Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell
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- Author：Tim Miller
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Summary
Former Republican political operative Tim Miller admits what no one else on the right ever will: they all encouraged the madness that has overtaken the party。 The Trumpification of the American right was the inevitable result of a series of decisions made by people like Tim Miller over the past decade。
In a book that is part memoir， part anatomy of the Republican enablers， Tim Miller delivers the most honest insider assessment of the mindset of those who contributed to Trump's rise that has been delivered to date。 Featuring astonishingly raw and candid interviews with former colleagues and friends who jumped on the Trump Train， he finally answers the question of why so many who knew better went along with the madness。
When mainstream Republicans teamed up with Steve Bannon and Breitbart or implied Hillary committed murder or asked questions about Obama's birth certificate， they told themselves they were just playing "the game" but deep down they knew they were feeding the very mob that has now tried to upend our democracy。
Churchill's famous statement about international diplomacy is applicable to the modern GOP as well: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough， the crocodile will eat him last。 All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured。" Politicians and pundits know they get their power from whipping their base into a frenzy， assuming someone else would bear the brunt of their anger。 But the Republican establishment were the ones who ended up getting eaten。
In this hard-hitting critique， Miller wryly recounts the key moments that he and others--colleagues like Reince Priebus and Lindsay Graham--decided it was fine to encourage the Obama-birth-certificate and Clinton "Kill List" crowd as long as it was good for the team。
The MSNBC contributor， Rolling Stone writer， and one of the strategists behind the famous 2012 RNC "autopsy" conducts his own forensic study on the pungent carcass of the party he used to love， cutting into all the hubris， ambition， idiocy， desperation， and self-deception for everyone to see。 Miller warns that Republicans will continue to make the same choices and political calculations， with disastrous consequences for the nation， until his former friends are shaken from their self-deception and stop playing the dangerous games with our democracy that brought us to the brink。
In a book that is part memoir， part anatomy of the Republican enablers， Tim Miller delivers the most honest insider assessment of the mindset of those who contributed to Trump's rise that has been delivered to date。 Featuring astonishingly raw and candid interviews with former colleagues and friends who jumped on the Trump Train， he finally answers the question of why so many who knew better went along with the madness。
When mainstream Republicans teamed up with Steve Bannon and Breitbart or implied Hillary committed murder or asked questions about Obama's birth certificate， they told themselves they were just playing "the game" but deep down they knew they were feeding the very mob that has now tried to upend our democracy。
Churchill's famous statement about international diplomacy is applicable to the modern GOP as well: "Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough， the crocodile will eat him last。 All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured。" Politicians and pundits know they get their power from whipping their base into a frenzy， assuming someone else would bear the brunt of their anger。 But the Republican establishment were the ones who ended up getting eaten。
In this hard-hitting critique， Miller wryly recounts the key moments that he and others--colleagues like Reince Priebus and Lindsay Graham--decided it was fine to encourage the Obama-birth-certificate and Clinton "Kill List" crowd as long as it was good for the team。
The MSNBC contributor， Rolling Stone writer， and one of the strategists behind the famous 2012 RNC "autopsy" conducts his own forensic study on the pungent carcass of the party he used to love， cutting into all the hubris， ambition， idiocy， desperation， and self-deception for everyone to see。 Miller warns that Republicans will continue to make the same choices and political calculations， with disastrous consequences for the nation， until his former friends are shaken from their self-deception and stop playing the dangerous games with our democracy that brought us to the brink。
Reviews
Elise Ann
，
It's hard to say that I enjoyed this book， though I found it fascinating and disturbing in equal parts。 It's funny （though at times he tries too hard to be funny） and very revealing about the people behind the rise of Trump。 I wish that MAGA Trumpers would read this to see， at least， the scorn in which they are held by the people in power -- I try to imagine Trump sitting down to have a beer （I know he doesn't drink） with his rabid supporters and know that it would never， never happen because th It's hard to say that I enjoyed this book， though I found it fascinating and disturbing in equal parts。 It's funny （though at times he tries too hard to be funny） and very revealing about the people behind the rise of Trump。 I wish that MAGA Trumpers would read this to see， at least， the scorn in which they are held by the people in power -- I try to imagine Trump sitting down to have a beer （I know he doesn't drink） with his rabid supporters and know that it would never， never happen because they think less than nothing of their followers。 I nodded my head in acknowledgment at the notion that Bannon would go to the comments sections online to see which issues or controversies -- no matter how nutty -- the followers were most riled up about and then center those as part of Trump's platform。 Not a surprise， there。 No one escapes Miller's scathing criticism， not even himself。 I'm glad this book has been published， though I'm sure the people who would benefit most from the pulling back of the curtain will not be among those who read it。 。。。more
