The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority
Pubdate: 3/19/13
Reviewers have found this new release, a first-hand account of one Republican’s failed race for Congress in the Florida Panhandle, stimulating, refreshing, and deeply revealing of the current flaws in not only the Grand Ole Party, but the political system as a whole.
“This honest, fast-paced memoir relates the challenges of being a moderate Republican swimming against the tide of the emergent Tea Party…If readers of any political persuasion have doubts that politics is a dirty game, this courageous woman’s diary will dispel them.” – Publishers Weekly
“Back in 2010 Barbara Olschner felt compelled to run for Congress in Florida’s 2nd District, a generally Democratic district that many in the GOP felt was vulnerable. As a moderate, thoughtful, logical Republican, she thought perhaps her chances were good. Little did she know that a Tea Party wave was on the way.” – Coffee Party U.S.A. (Listen to the full interview here.)
Of her decision to write a book about her failed campaign, Olschner said to The Walton Sun: “It takes a person not interested in a political career to speak this truthfully. I believe that to bring the country back to a place of moderation from a place of extremism will take a battle — one that is best fought by citizens, not professional politicians. We need pragmatics; we need smart people.”
The Florida Bookshelf 