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Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto
Former Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and leading organizer of the Tea Party movement, Dick Armey offers a Tea Party Give Us Liberty . Written with Matt Kibbee, President and CEO of FreedomWorks, Give Us Liberty defines the issues and agenda of the wildfire grassroots movement that is electrifying the nation, as it calls on fiscal conservatives to take back America.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 17, 2010
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120 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 6, 2010
For the Conservative... those who believe in limited government and fidelity to the Constitution; who believe in American exceptionalism and free market principles and see the distressing trends toward statism and away from liberty, joining with like-minded people is a natural... and we've been doing it even before we came to be defined as tea-partiers. Still, Dick Army does an enlightening job of outlining the short history of our movement.... who some of the major players are, and what they believe. And assuring us that there are millions who believe likewise.
For the honest liberal, particularly those in the media, who want to find out who we really are, rather than to spin us as irrelevant, uneducated, out of touch or racist, this is the book they should be reading, rather than hype. And this is what they should be reporting on. We are ordinary Americans who just want government to get out of our way (except for its Constitutionally prescribed roles) and let us be Americans! And we can't be Americans without Liberty. Or in other words, take away our liberty, and we are something other than Americans. But there is hope, as Army quotes from a popular bumper sticker, "you can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out of office." And this is exactly what we must do... not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations, that the light of human potential, America, shall continue to shine brightly.
For the honest liberal, particularly those in the media, who want to find out who we really are, rather than to spin us as irrelevant, uneducated, out of touch or racist, this is the book they should be reading, rather than hype. And this is what they should be reporting on. We are ordinary Americans who just want government to get out of our way (except for its Constitutionally prescribed roles) and let us be Americans! And we can't be Americans without Liberty. Or in other words, take away our liberty, and we are something other than Americans. But there is hope, as Army quotes from a popular bumper sticker, "you can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out of office." And this is exactly what we must do... not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations, that the light of human potential, America, shall continue to shine brightly.
June 17, 2021
Peepeepoopoo lolbertarian nonsense, for most of it. Has its place among some other political reads, but mostly just the same arguments you hear from TPUSA types.
March 2, 2011
I wanted to like this book....i really did. Not b/c i agree with the Tea Party in all that it stands for but b/c I wanted to get a better understanding of the Tea Party and why it holds to some of the political ideas (ideals) that it does.
This book really was a failure on a number of levels. First, let's be honest. The Tea Party is not really inclusive, as it claims it is, of democrats, republicans, libertarians, etc. The Tea Party is an ultra conservative fringe of the Republican party. And in fact, it wants to get rid of RINO's (Republican In Name Only), those "republicans" who are too moderate or who actually, gasp, support some ideas, to whatever extent, of their democrat counterparts. According to Dick Armey, the Tea Party wants to take control of the Republican Party. If that were to happen one is left wondering..."what will they then call themselves?" They freely admit that they are leaderless but want to utilize the fine-tune structure that the Republican Party has to offer.
In terms of the subtitle, A Tea Party Manifesto, it provided little to any type of "manifesto". Rather, it gave examples of people who have won various elections, or who have opposed Democrat/liberal plans. But it would have gone so much further if it would have infused those examples with a basic promotion of why a particular candidate or defeating a particular agenda was so important to the ideas of the Tea Party.
At points I did find myself agreeing.....there is a lot of government waste, too much spending with money that we don't have......but please, please don't tell me that you want to cut programs to the most vulnerable of our society when you are unwilling to touch the largest, far and away, budget item out there.....defense/military.
What I found very troubling about the book was it's underlining philosophy. Dick Armey argued in several spots that what drives the Tea Party is an absolute commitment to the individual above the collective. The individual is what is important...what matters.
This is why the movement is so troublesome to me. I can agree with and hold to some of what they do but as a christ-follower who understands community to be essential to who i am and what i am about and i see the NT writers passionate about putting others needs above my own it is at this point where I must part company with the Tea Party. In fact, if the individual and their own desires and their own "pursuit of happiness" is the only thing that matters and what is important and is at the heart of why they do what they do as an unorganized organization....dare i say that they are being unbiblical and something that every Christ-follower must wrestle with on how closely to be aligned with such a movement. When this group highlights and promotes Ayn Rand (especially, Atlas Shrugged) as a 'light' that guides them....one must be concerned....or one must be concerned as a Christ-follower.