John
，
4。5/5Honestly， this was a difficult book。 On one hand， Miller is affable and humorous。 On the other; it's a memoir of completely deluded people。 I don't just mean those that went "all in" for Trump。 This book is full of a cast of characters that are barely even Conservatives。 They are a bunch of Liberals that just don't like "other" Liberals， so they've decided to glom onto a party that doesn't like them either。"Why We Did It" seems to be: "This is my team， I'm going to do what I can to support 4。5/5Honestly， this was a difficult book。 On one hand， Miller is affable and humorous。 On the other; it's a memoir of completely deluded people。 I don't just mean those that went "all in" for Trump。 This book is full of a cast of characters that are barely even Conservatives。 They are a bunch of Liberals that just don't like "other" Liberals， so they've decided to glom onto a party that doesn't like them either。"Why We Did It" seems to be: "This is my team， I'm going to do what I can to support it。" Which， is noble， but frustrating。All that being said， this book it worth it alone for the absolute ROASTING of Sean Spicer。 Miller just kind of assumes you understand his hatred of Trump， so he doesn't really focus on it; but his lampooning of ol' Spicey is the pinnacle of political comedy。 。。。more
Teresa
，
I would actually put it closer to a 3。5， but that's not really an option。 I enjoyed the book， it was interesting and even funny in some places。 It is also just depressing because of the subject matter so it's hard to rate it higher than that。 If you're interested to know how we got where we got or how Republicans can perform gymnastic justifications for their behavior this is a good read。 I would actually put it closer to a 3。5， but that's not really an option。 I enjoyed the book， it was interesting and even funny in some places。 It is also just depressing because of the subject matter so it's hard to rate it higher than that。 If you're interested to know how we got where we got or how Republicans can perform gymnastic justifications for their behavior this is a good read。 。。。more
Lisa Miller
，
Fascinating read as Miller tries to unpack how so many people。 He knows went down the Trump rabbit hole。 He has some insight but ends by saying there is nothing to change the factors involved， so no hope of pulling them out
Michael
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The subject matter is a little depressing， but Miller’s freewheeling writing makes it a great read。 The background on the post-2012 GOP “autopsy” was new to me too。 He makes some unimaginable things much easier to imagine， for better and worse。 Great book。
Jane
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I found the substance of the book worthwhile， but I didn’t like the writing （natch）。
Laurie Aubrey
，
As a former Republican （and never a Trump supporter） I keep attempting to understand the mindset of why - why do people continue to support the， well， I'll kindly refer to him as a creep。 While Miller's book is easy reading and addresses why the political types， both in and out of office， continue to support the creep - I remain wondering why it is there remains such an apparently large following among the voters。 As a former Republican （and never a Trump supporter） I keep attempting to understand the mindset of why - why do people continue to support the， well， I'll kindly refer to him as a creep。 While Miller's book is easy reading and addresses why the political types， both in and out of office， continue to support the creep - I remain wondering why it is there remains such an apparently large following among the voters。 。。。more
Connie Ciampanelli
，
I first happened upon Tim Miller， former Republican operative （or "hatchet man，" he admits） as a contributor on Nicolle Wallace's msnbc program， "Deadline: White House。" He is smart， funny， hip， analytical， and irreverent。 I subsequently discovered his writing on The Bulwark and my impression was confirmed。 I greatly looked forward to reading his new book， Why We Did It， in which he reflects on how long-term， traditional Republicans （your father's Republican party--right-wing extremists and thos I first happened upon Tim Miller， former Republican operative （or "hatchet man，" he admits） as a contributor on Nicolle Wallace's msnbc program， "Deadline: White House。" He is smart， funny， hip， analytical， and irreverent。 I subsequently discovered his writing on The Bulwark and my impression was confirmed。 I greatly looked forward to reading his new book， Why We Did It， in which he reflects on how long-term， traditional Republicans （your father's Republican party--right-wing extremists and those who proliferate/believe conspiracy are not part of the analysis） came to be deeply involved in and committed to the trumpian world。 Although he was not a supporter of the former president， he does not flinch from including himself in laying blame in enabling trump。 Miller's intelligence， self-reflection， and dark humor contribute to a great read。 。。。more
