In this highly original and provocative account of how our political system actually works, Elizabeth Drew shows convincingly that the real contest for political power in this country in 1996 wasn't the Presidential election, but a far more important fight, with much higher stakes. She introduces a surprising set of characters, the leaders of a close-knit collection of groups on the right for whom nailing down a realignment of power in their favor took clear precedence over winning back the White House.

The real political story of 1996 - the struggle for long-term political predominance - was fought in the contest for the House of Representatives. By holding Congress, this coalition of interests on the right hoped they could control the national agenda into the twenty-first century.

With her access to the back rooms and closed meetings, Elizabeth Drew has written the secret history of a titanic battle. She reveals the details of the often ruthless strategies conservative activist groups used to insure their hold on the House of Representatives. Drew shows that Republican leaders, in fact, decided to throw Dole overboard much earlier than was realized, and discloses the other brutal decisions that were made lest his inept campaign get in the way of their more pressing goals.

She proves with indisputable new evidence how both Parties and special-interest groups on all sides made deals, pooled information, and spent money in ways that made a complete sham of the campaign finance laws - in some cases with actions that were legally questionable.

She demonstrates conclusively the devastating effect of the revelations late in the election of the Clinton team's abuse of the campaign spending laws, and she provides important insights into what campaign finance reform must look like in order to fix a broken system.