So, i wanted to like this book. I really did. But i was left scratching my head. For a manifesto book, i was left wondering, "what do they really want to do....and why". Okay, so you want to get rid of liberals, rino's and take over the republican party....but then what? Where do you want to take our country? Lower taxes, more individual freedoms, repeal health care, leave us alone, (and of course, let us keep our guns!)....but what does that look like? Repeal health care and give us what? Everyone knows we need something different than what we currently have....what does that look like to the Tea Party? Lower taxes....and then how do we pay for some of the programs we currently have (which by the way, I was able to borrow this book at my local, public library (wink, wink))? What does the future look like to the Tea Party? They see us heading down a socialist, marxist, communist, liberal (did i get all of them?) path....but what are they leading us to? How will we get there? And what will it cost us along the way? And, again, when the individual is the center of everything that you revolve your thinking and politics around...i have trouble with this. A question was asked many centuries ago: am I my brother's keeper? And the answer was repeated over and over again in so many different ways: yes, you are.
This book really was a failure on a number of levels. First, let's be honest. The Tea Party is not really inclusive, as it claims it is, of democrats, republicans, libertarians, etc. The Tea Party is an ultra conservative fringe of the Republican party. And in fact, it wants to get rid of RINO's (Republican In Name Only), those "republicans" who are too moderate or who actually, gasp, support some ideas, to whatever extent, of their democrat counterparts. According to Dick Armey, the Tea Party wants to take control of the Republican Party. If that were to happen one is left wondering..."what will they then call themselves?" They freely admit that they are leaderless but want to utilize the fine-tune structure that the Republican Party has to offer.
In terms of the subtitle, A Tea Party Manifesto, it provided little to any type of "manifesto". Rather, it gave examples of people who have won various elections, or who have opposed Democrat/liberal plans. But it would have gone so much further if it would have infused those examples with a basic promotion of why a particular candidate or defeating a particular agenda was so important to the ideas of the Tea Party.
At points I did find myself agreeing.....there is a lot of government waste, too much spending with money that we don't have......but please, please don't tell me that you want to cut programs to the most vulnerable of our society when you are unwilling to touch the largest, far and away, budget item out there.....defense/military.
What I found very troubling about the book was it's underlining philosophy. Dick Armey argued in several spots that what drives the Tea Party is an absolute commitment to the individual above the collective. The individual is what is important...what matters.
This is why the movement is so troublesome to me. I can agree with and hold to some of what they do but as a christ-follower who understands community to be essential to who i am and what i am about and i see the NT writers passionate about putting others needs above my own it is at this point where I must part company with the Tea Party. In fact, if the individual and their own desires and their own "pursuit of happiness" is the only thing that matters and what is important and is at the heart of why they do what they do as an unorganized organization....dare i say that they are being unbiblical and something that every Christ-follower must wrestle with on how closely to be aligned with such a movement. When this group highlights and promotes Ayn Rand (especially, Atlas Shrugged) as a 'light' that guides them....one must be concerned....or one must be concerned as a Christ-follower.
So, i wanted to like this book. I really did. But i was left scratching my head. For a manifesto book, i was left wondering, "what do they really want to do....and why". Okay, so you want to get rid of liberals, rino's and take over the republican party....but then what? Where do you want to take our country? Lower taxes, more individual freedoms, repeal health care, leave us alone, (and of course, let us keep our guns!)....but what does that look like? Repeal health care and give us what? Everyone knows we need something different than what we currently have....what does that look like to the Tea Party? Lower taxes....and then how do we pay for some of the programs we currently have (which by the way, I was able to borrow this book at my local, public library (wink, wink))? What does the future look like to the Tea Party? They see us heading down a socialist, marxist, communist, liberal (did i get all of them?) path....but what are they leading us to? How will we get there? And what will it cost us along the way? And, again, when the individual is the center of everything that you revolve your thinking and politics around...i have trouble with this. A question was asked many centuries ago: am I my brother's keeper? And the answer was repeated over and over again in so many different ways: yes, you are.
October 20, 2010
As manifestos go, this one's no less idealistic and naive than any other manifesto out there, no less passionate as well.
"It was also during this time I remember post-World War II refugees from scoialist Eastern Europe fleeing to the prairie. It struck me that people would leave their homeland and everything they knew to go someplace for freedom. I did not see anyone fleeing the United States to go in search of collectivism."