Hasan
，
An extremely interesting insider account of how Tim Miller， a GOP operative-turned-Biden voter and anti-Trump media figure， experienced the radical shift within the Republican Party following Mitt Romney's loss in 2012 and embrace of Donald Trump and Trumpism。If you want to know how internal GOP staffers reacted to Trump and the various choices they made to go along with him to further this career ， this is the book for you。 Miller includes the accounts of former like-minded staffers and friend An extremely interesting insider account of how Tim Miller， a GOP operative-turned-Biden voter and anti-Trump media figure， experienced the radical shift within the Republican Party following Mitt Romney's loss in 2012 and embrace of Donald Trump and Trumpism。If you want to know how internal GOP staffers reacted to Trump and the various choices they made to go along with him to further this career ， this is the book for you。 Miller includes the accounts of former like-minded staffers and friend who went full MAGA。 。。。more
Sasha Pravdic
，
There’s a certain satisfaction for a liberal anytime a Republican operative is willing to eat crow but in this case， the cast of characters is so despicable and the subject matter so vile that I can’t even take pleasure in any of it。 The author wants to be sure you see how cool， funny， clever and pithy he is and I see that he is indeed some of those things but mostly he seems like an egomaniac。 I want to believe in him but I can’t help feel he’s playing the left- after all， it is all a game; we There’s a certain satisfaction for a liberal anytime a Republican operative is willing to eat crow but in this case， the cast of characters is so despicable and the subject matter so vile that I can’t even take pleasure in any of it。 The author wants to be sure you see how cool， funny， clever and pithy he is and I see that he is indeed some of those things but mostly he seems like an egomaniac。 I want to believe in him but I can’t help feel he’s playing the left- after all， it is all a game; we liberals love a defector and Tim Miller loves being loved。 The book left me discouraged。 I don’t understand “why we did it” or maybe I do understand and it makes me too sad to think about how shallow the motives of our public “servants” are。 How absolutely banal。 。。。more
Kristine Moore
，
I often wondered how smart， educated， and decent people could allow themselves to be corrupted by lies and treachery。 This book explains the rise of Donald Trump， his hellish hold on the Republican Party， and why its members continue to allow him to control the destiny of the former Grand Old Party。
Jared Deame
，
Best explanation I’ve read of how/why relatively “normal” people in the GOP went along with Trumpism。
Hpnyknits
，
Why even seemingly good republicans support trump？Self loathing。Obsessed with power。 Greed。 Racism。 Sometimes， the base， is simply ignorant。 Yup。
Linda
，
Not exactly what I expected but still enjoyable。Tim Miller is a former Republican operative who seems to be （though he doesn't use these words for himself） a never Trumper。He talks （and that seems what he is doing throughout） about the paradox of being a Republican for years and gay （in the closet for a long time）。 He made friends with other Republicans while working for John McClain， Jeb Bush， and Jon Huntsman， and finds it very difficult to understand that these friends would follow the cartoo Not exactly what I expected but still enjoyable。Tim Miller is a former Republican operative who seems to be （though he doesn't use these words for himself） a never Trumper。He talks （and that seems what he is doing throughout） about the paradox of being a Republican for years and gay （in the closet for a long time）。 He made friends with other Republicans while working for John McClain， Jeb Bush， and Jon Huntsman， and finds it very difficult to understand that these friends would follow the cartoon named Trump。 。。。more
Jeanbatzer
，
A wincing view of people who take their white privilege for granted。
Bruce clark
，
Love this guy on MSNBC。 This is a conversational book about GOPers who started out hating Trump but eventually worked for the Trump Administration。 Fellow GOP and RNC political junkies who drank the Kool Aid and joined the Trump Train unlike the author who was a Never Trumper from the start。 Why did they do it？ Miller states the reasons were varied and complex but names these types: • Messiahs and Junior Messiahs • Demonizers • LOL Nothing Matters Republicans • Tribalist Trolls • Strivers • Litt Love this guy on MSNBC。 This is a conversational book about GOPers who started out hating Trump but eventually worked for the Trump Administration。 Fellow GOP and RNC political junkies who drank the Kool Aid and joined the Trump Train unlike the author who was a Never Trumper from the start。 Why did they do it？ Miller states the reasons were varied and complex but names these types: • Messiahs and Junior Messiahs • Demonizers • LOL Nothing Matters Republicans • Tribalist Trolls • Strivers • Little Mixes • Peter Principle Disprovers • Nerd Revengers • The Inert Team Players • The Compartmentalizers • Cartel CashersAn interesting book from a former GOP and RNC insider who still has friends who will talk to him。 。。。more
