted out of office!! "
— Erica, 1/15/2014 -
" May she rest in peace....Molly Ivins was a genius. "
— Karl, 12/15/2013 -
" Molly Ivins at her finest! The talking book was a lot of fun, with Anna Fields and her droll accent, and I found myself laughing out loud at some parts (while wanting to bang my head against the wall at the same time...no easy feat). The world of political punditry misses this lady, that's for sure. "
— Colleen, 12/14/2013 -
" The cover alone says it all for me "
— Brian, 11/12/2013 -
" A dated political book, but a well written commentary by Molly Ivins. "
— Amy, 10/1/2013 -
" A very informative look at the connections of "Dubya" along with actions he had taken. "
— Myke, 7/14/2013 -
" Absolutely loved this book. If you didn't think George and crew were smart, read this to see what their real strategies were. "
— Carol, 5/2/2013 -
" Ah, for those who didn't get it the first time (Shrub), Molly Ivans lays it out again how the world is a worse place for having had Dubya in it and America, specifically, since it had to endure the presidency once he was elected. Humor, once again, makes it palatable. "
— Jill, 12/27/2012 -
" I miss you, Ms. Ivins. Thanks for writing, for saying. "
— Julia, 11/8/2012 -
" I will miss Molly's insights and flavorful descriptive language! "
— Mary, 10/27/2012 -
" My Goddess, I miss Molly Ivins. "
— Patsy, 5/24/2012 -
" I so miss Molly Ivins! Her comments on the upcoming election would be so insightful and on point. This book has pride of place on my bookshelf as it was inscribed and autographed at a reading when it was published. "
— Kristin, 3/27/2012 -
" This is a very entertaining and informational book. I would recommend this if you are the type of person who is interested in politics and likes to do their research (whether u are a Bush fan or not). A MUST read for those who are Anti-Bush. "
— Sam, 2/14/2012 -
" How did we ever let this happen? Ugh..... Molly Ivins was witty, fiesty, and hillarious. She will be missed. "
— Amanda, 1/20/2012 -
" This may be a book that was so good because it was desperately needed during the middle of the Bush era, but I still recommend it! Molly Ivins is one of my favorite writers. She's witty and smart... thoroughlly enjoyable! "
— Bethany, 11/18/2011 -
" Not as good as her first book on Bush. "
— Donna, 2/3/2011 -
" Wow. That man is just evil. I'm so depressed about the state of this country now. "
— Emily, 12/14/2010 -
" I found this book equal parts hilarious and deeply, deeply depressing. It was also creepy how his time ad governer mirrored his presidency. "
— Zoyd, 11/21/2010 -
" Its about Bush-what can you say-he tore up Tx and then the country. <br/> "
— Martine, 8/21/2010 -
" If only more people had read this before the 2000 presidential elections. Ah, well. "
— Tim, 2/10/2010 -
" With the death of Molly Ivins we lost an incisive journalist with a mean wit. I really miss her. She made skewering George Bush such fun "
— Dolores, 12/7/2009 -
" I miss Ivins tremendously. I don't miss Shrub at all. "
— Kaethe, 9/16/2009 -
" I miss Molly so much, her way of looking at things, her sharp, shrewd mind. I still like to go back and read her old columns on the internet sometimes. She was so right with this book - we got exactly what she said we would get in GWB. "
— Cheryl, 6/10/2009 -
" Another Great book about the former Jr. Bush. "
— Chris, 2/5/2009 -
" If only more people had read this before the 2000 election! "
— Holly, 1/16/2009
About the Authors
Molly Ivins (1944–2007) was an American newspaper columnist, political commentator, and bestselling author. She was born in California and lived in Austin, Texas.
Kate Fleming (a.k.a. Anna Fields) (1965–2006), winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2004, was one of the most respected narrators in the industry. Trained at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she was also a director, producer, and technician at her own studio, Cedar House Audio.