I guess seeing is believing, there. Great way to come up with your universals. I've never seen a black hole, or even the moon, up close and personal. So I guess those things don't exist either. I do see the ground, and I can tell that it's flat, though. Again, as far as I can see.
"I believe we are at a turning point in our nation's history, as the pendulum has swung far to the left. Trillion-dollar deficits, government control of health care, federal ownership of banks [...]"
Don't like deficits much? Want the country to have more cash? Authoritarian China's got trillions in greenbacks. Was that the freedom that you were thinking of? They've got the largest cash reserves in the world, so they're doing something right, there. They're definitely on their way to becoming the largest "coordinated" economy in the world, and skeptics have been saying "no way" for the past 25 years.
The Tea Party is such a farce, and the fact that the "movement's" so popular right now, really does speak to one truth in this book. The country is at a turning point. It's going down the tubes, and that's just the way it is. It's nothing to get sentimental about. A few billion years, the sun'll go out. What then?
Nothing lasts forever.
* * *
More good quotes:
- "But I believe Americans are genetically opposed to big government."
- "The Republican leadership was always having to apologize to the Democrats for us."
- "The Contract with America [...] outlined our platform of limited government."
- "That is great advice for liberals, whose base is looking for special favors and handouts."
You know what this means, right? Implicitly, this guy's saying that the Tea Party is a Republican Movement, and if that's true, this has been the most creative reengineering of hope into fear, since, well, since Hitler engineered his ideas up about Jewish folks. Remember, "genetically" he said. "Us" he says, when he speaks of Republicans. Remember that the next time you think of the Tea Party as a movement and party that's separate from the Republican Party.
"It was also during this time I remember post-World War II refugees from scoialist Eastern Europe fleeing to the prairie. It struck me that people would leave their homeland and everything they knew to go someplace for freedom. I did not see anyone fleeing the United States to go in search of collectivism."
I guess seeing is believing, there. Great way to come up with your universals. I've never seen a black hole, or even the moon, up close and personal. So I guess those things don't exist either. I do see the ground, and I can tell that it's flat, though. Again, as far as I can see.
"I believe we are at a turning point in our nation's history, as the pendulum has swung far to the left. Trillion-dollar deficits, government control of health care, federal ownership of banks [...]"
Don't like deficits much? Want the country to have more cash? Authoritarian China's got trillions in greenbacks. Was that the freedom that you were thinking of? They've got the largest cash reserves in the world, so they're doing something right, there. They're definitely on their way to becoming the largest "coordinated" economy in the world, and skeptics have been saying "no way" for the past 25 years.
The Tea Party is such a farce, and the fact that the "movement's" so popular right now, really does speak to one truth in this book. The country is at a turning point. It's going down the tubes, and that's just the way it is. It's nothing to get sentimental about. A few billion years, the sun'll go out. What then?
Nothing lasts forever.
* * *
More good quotes:
- "But I believe Americans are genetically opposed to big government."
- "The Republican leadership was always having to apologize to the Democrats for us."
- "The Contract with America [...] outlined our platform of limited government."
- "That is great advice for liberals, whose base is looking for special favors and handouts."
You know what this means, right? Implicitly, this guy's saying that the Tea Party is a Republican Movement, and if that's true, this has been the most creative reengineering of hope into fear, since, well, since Hitler engineered his ideas up about Jewish folks. Remember, "genetically" he said. "Us" he says, when he speaks of Republicans. Remember that the next time you think of the Tea Party as a movement and party that's separate from the Republican Party.
February 24, 2018
I wanted to pick a book about conservative politics to offer some counterpoint to the liberal-leaning things I usually read. This wasn't the best choice.
The chapters about where the tea party movement came from, its ideological connections to the Boston Tea Party and the Sons of Liberty, and the central tenets of the limited government philosophy were good. Unfortunately, that was only 3 chapters.
The rest was a strange year-end report for Freedom Works, set in narrative form, describing in great detail the successes of their various marches and gatherings. (It was also confusing because it said Dick Armey was the author, but then talked about him in the third person.) I found this funny, because throughout the whole book, it stresses how the tea party movement is grassroots and does not need a leader, while simultaneously setting up Freedom Works as the central leader. For instance, in the "toolkit for activists," the answer to any question one might have was, "Ask Freedom Works. We know the answer and we'll help you."
It was also funny in the toolkit section to hear them give 2010-era advice to (presumably) elderly people about how to set up Facebook accounts.