Rod Van Meter
，
Tim Miller dishes on the Beltway Republicans who went along with Trump。 He really doesn't make them， or even himself， look good。After some preliminary musing， we also learn about Miller's own coming to grips with his homosexuality， which came after he was already an adult GOP operative。 He considers himself conservative but moderate， supporting lower taxes and a strong military （he doesn't mention deficits， as far as I recall， or social spending， but it's a pretty good bet he's willing to do def Tim Miller dishes on the Beltway Republicans who went along with Trump。 He really doesn't make them， or even himself， look good。After some preliminary musing， we also learn about Miller's own coming to grips with his homosexuality， which came after he was already an adult GOP operative。 He considers himself conservative but moderate， supporting lower taxes and a strong military （he doesn't mention deficits， as far as I recall， or social spending， but it's a pretty good bet he's willing to do deficit spending on things he things are good， and becomes a deficit hawk when talking about things he doesn't support）。 But his homosexuality leaves him increasingly at odds with his own party， and he is aware of being the "token gay" in the room a lot。He also drinks to blacking out， apparently frequently， as an adult。And he managed to compartmentalize thoroughly enough to work for Scott Pruitt's confirmation as EPA director。But eventually we get to his Taxonomy of Why。We get: messiahs and junior messiahs， demonizers， the well-nothing-matters Republicans， tribalist trolls， strivers， little mixes， Peter Principle disprovers， nerd revengers， inert team players， compartmentalizers， cartel cashers。 A string of chapters follows， each titled with a class of person who made their deal with DJTism， and in each chapter Miller eviscerates one （very definitely former） friend from the category。 That list is directly from his text， but the chapters don't exactly line up。The Little Mix: Reince Priebus。 Just working his way up the GOP ranks。The Nerd-Revenging Team Player: Sean Spicer。 Just wants to sit at the top table， personality formed by being scarred as "not cool enough" in high school。The Striver: Elise Stefanik。 Drifts right， following voters in her own district。The Cartel-Cashing， Team-Playing， Tribalist Trolls: Mike Shields。The Junior Messiah: Alyssa Farah。 Daughter of a true right-wing， contrarian， conspiracy-theory troll who founded WND， she voted against Trump， but wound up being his director of strategic communications。 Somebody has to be the adult in the room and keep them from doing worse things！！！ （editor's note: ？？？） She supported people like Pence， got pulled into the administration and eventually promoted up the chain， she pulled her support after January 6th。The Demonizer and the Never Trumper: Caroline Wren， his closest friend among the bunch， seems to have little moral core but is sympathetic to people。 But she doesn't like being preached to， reacts negatively to the moralizing of today's liberal set。 Seems like there's little more than that。Overall， the book tries to be funny and snarky， and occasionally succeeds， but mostly just comes across as mean， and even self-loathing in places。 。。。more
Cynthia Wylie
，
Everyone in America should read this book。 Even though I started my adult life as a staunch Republican， I eventually migrated to the Democratic Party when the Tea Party came along。 To be clear， I am actually a centrist if that party actually were to exist。 The Tea Party Republicans were the beginning of ruining it for me， they were just too crazy。 And now， with Trump， I cannot wrap my head around a MAGA hat why people would vote for him and why so many Republicans support him。 Well， Tim Miller a Everyone in America should read this book。 Even though I started my adult life as a staunch Republican， I eventually migrated to the Democratic Party when the Tea Party came along。 To be clear， I am actually a centrist if that party actually were to exist。 The Tea Party Republicans were the beginning of ruining it for me， they were just too crazy。 And now， with Trump， I cannot wrap my head around a MAGA hat why people would vote for him and why so many Republicans support him。 Well， Tim Miller answers these questions。 And answers them brilliantly because he is such a great wordsmith。 His metaphors reached a new level for me。 And he's funny in the way of: if you don't laugh， you'll cry。 "Yay， Tim"， for resisting Trump。 Just， "yay" and thank you。 。。。more
Laura Grossman
，
3。5-4 stars。 Mixed feelings。 An engaging read （I’m a Dem） which does offer some fresh insights on Trumpism and modern-day political tactics。 Part mea culpa， part exercise in dialectics， part gossip。 Very first reaction: Mr。 Miller demonstrates that HE has the best words。 （Clearly， the Base is not target reader。） Interesting to mesh with Mr。 Miller’s MSNBC persona。 Republican hipster is a mind-expanding concept。
Sara
，
Fun listen with some interesting insights。
Norman Praught
，
Incredibly frustrating to read and the author seemed to have a perverted delight in all the madness。 I did’t feel the author redeemed himself and the circus described in this book - which i believe is true - was really really really sad to experience。 Not a single protagonist。 We all knew things were wrong behind the scenes but it’s icky that he took advantage of it to write this book。 Having said that， he’s an engaging writer and clearly i’m in the minority with 4+ stars。
