Filthy Rich Politicians

The Swamp Creatures, Latte Liberals, and Ruling-Class Elites Cashing in on America

By: Matt Lewis

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of America's sharpest conservative journalists is this searing, thought-provoking and hilarious takedown of the ruling class running amok in Washington.

These are your elected officials. Some are slyly taking advantage of the system. They are hoping no one is savvy enough to notice. But Matt Lewis has. And this is what he’s learned.

Today’s politicians are an unsavory lot—a hybrid of plutocrats and hypocrites. And it’s worse (and more laughable) than you can imagine. Lewis will introduce you to a crop of latte liberals, ivy league populists, insider traders, trust-fund babies, and swamp creatures as he exposes how truly ludicrous money in politics has gotten.

In Filthy Rich Politicians, Lewis embarks on an investigative deep dive into the ridiculous state of modern American democracy—a system where the rich get elected and the elected get rich. One of the brightest conservative writers of his generation, Lewis doesn’t just complain: he articulates how Americans can achieve accountability from their elected leaders through radically commonsense reforms. But many of these ruling-class elites have a vested financial interest in rejecting the reforms so desperately needed to rebuild Americans’ trust in the institutions that once made our nation great.

This is not an “eat the rich” kind of book, and it is not for those who want to stoke class warfare, topple the whole regime, and burn it all to the ground. This is a must-hear book for thoughtful listeners who yearn for transparency and will commit to holding their elected leaders accountable to those they are supposed to represent—we the people.

The reforms spelled out in this book would incentivize good behavior in our leaders, stymie corruption, and prevent politicians from using the system (and our taxpayer dollars) to feather their filthy rich nests.

It is only by taking these steps to reform the system that we can rebuild trust in our institutions and preserve American democracy for future generations. There really is no richer inheritance we could leave them.

©2023 Matt Lewis (P)2023 Center Street

Critic reviews

"Political books aren’t supposed to be funny. Funny books aren’t supposed to be political. How Matt Lewis has managed to write a book about politics that’s both funny and wise is a puzzle that can only be solved by reading it—which you should do, preferably before next election day."—Andrew Ferguson, contributing writer at The Atlantic and author of Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid into College

"Matt is one of the few people who could have told this story in a way that anyone can hear it. While he is relentless in exposing how politics has become both fueled by and an engine for extreme wealth, he is never bitter, angry, or cruel."—Batya Ungar-Sargon, author of Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy

"How our class of politicians got so rich, and what should be done about it, are questions that have long deserved the thoughtful attention Matt Lewis gives them. You’ll howl—but you’ll also learn."—Ramesh Ponnuru, editor of National Review

Entertained but disappointed

Matt is an excellent and entertaining writer, his effective sense of humor makes this informative, entertaining and scary, given the financial disparity between our elected politicians and their constituents. But, a more scary concern is when that money, inherited, earned or contributed, has a provable, inappropriate impact on political decisions. And I did not see much of that. Either good news, or need more reporting.

Scary

If have of this is true, we need to make certain that ALL politicians need to change the rule. They need to make themselves mora accountable to all of us. The taxes changes need to easy to read for anyone with 12th grade education, covered in legalize so you need a lawyer to interpret it for you. This book opens a lot of thought to what is able to be done to control our worst intentions.

I learnt a lot

Non partisan, insightful,, and thoughtful in its recommendations. There are ways for politicians to make money I never knew about.

Long on (biased) anecdotes; short on solutions

It's hard to believe any author is serious about addressing political graft when he grossly conflates the actions of one party while glossing over or ignoring those of the folks on the other side of the aisle—like giving more weight to AOC's Met Gala dress than to Kellyanne Conway using her official role and the White House as a backdrop to tell people to buy Ivanka Trump's products, or completely ignoring HUD Secretary Alfonso Jackson's egregious cronyism that led to the FBI raiding his chief of staff's house and his prompt resignation.

While I found the numerous anecdotes interesting, the author's overt political bias and his half-hearted, soft-selling of possible solutions really detracted from his overall message.

Insightful and relevant.

A timely examination of the current, sometimes hidden, discourse in American politics. I highly recommend.

Eye opening

I found the details in Lewis’s book astounding and depressing. That said I thoroughly enjoyed the book although my opinion of all politicians is at a new low.