Of course, I was also at times unimpressed with the anti-left rhetoric, though my goal was to be open-minded. For instance, several times in the book the authors talk about how the tea partiers are first-time protestors with phrases like, "I was always too busy to protest, since I HAD a job and a family." I love the underlying assumption that others who have chosen to protest throughout the years (for mostly liberal causes) must not HAVE jobs. Obviously, that's the only way they could have found the time!
The chapters about where the tea party movement came from, its ideological connections to the Boston Tea Party and the Sons of Liberty, and the central tenets of the limited government philosophy were good. Unfortunately, that was only 3 chapters.
The rest was a strange year-end report for Freedom Works, set in narrative form, describing in great detail the successes of their various marches and gatherings. (It was also confusing because it said Dick Armey was the author, but then talked about him in the third person.) I found this funny, because throughout the whole book, it stresses how the tea party movement is grassroots and does not need a leader, while simultaneously setting up Freedom Works as the central leader. For instance, in the "toolkit for activists," the answer to any question one might have was, "Ask Freedom Works. We know the answer and we'll help you."
It was also funny in the toolkit section to hear them give 2010-era advice to (presumably) elderly people about how to set up Facebook accounts.
Of course, I was also at times unimpressed with the anti-left rhetoric, though my goal was to be open-minded. For instance, several times in the book the authors talk about how the tea partiers are first-time protestors with phrases like, "I was always too busy to protest, since I HAD a job and a family." I love the underlying assumption that others who have chosen to protest throughout the years (for mostly liberal causes) must not HAVE jobs. Obviously, that's the only way they could have found the time!
December 2, 2010
As someone who generally agrees with the principles espoused in this book, I was somewhat disappointed. This book is part manifesto, part history of Tea Party, part commercial for FreedomWorks. There really isn't much new here but for those who are interested in the Tea Party it provides a good overview of the movement -- strict constitutionalism, limited government, and personal responsibility, and you won't find much more than that. The parts of the books that describes FreedomWork's contributions (including the planning of the Sept. 12 protest) and the experiences of individual members of the movement are not worth reading.
August 23, 2023
I had this book on my shelf for sometime and I decided to finally give it a shot when I ran for office. It was very informative about the Tea Party and its affect on politics in 2010. However, it also seemed to highly rely on Freedom Works and credited them with much of the grassroots etc that happened. I like what they were trying to accomplish, but felt their role in the book took away from it. Regardless, it had a lot of information about creating groups and how to affect change in DC. I enjoyed learning more about Armey and his role in Congress. There was much info about TARP and how reckless the bailouts were.
May 22, 2021
The book wasn't really well written, and it seems as though the author was willing to risk economic catastrophe for the sake of his libertarian principles; which I found troubling. However the book has some insightful information on how to organize a movement, how to reach out to elected officials, and how to fund raise.
January 28, 2023
I think Armey makes several compelling points but then he does nothing to develop them further. It seems like this book is aimed towards people who are already well-versed and supportive of his libertarian ideology; rather than convince people who were on the fence, Armey chose to preach to the choir. This significantly reduced the quality of the book.
July 17, 2012
Please allow a little alliteration. This work is--a perfected piece of patriotic puffery and propaganda. Sounds simple and yet complex at the same time, doesn't it? So does this book.
What begins as an exaltation of the ideals originally put forth by visionary revolutionaries of the 18th century, quickly descends into a how-to manual that feels analogous to 'Time Share' presentations and garden-variety pyramid schemes to fill the coffers of Freedom Works and their partners, Americans for Prosperity. Ultimately, serving the legislative goals of such dubious backers as the Koch brothers.
On its face, I actually find that my beliefs as an American citizen are well represented in the rose-colored prose that masquerades as the purpose for writing this book. 'The Constitution Is the Blueprint for Good Government' - agreed. 'In a Free Society, Actions Should Have Consequences' - right again. 'The Federal Government Is Addicted to Spending' - isn't it obvious? 'Our Bloated Bureaucracy Is Too Big to Succeed' - well that's only getting worse now isn't it, Justice Roberts?
Once the veil is removed from this professed idealism, the inherent contradictions of the authors and their message become apparent. Of greatest insult, is the position that the Tea Party is a social movement that is simply compromised of ideology, values, and principles without the necessity of a complex hierarchy. It is because of these self-proclaimed tenants, i.e. that no leaders are required; that this should simply be viewed as a far-reaching, grassroots (a word that is repeated ad nauseam, mind you) initiative. And then...
