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''Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News'' is a nonfiction book by journalist and political commentator
Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...
, first published by
Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Kinney National Company acquired the New York City-based Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publis ...
(now Grand Central Publishing). Carlson writes on his entry into
cable news Cable news channels are television networks devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, the first nationwide ca ...
and his various opinions regarding several prominent politicians of the time, such as
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
,
Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...
,
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...
, and
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, among others. Regarding his transition from print journalism to television punditry, Carlson opines how fluid an environment it is in comparison to other trade professions, and how he stumbled into it easily and without much effort. ''Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites'' further expands on Carlson's time covering McCain's 2000 presidential bid, various odd encounters with some notable names, and his difficult relationship with a
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
producer Carlson simply dubs "Don". ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' found the book enjoyable in their review: "Anyone with a sense of humor will find this chronicle thoroughly enjoyable, and political junkies will likely laugh out loud more than once." The '' Washingtonian'' was complimentary of Carlson's humorous ponderances despite finding disagreement with his political views, "Carlson is a conservative talking head in a medium that favors badgering over deliberation, generalization over nuance. But I’m going to read the book again. And maybe again. Just, you know, to make sure I still hate it."


Contents

At the beginning of ''Politicians, Partisans, and Parasites'', Carlson opens with a quote
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...
had once remarked to him at the
2000 Democratic National Convention The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president. T ...
, "The trick is to care, but not too much. Give a shit — but not really." From there, Carlson recounts his stumbling into the business of television punditry, starting from his kneejerk acceptance of an invitation to go on '' 48 Hours'' to cover the
O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a Criminal procedure, criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, in which former National Football League, NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitt ...
following a late vacancy, despite his acknowledgement of knowing "just about nothing" of it. Carlson further expels several notable instances over the course of his career up to the point of writing the book, such as a rape accusation Carlson denies ever having committed from a woman in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, Kimberly Carter, which later saw him being hooked up to a
polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...
, and ultimately, the charges of which were dropped. Later, he receives an opportunity to comment on the 2000 vice presidential debates from the conservative side, with
Bill Press William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American talk radio host, podcaster, liberal pundit and author. He was chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bil ...
representing the liberal perspective. It impresses the executives at
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, which eventually lead to the birth of the short-lived '' The Spin Room''. Carlson puts the blame for the show's quick demise on a specific producer at CNN, who goes by the pseudonym "Don" in the book. Carlson describes Don as someone who, "came off as both insecure and pompous, the sort of person who uses long words he doesn’t fully understand." Eventually, Carlson gets a slot on ''
Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...
'', and recounts how his first interaction with
James Carville Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, author and occasional actor who has strategized for candidates for public office in the United States and in at least 23 nations abroad. A Democrat, he is a ...
, in what Carlson describes as "Carville’s Prison Chow Line Moment," forms a liking between the two. Commenting on some of his early political beliefs, Carlson fondly remarks on
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
during his time covering the
2000 Republican Party presidential primaries From January 24 to June 6, 2000, voters of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States, president in the 2000 United States presidential election. Texas Governor George W. Bush wa ...
from his point of view. Though he expresses regret in his indulgence, in regards to his drinking of alcohol, and to the overly-friendly nature that begun to emerge among the press and McCain's campaign team, with Carlson writing, "I heard others, usually at night in the hotel bar, slip into the habit of referring to the McCain campaign as ‘we’ — as in, ‘I hope we kill Bush.’ It was wrong, but it was hard to resist."


References

{{Tucker Carlson 2003 non-fiction books American political books Books about television Books about the 2000 United States presidential election English-language non-fiction books Grand Central Publishing books Books by Tucker Carlson