
Purchase
Let's Do What It Takes to Make America Great Again
St. Martin's Press
August 2011
On Sale: August 16, 2011
368 pages ISBN: 0312643055 EAN: 9780312643058 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
From the moment she upset a heavily-favored incumbent in the primary for the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden, Christine OβDonnell made headlines. Though she didn't win the general election, OβDonnell did win the designation of 2010βs Most Covered Candidate. And what people were talking about wasn't just gossip: they responded to a fresh, unencumbered voice that appealed to voter frustration with politicsβand politiciansβas usual. Americaβs strength lies in its government βby the people, for the peopleβ, but too many of those people feel they are now just labeled featureless residents of βflyover countryβ, told what to think and what they can and cannot do by an entrenched, reigning class of elites. OβDonnellβs candidacy gave hope that the voices of real peopleβthe peopleβnot only can be heard but can also become a force. Part of this hope is invested in the nascent Tea Party, but most of it is invested in individual voters who are willing to work hard and make sacrifices for what they believe in, not what backroom dealing and a bloated federal government has mandated is good for them. Troublemaker is about where OβDonnell comes fromβthe Philadelphia suburbs with five kids to a roomβand what she weathered in the 2010 election. But the core of the book is a clear, straightforward discussion of an America that yearns to embrace freedom and opportunity through personal responsibility, and how it is hamstrung and stymied by excessive regulation, taxation, and the sanctimony of a βnanny state.β And Troublemaker will deliver an important, rousing message about what we do with the quiet anger in America today: where we can go, and how strong we can be, from here. Warning readers that challenging the status quo makes the political establishment push back, O'Donnell wants to build a movement that will continue to goad it. It's practical, too, since O'Donnell believes in power through participation: it's not enough to grumble about how things are going; pitch in and try to change things if you care. O'Donnell details how she participated by running for high office as an everywoman, but also shows how attending town council meetings, organizing a petition drive, making an effort to meet a staffer in your local representative's office, or simply reading the minutes from your community board can make a difference.
 Media BuzzThe O'Reilly Factor - August 25, 2011 Today - August 19, 2011 Piers Morgan Tonight - August 19, 2011 Piers Morgan Tonight - August 17, 2011
|