The entire appendix is a step-by-step, how-to manual to create a chapter (complete with executive officers), recruit and fundraise so that you efforts can serve the greater lobbying power of Freedom Works...oh wait, sorry, I mean a 'Grassroots Activism Toolkit'. The authors don't even try to hide their efforts to bolster their budget. Going as far as suggesting that local chapters utilize Freedom Works' national advisory committees to guide their fundraising and that they should send all donations to the national office for immediate processing. Ridiculous.
The most bile inspiring notion comes when the authors appear to be pointing out the inherent disconnect of granting bailout money to banks that had spent over 100 million dollars in lobbying costs to pass that bill, earning them a '258,449' percent return on their investment. Yet, when passages encourage local chapters to improve their "pitch" (their quotes) in order to bolster the national Tea Party, and by extension, Freedom Works budgets, the authors are no longer playing their cards close to their chests. When the Koch brothers are providing you capital to speak out in support of lowering corporate taxes and deregulation, what kind of return on their investment do you think they expect?
As I said, a perfected piece of patriotic puffery and propaganda. Yeah, yeah, I know---don't tread on me. Please, tread carefully with this book and it's intentions.
What begins as an exaltation of the ideals originally put forth by visionary revolutionaries of the 18th century, quickly descends into a how-to manual that feels analogous to 'Time Share' presentations and garden-variety pyramid schemes to fill the coffers of Freedom Works and their partners, Americans for Prosperity. Ultimately, serving the legislative goals of such dubious backers as the Koch brothers.
On its face, I actually find that my beliefs as an American citizen are well represented in the rose-colored prose that masquerades as the purpose for writing this book. 'The Constitution Is the Blueprint for Good Government' - agreed. 'In a Free Society, Actions Should Have Consequences' - right again. 'The Federal Government Is Addicted to Spending' - isn't it obvious? 'Our Bloated Bureaucracy Is Too Big to Succeed' - well that's only getting worse now isn't it, Justice Roberts?
Once the veil is removed from this professed idealism, the inherent contradictions of the authors and their message become apparent. Of greatest insult, is the position that the Tea Party is a social movement that is simply compromised of ideology, values, and principles without the necessity of a complex hierarchy. It is because of these self-proclaimed tenants, i.e. that no leaders are required; that this should simply be viewed as a far-reaching, grassroots (a word that is repeated ad nauseam, mind you) initiative. And then...
The entire appendix is a step-by-step, how-to manual to create a chapter (complete with executive officers), recruit and fundraise so that you efforts can serve the greater lobbying power of Freedom Works...oh wait, sorry, I mean a 'Grassroots Activism Toolkit'. The authors don't even try to hide their efforts to bolster their budget. Going as far as suggesting that local chapters utilize Freedom Works' national advisory committees to guide their fundraising and that they should send all donations to the national office for immediate processing. Ridiculous.
The most bile inspiring notion comes when the authors appear to be pointing out the inherent disconnect of granting bailout money to banks that had spent over 100 million dollars in lobbying costs to pass that bill, earning them a '258,449' percent return on their investment. Yet, when passages encourage local chapters to improve their "pitch" (their quotes) in order to bolster the national Tea Party, and by extension, Freedom Works budgets, the authors are no longer playing their cards close to their chests. When the Koch brothers are providing you capital to speak out in support of lowering corporate taxes and deregulation, what kind of return on their investment do you think they expect?
As I said, a perfected piece of patriotic puffery and propaganda. Yeah, yeah, I know---don't tread on me. Please, tread carefully with this book and it's intentions.
February 12, 2011
Currently Reading------
So far I think Give Us Liberty by Dick Armey is a great book that relates the original tea party to the new one. The book explains the basics of the Republican view of society in a straight forward way. My favorite part of the book so far is how the author connects historical events to the modern events and corrects the mistakes former presidents had made. Dick Armey writes in a way so his book does not criticize the Democratic viewpoint but shows how the Republican Party thinks for the good of the American people. Each chapter of this book is a separate small story of a protest or quote, and each chapter is has its own meaning. This book also compares modern day polititions to the founding fathers. I think this book is a good book for people that want to learn about the political community and get in touch with the modern time political parties and each of their views on how America should operate. "This groundbreaking manifesto is essential reading for tea party activists-or any American seeking to understand what the Tea Party is fighting for and what's next for tea movement." I think the pictures of the protests included in the book are great so you can see the vast majority of tea party activists against the government spending too much money and raising taxes. Give Us Liberty has been a great book so far with lots of messages to the American citizens. I think this is a great book for middle schoolers and onwards. When reading this book I uncovered many great quotes. Many of these quotes were spoken by our country's fathers.
