I received this e-book as an early reviewer and was delayed in my start to read it. I was hoping to learn something new, however that was not the case. What was written on the pages was issues and situations of which I was already aware. A lesson was learned however - if you want to learn more, get the original text - not a summary of it. Ira Shapiro did a good job of authoring, however it was his summary of what was and still is important. ( )

“The role of the Senate is to provide counsel and guidance to the president and to be a protector of democracy if the president threatens it.” In other words, it is to make sure that our country remains a democracy according to the Constitution and the wishes of the citizens if the president goes beyond his legal role and duties.
The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America is the history of how the Senate went from a working organization serving America’s interests to a dysfunctional mess locked into polarization. In his Summary of The Betrayal: How Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans Abandoned America, Ira Shapiro succinctly relates his book, leaving an inspiration to read the original book. Most of it focuses on the four years of the Trump administration.
Previously, encouraging debate of issues to find a common ground was standard. They represented their own states but the main focus was on the nation. All Senators were considered equal.
But then, the federal government became less successful. The number of laws decreased. The number of filibusters increased. And more power went to the president and the Supreme Court.
Things changed drastically when while Newt Gingrich entered Congress. Despite their taking their oath of office (“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”), he lead his fellow GOP members of the House, and later the Senate, into serving the interests of the Republican party.
Mitch McConnell’s main goal when he became the leader of the Senate GOP was to prevent President Barack Obama from winning a second term. Obama’s main goal was to prevent a second depression. Three GOP Senators who did not side with McConnell were the reason the recovery project continued. McConnell refused to do so because that would help Obama. Later on, he used the same techniques to try to stop President Biden’s agenda.
Among the chapters are the travesty of filling vacancies in the federal courts, including refusing to bring up President Obama’s nominees, then rushing through Amy Coney Barrett, the travesties of approving nominees without thorough screening, the refusal to follow through on the impeachments of Donald Trump or a thorough evaluation for nominees for courts and other federal offices, , and the mishandling of the Covid-19 epidemic which needlessly cost hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US and then interfered with the CDC’s recommendations for getting relief to American citizens
Most important is the way that McConnell allowed Trump to endanger American citizens and our democracy leading up to Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
He also refused to have an honest assessment of Trump’s actions regarding the Januar 6th insurrection. With all the information that has come out since then, having an real trial in the Senate, during which Trump would have been impeached based on the evidence, might have prevented the January 6th insurrection and would have saved the taxpayers millions of dollars paying for Secret Service Protection for him and his family, transportation costs, etc. after he left office, especially since he would be ineligible to run for office again..
McConnell’s main interest was remaining in office. The stench will last for a very long time.
I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )

I received this book as part of early reviewers. I admit my mistake to get a book that is a summary: when I realized that I didn’t actually get the book it was a bummer. I like to think that I’m pretty involved with the democratic process, so the review wasn’t anything more that I already knew. It don’t think it was anymore biased, but I could see it being referred to as a leftish book. It was okay. I wish I had the full book. ( )

I found the summary interesting but am not persuaded to purchase a copy of the book by Ira Shapiro.The summary which is well written and very easy to follow, appears to provide a guide to a turbulent event in a western democracy. I received a free copy from LibraryThing as an early reviewer. This is my first review for 'Essential Reads'. I am not an American citizen. I award 3 stars ( )

This work is a well written and documented depiction of the original book, and brings to light the highlights of the book while leaving the details that support it where they belong, in the original work. The trivia section at the end was interesting and I found myself answering the questions easily as I had just been presented with the information in Ira's summation. This is a good source for information from a much larger work that provides the strongest points of the original. ( )