Mitch, Please!

Shocked there has not already been a lengthy thread discussing this. :)

I pretty much agree with the review in the NY Times - it's two books. Where I differ is in how well I believe the two books work.

One book is about Mitch McConnell and what he has done/not done to the state of KY. Personally, I believe Mitch McConnell is one of the most evil people who has existed in US politics in my lifetime. He may not be quite Strom Thurmond or Jesse Helms, but his complete disregard for anyone who isn't in a high enough tax bracket as well as his George Wallace-like abandoment of the things he once believed certainly places him in the top 10 if not top 5. This part of the book is pretty good in terms of discussing McConnell's place in US politics over the past 36 years, although in places Jones has to sort of bend things a bit to make his point. But this is about 25% of the book.

The second book is about the trip Jones and Chris Tomlin took through the state of KY. They visited all 120 counties and relate stories about that. This part the Times writer did not appreciate as much as I did. I not only learned things about the state we all love so much, but it reinforced the fact that there are still good people out there, and that they are everywhere. Well, maybe not in TN. But if you are someone who loves KY you should read this book for this part alone. I will admit that with 120 counties it's not possible delve deeply into each one. For example, the time spent to the most important county in KY (Mercer County!!) was much less than it should have been, and what was there was the mention of Shaker Village and the Corning factory which Jones used as a jumping off point to discsuss McConnell's shifting policies regarding China. But in some cases I came away with a much better sense of a place than I had prior to reading the book.

As someone who has always been somewhat of a fan of Jones, even with recognizing he can come across as a bit of a douchebag at times, I came away from this with even a better opinion of him. He seems to be a different person than I imagined he would be, a better person. Of course, those who don't like him are unlikely to change their mind.

I know that purchasing the book would be anathema to many of you, but if you find it in your local library it's definitely worth a few days to read.