1. George Washington 1789: "The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government," "are justly considered as deeply , perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands fo the American people."
2. Samuel Adams: "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen to set brush fires in people's mind's."
So far I think Give Us Liberty by Dick Armey is a great book that relates the original tea party to the new one. The book explains the basics of the Republican view of society in a straight forward way. My favorite part of the book so far is how the author connects historical events to the modern events and corrects the mistakes former presidents had made. Dick Armey writes in a way so his book does not criticize the Democratic viewpoint but shows how the Republican Party thinks for the good of the American people. Each chapter of this book is a separate small story of a protest or quote, and each chapter is has its own meaning. This book also compares modern day polititions to the founding fathers. I think this book is a good book for people that want to learn about the political community and get in touch with the modern time political parties and each of their views on how America should operate. "This groundbreaking manifesto is essential reading for tea party activists-or any American seeking to understand what the Tea Party is fighting for and what's next for tea movement." I think the pictures of the protests included in the book are great so you can see the vast majority of tea party activists against the government spending too much money and raising taxes. Give Us Liberty has been a great book so far with lots of messages to the American citizens. I think this is a great book for middle schoolers and onwards. When reading this book I uncovered many great quotes. Many of these quotes were spoken by our country's fathers.
1. George Washington 1789: "The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government," "are justly considered as deeply , perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands fo the American people."
2. Samuel Adams: "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen to set brush fires in people's mind's."
October 2, 2011
I listened to this as a book on CD...or tried to. Actually, I quit partway through, and turned the BCD back into the library. The first couple of chapters were extremely tedious - in case you were wondering, Dick Armey is an amazing, wonderful, truly stupendous individual who is just arguing for freedom here in America, which basically boils down to government never getting involved in the affairs of the common man. Ever.
But (in a huge contradiction that I simply can't get past) it's okay to spend trillions of dollars on our military and position ourselves as the world's policeman. Good thing we want small government and to stay the hell out of other people's business!
The funny part is, for the most part, I consider myself to be libertarian. I started out wanting to like this book. But he went on and on and on and on and on about how America is based on freedom, how wonderful FreedomWorks is (did anyone else feel like they were reading/listening to a paid advertisement for FreedomWorks?), how the Tea Party movement started, and how we should all be out in the streets, protesting. Yikes. I've never thought of myself as a protestor and I'm not about to start now.
There was just a lot of fluff - empty phrases and high-flying ideals that mean little to the everyday workings of America.
Oh, and the guy who read this book on CD ought to be slapped. He was a HORRIBLE narrator. He tried to change his voice when quoting someone else, and in the process, he ended up sounding ridiculous. That, almost as much as anything, drove me to eject the CD out of my computer and turn the whole thing back in. I listen to many BCD's, and have never heard a more terrible narrator.
I would give the whole thing one star, but after all, I am libertarian-leaning, and I think the basic ideals (buried somewhere beneath the self-praising) are good.
But (in a huge contradiction that I simply can't get past) it's okay to spend trillions of dollars on our military and position ourselves as the world's policeman. Good thing we want small government and to stay the hell out of other people's business!
The funny part is, for the most part, I consider myself to be libertarian. I started out wanting to like this book. But he went on and on and on and on and on about how America is based on freedom, how wonderful FreedomWorks is (did anyone else feel like they were reading/listening to a paid advertisement for FreedomWorks?), how the Tea Party movement started, and how we should all be out in the streets, protesting. Yikes. I've never thought of myself as a protestor and I'm not about to start now.
There was just a lot of fluff - empty phrases and high-flying ideals that mean little to the everyday workings of America.
Oh, and the guy who read this book on CD ought to be slapped. He was a HORRIBLE narrator. He tried to change his voice when quoting someone else, and in the process, he ended up sounding ridiculous. That, almost as much as anything, drove me to eject the CD out of my computer and turn the whole thing back in. I listen to many BCD's, and have never heard a more terrible narrator.
I would give the whole thing one star, but after all, I am libertarian-leaning, and I think the basic ideals (buried somewhere beneath the self-praising) are good.
