She tried to warn us: With the publication of Shrub in early 2000, syndicated columnist Molly Ivins detailed George W. Bush’s privileged rise and disastrous reign as governor of Texas in the mid- to late ‘90s. In Bushwhacked, she looks at his first term as president. The picture she paints is unremittingly bleak—unless, of course, you’re a big campaign donor well served by Bush’s prescription for all economic ills (deregulation, tax cuts for those who need them least, and lax enforcement of worker and environmental safety standards). As the only president in U.S. history to slash taxes and go to war simultaneously, Bush wins consistently low marks from Ivins for pursuing "crony capitalism" to its inevitably depressing extremes. While many of the topics covered here have been covered extensively (Enron, the war in Iraq), Ivins does a good job of building on what’s already been written (proving Bush’s close ties to former Enron chief Ken Lay, and laying out the fundamentalist, apocalyptic view of Iraq and the Middle East that drives Bush’s foreign policy). Ivins is particularly good in taking arcane federal regulations and showing how the Bush administration’s lax oversight has hurt ordinary Americans, making their jobs, homes, water, and food less safe. Ivins is no distanced observer. She’s clearly incensed by Bush’s policies, but her reporting is so detailed and writing so witty that even those who come to the book undecided about Bush will likely be outraged by the time they finish it. ----Keith Moerer


From Publishers Weekly
Ivins's mordant wit, political passion and uninhibited energy are unique among political writers and translate into entertaining reading for anti-Bushites. Together with co-author Dubose, Ivins (Shrub) offers a ferocious attack on "Dubya," arguing that he has taken the country in a direction he conveniently failed to mention during the 2000 campaign. That direction, according to Ivins, endangers workers, the poor and disadvantaged, the middle class and, for good measure, the Bill of Rights. Her message is that Bush's education, economic, tax and environmental policies, his energy policy, his response to the Enron scandal all have one thing in common: "setting the fox to guard the chicken coop." The "fox" in this case is business interests; the chickens are the EPA, the SEC, the Federal Energy Regulation Commission and other agencies whose purpose is to protect citizens from capitalism's excesses. Simply put, Bush, according to Ivins, has abandoned the interests of American citizens for the interests of corporate America. Two things distinguish this from the rest of the burgeoning anti-Bush literature: Ivins's substantive arguments and her language and humor, which are refreshingly inventive. Members of the Texas Supreme Court, dominated by then-Governor Bush appointees, are "nine justices beloved for their canine fidelity to corporations." Bush's Middle East policy, which Ivins says is driven by the evangelical right's eschatology, "has produced alliances as peculiar as the Michael Jackson-Lisa Marie Presley union." Nonetheless, readers shouldn't be misled: Ivins and Dubose do not believe Bush is funny; they are outraged by what they identify as his excesses. They want readers to be outraged, too-and many will be.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Those preferring to remain comfortably unaware of the effects of Bush policies on the lives of Americans and the health of our democratic institutions would do well to avoid this book. Others, regardless of political affiliation, owe it to themselves to listen with open mind. Not an anti-Bush rant, this is a well-researched, well- written examination of the current state of the union. In accessible language the authors trace the complex machinations of policy-making in the Bush White House. They then provide case studies of how these policies have affected real people. Known for her sharp Texas wit, Ivins gives a lively delivery, informed by a combination of optimism and outrage. She is by turns funny, sarcastic, ironic, and deadly serious. It's a pleasure to listen to facts that might otherwise be dry and stories that, on their own, would be even more painful. The final chapter offers solutions, a call to action, and hope. Recommended for anyone who will be voting in 2004. E.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Syndicated columnist Ivins and her cowriter Dubose also wrote Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush before the 2000 election, and as they put it, "If y'all had've read this first book, we wouldn't've had to write this one." Obviously, no bones are made about their point of view. But unlike some partisan books on both sides, which rattle off a string of injustices and call names, these authors have another agenda. Oh, they still call names, but using something of a case-study format, they show what the Bush domestic program has meant to individual citizens in particular and the populace in general: laid-off workers in Philly who can't get extensions of their benefits while the wealthy got a dividend tax windfall. In the Mississippi Delta, the hands of catfish-house workers are painfully twisted by arthritis, but with the backing of the business community, the Bush administration killed ergonomics protection. And so it goes with pro-pollution policies and a "faith-based foreign policy [which is] terrifying in an apocalyptic way." Like a fire-and-brimstone preacher, Ivins informs readers it is "time to raise hell" and gives them some ways to do just that, including fighting the evil of campaign fundraising, which turns politicians into commodities to be bought and sold. Although the sourcing could be more specific, the writing itself is pure Ivins, frank and funny and eminently readable. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“Ivins is surely one of the nation’s most adroit political commentators.” —People