Juliana Schott
，
The author spills the tea and it’s amazing。 Interesting reflection on why the establishment stood by trump
Bill Horner
，
A must read for anyone who wonders why good， smart people fall for Trumpism， and why arms-length Trumpians get spit out of the world where Trump Derangement Syndrome is rampant。 Such a good book。
Claire Labbe
，
An interesting， but somewhat unsatisfying analysis of how the Republican Party embraced Donald Trump。 The author owns up to his complicity and his exploration of those who vote and work against their own interests was interesting。 While his focus on individuals and the different ways they supported Trump was informative， I left feeling that this is only part of the analysis。
Scott
，
I think the fatal flaw in Democrats is we want to see the good in people。 So， when someone like Liz Cheney does the bare minimum to protect our Republic， we're quick to canonize them forgetting all of the other things they continue to do。 We look for the inherent good and want to ascribe their entire person to that。Tim Miller， on the other hand， is trying to actively make up for what he's done in the past。 He's putting the work in and this book， not really a "tell-all"， more like a "tell a lot"， I think the fatal flaw in Democrats is we want to see the good in people。 So， when someone like Liz Cheney does the bare minimum to protect our Republic， we're quick to canonize them forgetting all of the other things they continue to do。 We look for the inherent good and want to ascribe their entire person to that。Tim Miller， on the other hand， is trying to actively make up for what he's done in the past。 He's putting the work in and this book， not really a "tell-all"， more like a "tell a lot"， is part of that work。He puts into words what many already know - the people that do the work for campaigns can be divided into a few different groups - those that do it for the money， those that do it to be close to power and to "winners"， those that do it for both， and the true believers。 There's some overlap in that Venn diagram， but it's astonishing to see how many aren't sycophants， but do it for money/power。 I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse about the state of our politics。I enjoyed the book for the most part。 I listened to the audio version and the narrator was pretty good。 A couple of noticeable pronunciation errors， but nothing egregious。 。。。more
Don
，
Strongly never-trumper， Trump is crazy。 No， really crazy。 Explicitly clear on this point。 Very validating。 Plenty of schadenfreude。A lot of the first half is a mea culpa on how he was part of the preparation of Rs for loony town。 Miller mostly worked for sane Rs like McCain and Huntsman but he dabbled in feeding stuff to Breitbart， et al， when it was convenient。 He attempts to show why it is so hard for R operatives to break out of the circle of doom。
Mark
，
Tries to explain how Republican staffers with moderate to conservative values were able to stomach Donald Trump。 Oversimplified， there are two main motivations: being tied to making the money and grievance personality。 Some could not resist the steady flow of income。 Others felt dissed by the liberal culture they lived in and held grievances or were angry at what they saw as the oppressive liberalism of the media， et al。 Once in the Trump world， some tried to salve their conscience by believing Tries to explain how Republican staffers with moderate to conservative values were able to stomach Donald Trump。 Oversimplified， there are two main motivations: being tied to making the money and grievance personality。 Some could not resist the steady flow of income。 Others felt dissed by the liberal culture they lived in and held grievances or were angry at what they saw as the oppressive liberalism of the media， et al。 Once in the Trump world， some tried to salve their conscience by believing they were “junior saviors “who could stop some of Trump’s worst actions。 Filled with entertaining vignettes， this is a no holds bar account。 。。。more
Art
，
This was a bit on the snarky side， but it did make some good points that had me thinking。 It was something I had wanted to listen to for a while， so I am glad I got to it。
Joann Scanlon
，
Why We Did It by Timothy MillerSpoiler alert: Trumpsters will not like it。 I wanted to understand how Republicans can support his efforts。 Miller was a Republican and switched because of his distaste （not strong enough word） at his party。 He interviews many old Republican friends and asks: "What attributes does Trump have you would like your children to have？" There is no answer here。 His language is rough， he is gay， married with a young daughter。 Talks about his difficulties。 "Coming out。" He Why We Did It by Timothy MillerSpoiler alert: Trumpsters will not like it。 I wanted to understand how Republicans can support his efforts。 Miller was a Republican and switched because of his distaste （not strong enough word） at his party。 He interviews many old Republican friends and asks: "What attributes does Trump have you would like your children to have？" There is no answer here。 His language is rough， he is gay， married with a young daughter。 Talks about his difficulties。 "Coming out。" He strongly encourages others to do the same。 。。。more
Chris Leroux
，