It is only fair to share the credit, or the blame, for this book. There are many folks who helped me in some way, whether they know it or not. I’ll try to name as many as I can, but please forgive the oversight if I miss someone, which I undoubtedly will.
First, there is hot wife Irina Moises. When I am working, she’s working, too. She reads all my work, provides the first and harshest criticism, and deals with me being largely absent (at least mentally) when I am embroiled in the writing. She’s the best. Thanks!
Thanks also to my agent, Keith Urbahn, who shepherded this tome through the process. When we first talked, he had to be thinking, Who the hell is this lunatic? I’m pretty sure he still wonders about that, and for good reason.
I got plenty of support from my friends Larry O’Connor, Cam Edwards, Cameron Gray, John Cardillo, Tony Katz, Jim Geraghty, David Limbaugh, Arthur Schwartz, Hugh Hewitt, Derek Hunter, Drew Matich, Stephen Kruiser, Robert O’Brien, Owen Brennan, Glenn Reynolds, Salena Zito, Ace, and Kenny Calhoun. They all provided some great suggestions, by which I mean I often borrowed ideas and concepts from them. Shamelessly. Some of them will be all, “What? You were writing a book? When did I suggest something?” Well, you did. Shut up and take the compliment. Sheesh.
Michael Walsh deserves a shout-out for constantly harassing me about my writing, as well as sharing his long experience in the publishing world.
Matthew Betley, who has a number of novels of his own you should check out, shared his Marine Corps wisdom.
I want to give a special thanks to Chris Buskirk. For a while, I have used the term “Conservative, Inc.,” to refer to the network of intertwined and often self-dealing think tanks, fundraisers, and publications that did a lot of collecting money in the name of conservatism, but not much conserving, during the pre-Trump era. I intended to use it here. And when researching this book—yeah, I did some research—I discovered that Chris had used a similar term in the title of his book American Greatness: How Conservatism Inc. Missed the 2016 Election and What the D.C. Establishment Needs to Learn (Washington, DC: WND Books, 2017). Awkward! Well, I got in touch with Chris, and I told him I had independently coined a similar term, but I would not use it if he wished because he used his first. He graciously told me he had no problem with me using mine. Thanks, man.
I also appreciate the support of the folks at Townhall.com, where I have written for the last few years. They are all terrific.
Finally, there’s one more guy I need to acknowledge. I always thank Andrew Breitbart whenever I write a book, because I would not be doing this if he hadn’t forced me back into conservative writing against my will. I expect he is looking down, smiling and, since it is heaven, drinking a beer.
And, of course, I want to thank all of my Twitter followers for all their #caring!