You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years - Hardcover

Ivins, Molly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679404465 ISBN 13: 9780679404460

Publisher: Random House, 1998

Synopsis

It's been five years since Molly Ivins's last book, which is probably too long a time in the opinion of her many fans. But the intervening years have given the bestselling author and syndicated columnist some of the best raw material a political writer could ask for. The Republicans staged a revolution, Clinton was reelected, welfare "deform" swept the country, and the militia movement came out of the bunker: in short, it's been a banner time for Molly's brand of shoot-from-the-hip commentary and uproarious anecdotes.

You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly  takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.

"I can think of few causes more important than keeping free voices alive in a world of corporate media," Molly writes. She is one   of those voices and a national treasure; as the Los Angeles Times put it, she is "H. L. Mencken without the cruelty, Will Rogers with an agenda." Whatever your political persuasion, you're bound to agree that Molly Ivins is one of the sharpest and most original commentators on the American scene today.

About this title

About the Author

About the Author

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she writes about Texas politics and other bizarre happenings. Her column is nationally syndicated in nearly two hundred newspapers. Her previous books are Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, which spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list, and Nothing but Good Times Ahead. Her freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, The Atlantic, GQ, Harper's, and numerous other publications, and she also does occasional commentary for National Public Radio and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She has received a number of journalism awards and has been a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Austin, Texas.

From the Back Cover

Praise for You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You

"Thank you, Jesus! Here comes Molly with another power-packed volume to cure what ails you. My no-fail prescription for personal and political health is to take a vitamin E capsule once a day, an evening constitutional, at least a couple of twelve-ounce elbow bends, and a daily dose of Molly Ivins. She's a genuine Texas hellion and a hell of a fun human being--not to mention that she's the most informed, interesting, unintimidated, and important commentator in the known universe. Long may she wave!"
--Jim Hightower, author of There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos

"Molly Ivins insists on integrity and honesty in politics. I think she speaks for the vast majority of people in our country in insisting on this standard. What's so impressive is the way she applies it to herself, and her absolute faith and belief that we can all do better."
--Senator Paul D. Wellstone (D-Minnesota)

"This book is not for everyone. If you're a politician who bruises easily or you love one who does, forget it. Molly Ivins's targets are the hides and egos of just about everybody in the politics and gutters of today. Her language is that smooth whiplash thing called Texan Sharp of which Molly is a laureate. Newt Gingrich suffers the most but not even Bill Clinton and his kind escape. This book is also very funny. So if you're somebody who is made sick or nervous by laughing out loud, then maybe you should forget it, too."
--Jim Lehrer

Praise for Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
"A delight from start to finish. . . . Molly Ivins proves that keen intelligence and a Southern accent are real good buddies. . . . She has wise and often hilarious things to say."
--The New York Times Book Review

From the Inside Flap

ve years since Molly Ivins's last book, which is probably too long a time in the opinion of her many fans. But the intervening years have given the bestselling author and syndicated columnist some of the best raw material a political writer could ask for. The Republicans staged a revolution, Clinton was reelected, welfare "deform" swept the country, and the militia movement came out of the bunker: in short, it's been a banner time for Molly's brand of shoot-from-the-hip commentary and uproarious anecdotes. <br><br>You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive bu

Reviews

Ivins (Nothin' but Good Times Ahead) is what a good newspaper columnist should be?opinionated, funny, preachy, sympathetic, temperamental, right, wrong and, above all, immensely entertaining. This latest sampling of magazine articles and newspaper columns?taken mostly from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram?finds the unabashed liberal rounding up the usual suspects for target practice. Everyone from Newt Gingrich to "Shiite Republicans" gets poked, but Ivins's crusade is political campaign financing, which she calls "The source of everything that is wrong with our political life." A first-rate muckraker, she is also a reporter who does her homework; arguably, few other journalists work the often dreary topic of campaign finance reform with as much style and insight. She must also be one of the bravest writers in Texas, consistently taking on that state's "blue-bellied, wall-eyed, lithium-deprived Texas lunatics" with her trademark mix of folksy irreverence and scathing commentary. This collection solidifies Ivins's ranking as among the cleverest humorists of the day.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An outrageous, penetrating, fun collection of articles from three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Ivins. As political columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Ivins is a human oxymoron: a Texas liberal. Her down-home, good-ol-girl style thinly cloaks a wicked wit wielded in support of strong political beliefs. While Ivins sees the purpose of journalism as being ``to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable,'' her appeal is nevertheless very broad for a simple reason. Unlike many of her conservative peers, Ivins actually likes people, even the politicians she has made a career of skewering. She genuinely enjoys life in a ``nation undeterred by reality'' and a political system that ``requires a certain relish for confusion.'' The refreshing thing about Ivins is that she not only sees the normally harmless lunacy that surrounds her, she appreciates it; rather than clucking about the downfall of social values or despairing over cultural demise, she is ready to grab a beer and watch the real world go by. While this volume is an enjoyable mechanism for obtaining a larger-than-usual dosage of Ivins's humor, however, the inevitable choppiness of a series of short essays on disparate topics makes for a somewhat disappointing book. Insofar as there is a continuing theme, its the corrosive effect of money in politics and the need for campaign finance reform. On this subject she cuts to the bottom line: The millions special interests invest in political campaigns are amply rewarded, and ``the rest of us get stuck with that much more of the tab for keeping the country running. . . . '' For Ivins it is time to recognize the necessity of publicly financed elections if we want politicians dancing with the public rather than special interests. Entertaining, regardless of your politics. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The first collection of columns in four years from witty political commentator Ivins. Note the 15-city author tour.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Just in time for winter's coldest days comes a hearty new helping of Molly Ivins' dead-on Texas twang, aiming wit as sharp as the spiciest salsa at pols, "pod people," and, on occasion, the great American people our ownselves for tolerating the foolishness of the folks we (thanks to special-interest PACs) elect. Ivins' latest collection of columns and essays from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Nation, the Progressive, and the New York Times Magazine and Book Review, takes on large and small events of the mid-nineties, from NAFTA and welfare "deform" to budget battles and multiculturalism. Fans of Lone Star State politics--for example, "The inexpressibly goofy trio of Texans--Armey, DeLay, and Archer--[who] stand behind [the `profoundly silly' Newt Gingrich] like Huey, Dewey, and Louie," or Governor George W. Bush (Ivins calls him "Shrub")--will enjoy Ivins' Texas-focused columns. But she also writes from other datelines (Alaska, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, California, etc.), and politics inside the Beltway is inevitably the object of many of her pointed screeds. Especially powerful in this eclectic gathering are Ivins' "Tributes to Souls Passing," with farewells to, among others, Morris Udall, Richard Nixon, Barbara Jordan, Jessica Mitford, Ralph Yarborough, and Ivins' own mother. Expect requests. Mary Carroll

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679404465
• ISBN 13: 9780679404460
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244