Garrett's Reading List

Politico has an interesting article about the Republican Party's new favorite book: The Forgotten Man. The book has been hailed and derided for it's approach to covering the New Deal from the perspective of the wealthy. It's subtitle is telling: A New History of the Great Depression

Our own Representative Scott Garrett and staff are prominently featured in the Politico article.

“It’s been suggested as required reading for all of us, I think,” said Erica Elliott, press secretary for Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) — who himself notes that his chief of staff “stole” his hardback copy, so he had to purchase a paperback.

Garrett said the book “is a good read” that details, among other things, “how FDR engaged in vitriolic demonizing of Wall Street and Big Business to advance his agenda.”

Also, he jokes, “it had good pictures when you get to the middle.”

Here's a little lesson from the book that Politico pointed out:

Of course Hoover and Roosevelt may have had no choice but to pursue the policies they did. They may indeed have spared the country something worse — an American version of Stalin’s communism or Mussolini’s fascism.

It should be interesting to see if the Republicans butcher the intent of the book, or simply ignore the parts they don't like, kind of like Scripture or Goldwater's The Conscience of the Conservative. Looking forward to reading this one.