I'm Jonathan Caphart back from Summer Hyatus with a new logo and a new episode of Cape Up.

Stuart Stevens was a rock-ribbed Republican who's helped to elect Republicans at all levels of government, including President of the United States for decades.

But when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016,

Stevens undertook a moment of self-reflection. What did Trump's

victory mean for his party? What did it mean for his deeply held beliefs? His

conclusions became a 200-page Mea-Culpa entitled His conclusions barely scratched the surface on all that he reveals in his book that we talk all

about the role of race in the Republican Party from white grievance to the party's

problem with black voters. One thing to keep in mind, this was recorded days before the death of Justice Ruth

Bader Ginsburg, but it helps explain why Republicans are ignoring precedents they set to go along with Trump's plan to fill Ginsburg's seat

less than two months before a presidential election.

Stuart Stevens, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

Great to be here, Jonathan. I'm a long time fan, first time caller.

Well, thank you. You know, you sent me a DM on Twitter asking for me to to read your

latest book and where could he, where could you send it? And I thought if Stuart Stevens is sending me a message about a book he's written,

I probably need to read it. The name of the book is, it was all a a lie and I am so glad I read it because in some ways it was it was

cathartic for me to read because you know it's no secret I'm a Democrat little left of center and

always had these suspicions about the Republican Party but you as a creature of the Republican Party,

someone who helped set up the Republican Party,

to hear you just sort of, I don't know,

what's the right word to describe what you do in this book before we dive right in

look I I

Started on the quest that ended with this book asking myself how is it that Trump could happen and you know kind of that old thing that your high school

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