Synopses & Reviews
THE BOOK WASHINGTON DOES NOT WANT YOU TO READ
As Ben Franklin knew, ambition and avarice, the love of power and the love of money, “when united in view of the same object . . . have in many minds the most violent effects.”
In Throw Them All Out, Peter Schweizer rips back the curtain to show how Washington has become Franklins worst nightmare, thanks to:
Insider trading in Congress
* Senator John Kerry regularly and aggressively traded health care stocks while helping write health care legislation
* Congressman Spencer Bachus shorted the market in 2008 after receiving private briefings from Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson
Legal legislative graft
* Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi received insider IPO shares and bought millions more in Visa stock, and shortly thereafter she blocked four bills that would have harmed the company
* Former Speaker Dennis Hastert used an earmark to pull off a multimillion-dollar land deal that helped make him rich.
Favors to crony capitalists
* Over $10 billion worth of stimulus grants and loans were directed to companies run or owned by members of Barack Obamas 2008 campaign National Finance Committee and his campaign-donor “bundlers.”
For the rest of us, this is called insider trading, conflict of interest, and kickbacks. But for them, its completely legal. Its time to end crony capitalism once and for all.
Review
"Risen’s fast-paced, accessible prose and his finely drawn detail make the book read like an implausible thriller. The tragedy is that, however implausible, it all appears to be true . . . enormously impressive. . . . This is an important and powerful book that should be read by anyone who believes it is time to take stock after 13 years and re-evaluate the nature of the threat the country faces and its response to the atrocity of 9/11."
—New York Times Book Review
"At long last we can retire Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as the icons of investigative reporting. With his second book probing the dark tunnels of the so-called war on terror, James Risen has established himself as the finest national security reporter of this generation, a field crowded with first rank talent."
—Newsweek
"A memorable chronicle of the long-range consequences of the panicky reaction of top American officials to the Sept. 11 attacks...Mr. Risen certainly makes the case in this book that America has lost much in its lashing out against terrorism, and that Congress and the people need to wake up and ask more questions about the political, financial, moral and cultural costs of that campaign."
—Tom Ricks, New York Times daily review"A wide-ranging look at consequences of the so-called war on terror and includes stories of shocking thievery during the U.S. occupation of Iraq."
—Steven Nelson, US News & World Report"A no-holds-barred tarring and feathering of the past 13 years of the U.S. national security system. At times frightening, Risen’s book is a strong reminder of the importance of a free press keeping a powerful government in check."
—William O’Connor, Daily Beast"James Risen's Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War is a book every member of Congress and every candidate for president in both political parties should be forced to read." — Michael Goldman, Lowell Sun
Synopsis
Watch this space for more information, coming soon . . . .
Synopsis
One of the biggest scandals in American politics is waiting to explode: the full story of the inside game in Washington shows how the permanent political class enriches itself at the expense of the rest of us. Insider trading is illegal on Wall Street, yet it is routine among members of Congress. Normal individuals cannot get in on IPOs at the asking price, but politicians do so routinely. The Obama administration has been able to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to its supporters, ensuring yet more campaign donations. An entire class of investors now makes all of its profits based on influence and access in Washington. Peter Schweizer has doggedly researched through mountains of financial records, tracking complicated deals and stock trades back to the timing of briefings, votes on bills, and every other point of leverage for politicians in Washington. The result is a manifesto for revolution: the Permanent Political Class must go.
Synopsis
A shocking expose of the inside game in Washington, explaining how so many politicians leave Washington richer than they were when they first arrived. Worst of all, its all legal: members of congress are free to trade stocks based on confidential information, hedge-fund managers are free to extract tips from politicians, and then reward them with access to IPOs, and the Obama administration has been able to reward dozens of campaign contributors with shockingly large grants and guaranteed loans.
Synopsis
Politicians often come into office with relatively modest assets. As investors, they regularly beat the market and sometimes beat the most rapacious hedge funds. Even without making stock trades, they often retire rich. How do they do it?
Billionaires and hedge fund managers often make well-timed investment decisions that anticipate events in Washington. How do they do it?
When such former politicians and federal appointees as Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and Madeleine Albright decide to launch investment funds, wealthy clients sign up. Why?
Welcome to the insidious world of crony capitalism.
Cronyism exists not so much as outright bribery, using suitcases full of cash, but rather in accepted insider routes to wealth: Members of Congress trade stocks based on privileged information. They insert earmarks into bills to improve their own real estate holdings. Campaign contributors receive billions in federal grants. Nobody goes to jail.
Crony capitalism transcends party lines and has become a big business hidden in plain sight. Using personal financial information, government databases, and a team of indefatigable researchers, Peter Schweizer shines a light into the darkest corners of the system — and offers ways to overcome it. It is time to clean house.
Synopsis
Peter Schweizer's Throw Them All Out exploded onto the political scene in November 2011, shocking the nation and shaking Washington to its core. The book became an instant bestseller and#8212; but, more importantly, it also shone a necessary spotlight on legal loopholes that allowed members of Congress to get rich off insider information. Throw Them All Out fueled political will toand#160;stop these practices once and for all.and#160;Schweizer's powerfully argued bookand#160;broadcasts an essential message and#8212; public service must never be exploited for private profit and#8212; that will resonate throughout the 2012 election season, and beyond.
Synopsis
THE BOOK WASHINGTON DOES NOT WANT YOU TO READ
How is it that politicians often enter office with relatively modest assets, but then, as investors, regularly beat the stock market and sometimes beat the most rapacious hedge funds? How did some members of Congress know to dump their stock holdings just in time to escape the effects of the 2008 financial meltdown? And how is it that billionaires and hedge fund managers often make well-timed investment decisions that anticipate events in Washington?
In this powerfully argued book, Peter Schweizer blows the lid off Washingtonandrsquo;s epidemic of andldquo;honest graft.andrdquo; He exposes a secret world where members of Congress insert earmarks into bills to improve their own real-estate holdings, and campaign contributors receive billions in federal grants. Nobody goes to jail. Throw Them All Out casts light into the darkest corners of the political system andmdash; and offers ways to clean house.
andquot;Throw Them All Out is filled with stories of petty theft and so-called 'honest graft' . . . Unsparingly bipartisan in [its] criticism of Washington . . . Mr. Schweizer has performed a valuable service to his country.andquot; andmdash; Washington Times
Synopsis
War corrupts. Endless war corrupts absolutely. Ever since 9/11 America has fought an endless war on terror, seeking enemies everywhere and never promising peace. In Pay Any Price, James Risen reveals an extraordinary litany of the hidden costs of that war: from squandered and stolen dollars, to outrageous abuses of power, to wars on normalcy, decency, and truth. In the name of fighting terrorism, our government has done things every bit as shameful as its historic wartime abuses — and until this book, it has worked very hard to cover them up.
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. FDR authorized the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans. Presidents Bush and Obama now must face their own reckoning. Power corrupts, but it is endless war that corrupts absolutely.
About the Author
PETER SCHWEIZER is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. From 2008-9 he served as a consultant to the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting and he is a former consultant to NBC News. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, National Review, Foreign Affairs, and elsewhere. His books include The Bushes, Reagan's War, and Do as I Say, Not as I Do.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Introduction xiii
Part One: CONGRESSIONAL CRONIES
1. The Drug Trade 3
2. Crisis for All, Opportunity for Some 23
3. IPOs: Invest in Politicians Often 40
4. This Land Is My Land 51
Part Two: CAPITALIST CRONIES
5. Spreading the Wealth . . . to Billionaires 75
6. Warren Buffett: Baptist and Bootlegger 105
7. Cronies on Parade: Hedge Funds, Defense Contractors, Colleges, Big Oil . . . and George Soros 120
Part Three: BREAKING THE BACK OF CRONY CAPITALISM
8. Some Are More Equal Than Others 137
9. Why This Matters 151
10. What Needs to Be Done 167
Notes 179
Acknowledgments 195
Index 199