A Review of The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It by Eric Bolling
As I read Eric Bolling's bestseller, Wake Up America: The Nine Virtues That Made Our Nation Great--and Why We Need Them More Than Ever, I kept thinking, "Yes! Someone finally gets it!" Bolling put into words what every patriot thinks but may have never articulated. Every parent should make this book required reading for their children to inoculate them against the Left's socialist, globalist indoctrination that is producing a generation of docile, zombie-like, powerless snowflakes.
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When Bolling's latest book was released in 2017, I was ecstatic and put it on my Christmas wish list that same year. It's May 2019, and I finally finished it. It's not exactly a page-turner.
Like all patriots, I'm more than a little concerned with the Washington Swamp--the people who are supposed to be fighting for their constituents to make life better but only end up throwing America under the bus as they line their own pockets and seize too much power. Trump campaigned on draining the Swamp, so I was anxious to hear Bolling's take on strategies for doing it.
The problem was I focused on this part of the book title: The Swamp and How Trump Can Drain It. Somehow, I missed the smaller print in the middle that says, Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism. The book largely focuses on topics surrounding the smaller print. My bad.
If you are a history buff, you may be fascinated with the stories of corruption that span our nation's 200+ year existence. Bribery, blackmail, bullying, and cronyism have all been around since the beginning. From the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton to Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick scandal to the dark underbelly of the Clinton machine, Bolling takes a stroll down memory lane, explaining in great deal the dark side of many past and present politicians entrenched in the Swamp.
Literally, Washington, D.C. is built on a swamp. How ironic.
Bolling's research is impressive. He doesn't prove his thesis with mere bullet points--he goes into great detail to share the sordid stories from start to finish.
Yawn.
Just as the Bible says the world cannot contain all the stories about what Jesus did while He was here on Earth, I'm sure Bolling picked the juciest stories to share, since they wouldn't all fit in one concise volume.
Still, do we really need to be reminded of all this crap? Not really. Politicians are notorious for their disreputable behavior. Reading back-to-back accounts of their vile and sleazy schemes, cheating, and under-handed ways is depressing.
The helpful nuggets Bolling proposes for actually draining the swamp include these ideas:
The best part of Bolling's book is the conclusion. He reminds readers who have forgotten that our Founding Fathers did not intend for our capital to become the "moral and political Swamp" it is today. They installed a system of checks and balances to create conditions that would stunt the growth of federal government and leave control and freedom up to the states and individuals.
Conservative writer, radio host, and Fox News host of Life, Liberty, and Levin, Mark Levin, composed a "Liberty Agenda," which is a list of changes that could be made today to restore America to its original form. In addition to congressional term limits already mentioned, he suggests these ideas:
The nine virtues discussed in this must-have manual on keeping America great and strong are these:
- Grit
- Profit
- Manliness
- Thrift
- Individuality
- Dominion
- Merit
- Pride
- Providence
Arm yourself with this powerful weapon before it's no longer in print to help you do your part to get and keep America on track for generations to come.
When Bolling's latest book was released in 2017, I was ecstatic and put it on my Christmas wish list that same year. It's May 2019, and I finally finished it. It's not exactly a page-turner.
Like all patriots, I'm more than a little concerned with the Washington Swamp--the people who are supposed to be fighting for their constituents to make life better but only end up throwing America under the bus as they line their own pockets and seize too much power. Trump campaigned on draining the Swamp, so I was anxious to hear Bolling's take on strategies for doing it.
The problem was I focused on this part of the book title: The Swamp and How Trump Can Drain It. Somehow, I missed the smaller print in the middle that says, Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism. The book largely focuses on topics surrounding the smaller print. My bad.
If you are a history buff, you may be fascinated with the stories of corruption that span our nation's 200+ year existence. Bribery, blackmail, bullying, and cronyism have all been around since the beginning. From the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton to Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick scandal to the dark underbelly of the Clinton machine, Bolling takes a stroll down memory lane, explaining in great deal the dark side of many past and present politicians entrenched in the Swamp.
Literally, Washington, D.C. is built on a swamp. How ironic.
Bolling's research is impressive. He doesn't prove his thesis with mere bullet points--he goes into great detail to share the sordid stories from start to finish.
Yawn.
Just as the Bible says the world cannot contain all the stories about what Jesus did while He was here on Earth, I'm sure Bolling picked the juciest stories to share, since they wouldn't all fit in one concise volume.
Still, do we really need to be reminded of all this crap? Not really. Politicians are notorious for their disreputable behavior. Reading back-to-back accounts of their vile and sleazy schemes, cheating, and under-handed ways is depressing.
The helpful nuggets Bolling proposes for actually draining the swamp include these ideas:
- Set term limits for Congress
- Limit lobbying
- Reduce number of days Congress is in session
- Reduce involvement in entangling foreign alliances
- Roll back crushing regulations
- Listen to the general public and not Washington
- Cut unnecessary programs
- Keep Tweeting
- Leave as much decision-making to states and localities as possible
The best part of Bolling's book is the conclusion. He reminds readers who have forgotten that our Founding Fathers did not intend for our capital to become the "moral and political Swamp" it is today. They installed a system of checks and balances to create conditions that would stunt the growth of federal government and leave control and freedom up to the states and individuals.
Conservative writer, radio host, and Fox News host of Life, Liberty, and Levin, Mark Levin, composed a "Liberty Agenda," which is a list of changes that could be made today to restore America to its original form. In addition to congressional term limits already mentioned, he suggests these ideas:
- Require a balanced federal budget
- Limit spending and taxation
- Have sunset provisions for regulations and departments
- Make it easier for states to amend Constitution without Congress
- Allow a two-thirds vote of states to overturn any federal law
We have to live within a family budget, so why shouldn't the federal government?
The federal government continues to make too many prohibitive laws that trickle down unintended consequences. Too many laws forbid "individuals to disagree with the crowd." Bolling warns that government grows larger and too powerful from the "slow accumulation of ideas" that "sounded good at the time."
Bolling cautions us against the "voices of doom" who crush our national optimism, which he defines as a "faith that leads to innovation, to achievement, to prosperity." It's not in our best interests for the government to call the shots and control the resources--we can make our own choices for our lives.
Bolling concludes, "Big government and the corruption of the Swamp go hand in hand." What Washington doesn't want you to know, he adds, is that if the Swamp is drained, no one will miss it!
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