Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Schweizer, Peter

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 2013

About this Item

As new condition black boards with white spine lettering contained in an as new condition non price-clipped color illustrated dust jacket. Includes List of Other Books by Peter Schweizer; Author Dedication; Introduction: "Throw Fear"; Conclusion: Protection for the Rest of Us; Appendix I: Republican Party Dues Lists, 2013 and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Member Dues, 2013-2014, 2011-2012; Appendix 2: Leadership PAC Spending on Other Candidates During 2012 Electino Cycle; Notes; Index and Acknowledgments. Illustrated with tables/charts. "Obama's "Protection Money": How the Obama administration targeted industries for criminal investigation but chose not to pursue key political donors; John Boehner's "Tollbooth:: How the Speaker of the House extracts money by soliciting political donations before he will hold crucial votes on the House floor; The "Slush Fund:: How politicians extract "campaign contributions" and then convert them to bankroll lavish lifestyles, complete with limos, private jets, golf at five-star resorts, fine wines, and cash for family members; Capitol Hill's "Underground Economy: How members of Congress use a little-known loophole that allows them to secretly link their votes to cash." - from the rear outer jacket. "Washington Is No Longer About Lawmaking, It's About Moneymaking. Conventional wisdom holds that Washington is broken because outside special interests bribe politicians. The reverse is true: politicians have developed a new set of brass knuckle legislative tactics designed to extort wealthy industries and donors into forking over big donations - cash that lawmakers often funnel into the pockets of their friends and family. Ever wonder why Congress proposes boatloads of bills when so few ever become law? Answer: the real purpose of legislations is to strong-arm donations out of those with the most to lose from a bill's passage or defeat. And what about all those phonebook-sized bills politicians propose, larded with indecipherable jargon? As it turns out, there is a new underground Washington industry made up of former lawmakers and staffers who reap millions from businesses needing help navigating the complex mess those politicians intentionally create. Until now, Washington's extortion racket has gone unreported. Yet thanks to an extraordinary effort by Peter Schweizer and the investigate research staff of the Government Accountability Institute, we now know the racketeering methods and the players who profit from them. Inside this bombsell of a book, Schweizer reveals: The exorbitant secret "fees" each political party charges politicians for top committee assignments - positions that provide maximum extortion opportunities; How fourteen members of Congress bagged hundreds of thousands of dollars using a little-known self-loan loophole; How politicians use little-known leadership PACs to bankroll lavish lifestyles and purchase each other's loyalty; How the Department of Justice has taken vaguely written criminal laws and used them to shake down and extort wealthy targets and political opponents. Exhaustively researched and compellingly told, Extortion names names as it pulls back the curtain to reveal the shocking new extortion racket ruling Washington." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 007781

Bibliographic Details

Title: Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your ...

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts

Publication Date: 2013

Binding: Hardcover

Illustrator: Green, Tim (cover design); Beiler, Ryan Roderick (cover art)

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: As New

Edition: 1st Edition