Confessions of A Former Dittohead

“At a time when political persuasion consists of little more than hurled epithets, Jim Derych gifts progressives with a lucid manual for rescuing their fellow Americans from the clutches of the Right. This will undoubtedly be one of the most important political books of the year.”–Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, author of Crashing the Gate

Everyone knows a dittohead. In addition to being devoted listeners of Rush Limbaugh, they’re also loud, judgmental, and sure they’re always right. One of the most common phrases you’ll hear them use is “if you only understood politics you’d be a Republican.” And from abortion to gay marriage to national defense to fiscal policy, Rush tells them how it only works the Republican way.

Confessions of a Former Dittohead details how over a thirteen-year period and a “thousand small cuts,” Jim Derych moved away from Rush Limbaugh and the Republican Party and embraced the Democratic Party and Liberalism. Sharing both the personal—a friend who had an abortion as a teenager, a gay college roommate who delayed his coming out because of “people like Jim”—and the political—a comical encounter with the Young Republicans, his reaction to the torture scandals and the Iraq War—this is a moving and thought-provoking account that dispels the myth of “compassionate conservatism.”

Tthe book provides a fascinating “insider” account on how dittoheads think on the major political, economic and social issues of the day. As the country remains politically polarized, Confessions of a Former Dittohead provides a rare glimpse into the Republican mind, revealing how conservatives think, and what liberals and progressives can do to change that thinking.