June 9, 2015
I thought it was a very well written book about who and what the Tea Party are all about. I have been reading other people's reviews of this book and i have to agree with one person in particular who commented that although he agreed with a lot of the issues that the Tea Party stands/fights for, he felt that the book was a recruiting tool for the group and perhaps it is meant to be. I too enjoyed this book very much and can agree with a lot of the issues they stand for including personal freedom and liberty (aka, what our founding father's fought and died for). This Government has gotten WAY out of control in recent years and the point they try to advocate is that only WE the PEOPLE can do anything to turn it around, we clearly cannot trust this type of power in the hands of our government and elected officials who only become power hungry and serve their self-interests. WE the people need to stand up and the changing force in this country if we are to establish not only a better future for us but for future generations....and wow, this has got to be the longest review for a book I have ever written, I am rather proud of myself and my passion/commitment to this review and book. It has def sturred up patriotic feelings inside me as I hope it would all others who read this book.
July 1, 2014
2010:
The birth of the Tea Party and a timely book to read about the difficulties our country is facing and the assault on our freedoms and liberty orchestrated by past and current administrations.
2014:
This book is still relevant. Business as usual in Washington has only gotten worse.
"This is a movement stirred into action not out of partisan bitterness but as a reaction to a government that has grown too large, spends too much money, and is interfering with American's freedoms. The principles of individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and constitutionally limited government are what define the Tea Party ethos......."
The birth of the Tea Party and a timely book to read about the difficulties our country is facing and the assault on our freedoms and liberty orchestrated by past and current administrations.
2014:
This book is still relevant. Business as usual in Washington has only gotten worse.
"This is a movement stirred into action not out of partisan bitterness but as a reaction to a government that has grown too large, spends too much money, and is interfering with American's freedoms. The principles of individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, and constitutionally limited government are what define the Tea Party ethos......."
January 30, 2014
This is a decent book that explains the viewpoint of the Tea Party. If you are already conservative and or Libertarian then you will probably jive with this book. I gave it two stars because it is really long and boringly detailed. The beginning is great; it gives you a clear message about what the Tea Party wants and why it exists. But then Armey goes into a month by month discussion on the history of the Tea Party movement. That may interest you if you love this topic. It did not me, an only-mildly curious reader.
April 2, 2013
Normally my disinterest in the political world wouldn't have had me pick this up. One of the problems with having such a long book queue is that I sometimes develop a passing interest in something that is long gone before I get to a book that dovetailed with that interest.
Probably prompted by the election and seeing activity from the Tea Party movement, I thought looking behind the curtain might be interesting. Maybe then it would have been. It isn't now.
Probably prompted by the election and seeing activity from the Tea Party movement, I thought looking behind the curtain might be interesting. Maybe then it would have been. It isn't now.
September 10, 2010
This is a good book for those who have questions on what a constitutional conservative is, are new to this philosphy or for progressives who are interested in educated debate of the subject. One who has been a constitutional conservative is going to find this book to be redundant on information already published.
January 5, 2011
I think Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe have mastered how to take advantage of the American people. The writing style is very relaxed and contains Wikipedia like references to both authors and events sponsored by Freedomworks the not for profit that pays Armey and Kibbe on the upwards of $500k and $200k respectively. The book does contain insightful methods to set up your own cause.
October 22, 2010
Holy crap! These people are freaking insane. Read at your own risk!!! Maybe it's better NOT to know what they are thinking.
July 26, 2011
An interesting history of the current Tea Party movement.
Read
July 31, 2011Clear, consise explanation of the formation of the Tea Party movement and its core beliefs. Quite useful in understanding the current political debate.
January 29, 2012
I was skeptical when I first started the book, but I was surprised how thoughtful and informative Give Us Liberty was. It's a very practical guide for tea party conservatives.
March 3, 2013
Know I know what the tea party is about
November 16, 2013
I am not an advocate of book burning. Yet.
Stupid me, choosing to analyze the movement for a class in Grad school.
Stupid me, choosing to analyze the movement for a class in Grad school.
October 18, 2015
I thought the book was pretty okay. Nothing to spectacular about the book. I really don't understand why they are consider crazy, because they are just trying to represent what America stands for.
September 22, 2010
A must read for every American.
September 9, 2012
I enjoyed this look at something that I think is a fundamental sea shift in conservative politics.
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