“A sprightly catalogue of every destructive policy decision the Bushies have made in their first two-and-a-half years. . . . Sure to delight the president’s critics and madden his fans.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Ivins and Dubose are worthy heirs of the honorable tradition of muckraking.” —Paul Krugman, The New York Review of Books

“A thorough (and thoroughly researched) condemnation of our 43rd president's domestic policy. . . . The intensely individual stories make this much more than a tart tongue-lashing. . . . Illuminating reading.” —Austin American-Statesman U.S.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Molly Ivins's follow-up to the hilarious bestseller Shrub proves once again why the wry Texas humorist is not in line to head up George W. Bush's fan club; but what sets it apart from other anti-Dubya screeds is the author's incisive analysis of how Bush's crony-centered domestic policies are adversely affecting average Americans. Obviously, unquestioning Bush supporters are advised to steer clear, but this is a well-researched, well-reasoned, often painful-to-read indictment of the Bush administration

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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.

SYNOPSIS

A simultaneously rollicking and sobering indictment of the policies of President George W. Bush, Bushwhacked chronicles the destructive impact of the Bush administration on the very people who put him in the White House in the first place. Here are the ties that connected Bush to Enron, yes, but here, too, is the story of the woman who walks six miles to the unemployment office daily, wondering what happened to the economic security Bush promised. Here are reports on failed nation-building missions in Kabul and Baghdad. Here, too, the story of a rancher who has fallen prey to a Bush-Cheney interior department that is perhaps a wee bit too cozy with the oil industry. Bushwhacked is highly original and entirely thought-provoking—essential reading for anyone living in George W. Bush's America.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

At the heart of Bushwhacked's critique is a robust economic populism that frames Bush's policies, from his lopsided tax cuts to his profit-driven view of education, in terms of how they affect average and ailing citizens. The book overflows with anecdotes about hard-working Americans -- a low-wage catfish-gutter who fights for the right to a restroom break, a single mother who walks six miles to the unemployment center -- injured by Bush's policies. Bolstered by facts and figures, it skillfully summarizes the case against Bush. — David Grenberg

Publishers Weekly

"If y'all had've read the first book, we wouldn't've had to write this one," says Ivins, a columnist who, along with co-author Lou Dubose, wrote Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush, which covered "Dubya's" short but sour reign as a Texas governor. This book picks up where Shrub left off, detailing Bush's first term as the not-quite-elected President of the United States. Ivins reads her own material and audibly enjoys discussing what she sees as tax breaks for the rich, environmental and safety deregulation, corporate toadyism and the loss of Americans' civil liberties, though it is also very apparent that behind the laughter lies genuine sadness and anger. In fact, it's hard to listen to this audiobook without simultaneously laughing and becoming incensed. Ivins is a joy to listen to. Her snappy quips, razor wit and downright damnation of the current administration are tempered by a lovely Texas drawl. She's mad as hell and is ready to do something about it, yet she never lets that fact interfere with her delightfully offbeat sense of humor, her engaging delivery or her well-researched argument. Simultaneous release with the Random hardcover (Forecasts, Aug. 4, 2003). (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile

Those preferring to remain comfortably unaware of the effects of Bush policies on the lives of Americans and the health of our democratic institutions would do well to avoid this book. Others, regardless of political affiliation, owe it to themselves to listen with open mind. Not an anti-Bush rant, this is a well-researched, well- written examination of the current state of the union. In accessible language the authors trace the complex machinations of policy-making in the Bush White House. They then provide case studies of how these policies have affected real people. Known for her sharp Texas wit, Ivins gives a lively delivery, informed by a combination of optimism and outrage. She is by turns funny, sarcastic, ironic, and deadly serious. It's a pleasure to listen to facts that might otherwise be dry and stories that, on their own, would be even more painful. The final chapter offers solutions, a call to action, and hope. Recommended for anyone who will be voting in 2004. E.S.
© AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews