Stealing America

October 5, 2015
The Democratic Party is an organized crime syndicate bent on stealing America out from under its citizens. So purports noted documentary filmmaker and conservative author Dinesh D'Souza (America: Imagine a World Without Her) in his new book, written during his eight-month confinement in a halfway house as a result of his conviction for illegal campaign donations. The author's interactions with the gang members also at the confinement center led to his rethinking of the American political system, especially the "con" of progressives to convince average Americans that capitalism harms rather than helps them. D'Souza eviscerates the progressive movement for strong-arm tactics, starting with the Clinton-appointee judge who sentenced him to confinementâaccording to D'Souza, for his politics rather than his crimeâand continuing on to community organizer Saul Alinksy and President Obama and Hillary Clinton, comparing them to characters out of Goodfellas and The Godfather. D'Souza enlivens the familiar material of political screeds with the colorful language of the criminals he came to know, adding to it his own insights as a seasoned political commentator. This is a must-read for any right-leaning readers looking ahead to the 2016 election.

October 1, 2015
A brazen diatribe by conservative author, filmmaker, and convicted felon D'Souza (America: Imagine a World Without Her, 2014, etc.). Readers familiar with pundit D'Souza's previous work will recognize here many of his recycled arguments against progressive and liberal claims. The author, convicted in 2014 by federal prosecutors for exceeding campaign finance contributions to his friend Wendy Long, then running for U.S. Senate, was confined in a San Diego confinement center, at his own cost, and given five years' probation. In his latest book, the author uses the conversations and underworld motivations of his fellow inmates to build his argument that the liberal causes espoused by President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in particular, are part of a nefarious scheme of criminality to siphon money from the enterprising deserving and give to those who should work harder. D'Souza avows to be glad at this chance to observe closely the "psychology of crookedness." At first terrified for his safety and then captivated by the colorful personalities and their profuse profanity, D'Souza admired the honor among thieves and code of behavior shared by hardened gang members, recognizing in them a litany familiar to his own right-wing vision: "it's the idea inspired by my criminal compatriots, that the biggest thieves are in the government, that they are still at large and that what they are stealing is America itself, its wealth and power." While the dialogue with the criminals saves this work from being a completely mind-numbing polemic, the examples D'Souza employs to bolster his arguments about greed, liberal envy, and the superior value of entrepreneurship prove fanciful stretches of extrapolation. Hilariously, the author compares seminal Chicago activist Saul Alinsky to the Mafia godfather, while his "shakedown" disciples are Obama and Clinton. The product of the author's retreat is mocking, sarcastic, paranoid, and nearly unbearable to all but the most hardened readers.

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.