Shameless: Republicans' Deliberate Dysfunction and the Battle to Preserve Democracy

by Brian Tyler Cohen

Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From the first content creator to interview President Biden, leading progressive voice Brian Tyler Cohen takes a step back from the day-to-day news cycle to explain how American politics has turned into such a dumpster fire—and what Democrats need to do to get us out of it.

In Shameless, Brian Tyler Cohen lays bare the long con of the modern Republican Party. While the radical right continues hiding behind gaslighting maneuvers, artificial slogans, and hollow catchphrases, Cohen’s unflinching narrative illuminates the realities and dangers of the ever-widening gulf between the vaunted Republican brand and their actual behavior.

With a foreword by Congressman Jamie Raskin, drawing on interviews and insights from Pete Buttigieg, Mehdi Hasan, Jen Psaki, and other luminaries of the Left, Cohen reveals:

• How Republicans have leaned on their histor­ical branding to give themselves a permission structure to behave antithetically to everything they say;
• Why the mainstream media has proved itself a willing participant in this ongoing farce— particularly since the rise of toxic, sensational­ist MAGA mania; and
• What lessons Democrats can glean from a clear-eyed view of the landscape we’re operating in—and the steps we must take to rebalance our political landscape.

During this all-hands-on-deck moment in our his­tory, Shameless is essential reading for those seeking to understand our dire situation, and a rallying cry for those fighting to preserve democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063392885
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	998
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Brian Tyler Cohen is a progressive YouTuber, podcaster, and MSNBC contributor. He has over six million subscribers across all social media platforms, including a YouTube channel with two billion views and counting. His show, No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, has become a destination for the top names in politics, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Rachel Maddow to President Biden.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2024

YouTuber and MSNBC contributor Cohen debuts with a snarky if slightly hackneyed critique of the GOP. Making worn-out arguments about Republican hypocrisy (i.e., they pushed through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court after denying Merrick Garland a hearing), Cohen mostly preaches to the choir. He touts himself as being “at the forefront of a burgeoning and crucial independent media ecosystem” but states that he needs expert guidance to get “to the heart of this Republican Party’s dysfunction.” The micro-targeted cross-section of party luminaries he sought out for their expertise—Pete Buttigieg, Marc Elias, Al Franken, Mehdi Hasan, Dan Pfeiffer, Jen Psaki, Jamie Raskin, and Heather Cox Richardson—seem tailored to appeal to Democratic Party superfans (“No one, however, does it more effectively than Pete Buttigieg,” Cohen gushes in a chapter praising Democrats who make Fox News appearances). Those fans will undoubtedly find a lot to like—Cohen’s dive into GOP history goes surprisingly deep (topics include the Republican embrace of the racist Southern Strategy and Newt Gingrich’s tenure as speaker of the House) and his humor occasionally has some bite (the word fact is defined in a footnote as “an antiquated notion that once mattered”). Only Democratic diehards need apply. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Brian Tyler Cohen is a compelling, insightful and important voice in progressive media. In Shameless, he skillfully chronicles Republicans’ decades-long descent into a politics of dysfunction, disinformation and personal destruction. Offering hope, he also shares how each of us can participate in bringing our divided nation back together. A must-read for all those who know that in our fight to save American democracy, we don’t agonize — we organize to bring people together!”  — Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“Brian gets billions of views and interviews with presidents for a reason: he’s clear-eyed about the threat to democracy, creative in his approach to fighting back, and the kind of joyful warrior the progressive movement needs right now. This is a book with valuable lessons about what each of us can do to break through the noise of the right-wing media machine.”  — Jon Favreau

“Shameless makes clear why Brian Tyler Cohen is a rising star of the Left. In his distinctive, accessible style, he exposes the Big Lie of the Republican brand, which was built on the embrace of supposed family values, fiscal responsibility and respect for the constitution, when in reality the party has been steeped in ideas that are quite the opposite, and which undermine American democracy.”  — Joy Reid

From the Publisher

2024-06-14
A progressive political commentator offers his insights into the dysfunction that characterizes the modern Republican Party.

In his debut book, Cohen argues that the “Party of Lincoln” has been hijacked by “a burgeoning extremist faction for whom compromise is unacceptable and chaos is the goal.” Furthermore, “this reality is getting exponentially worse year after year—and as citizens, we are becoming dangerously numb to it.” The authoritarianism Republicans now represent threatens American democracy, and the assaults on decency and common sense, as made by the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene, pose grave dangers. Drawing on conversations with historians, constitutional scholars, former senators, attorneys, and Biden administration cabinet members, Cohen suggests that GOP dysfunction comes from a perverse desire to break—rather than reform—a government system they believe is too large to function well. Before Trump became the party’s “racist, misogynist, anti-everything narcissist” center of gravity and just after Obama’s 2008 election win, Republicans like Newt Gingrich were laying the groundwork for a strategy built on opposition for partisan gain. Others, like Mitch McConnell, would pursue that strategy relentlessly throughout both Obama’s and Biden’s tenures as president. At the same time, they transformed “human wrecking ball” Donald Trump into the GOP standard-bearer who gave them license to “openly court white supremacists and neo-Nazis, who now march proudly down our streets.” However dismal the current political landscape, Cohen still believes that the situation can be salvaged if Americans recognize the power of their own agency. Rather than take refuge in helplessness, the author suggests that citizens must not only continue to participate in democracy, but they must also actively persuade those who have lost faith—and who now constitute the margins on which modern "elections are won or lost"—to participate as well.

A refreshingly bold and candid voice.

Kirkus Reviews