The Fix

New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade offers a piercing, urgent, and deeply informed exposé on the escalating threat of far-right politics to American democracy and national security—and a clear roadmap for how to stop it. In The Fix, Barbara McQuade draws on her decades of experience as a federal prosecutor to show us the detrimental effects of a government that uses corruption, cruelty, and chaos as tools of control. As a US Attorney, McQuade became all too familiar with corruption cases, prosecuting former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Volkswagen, among others. Here, she exposes how rampant corruption and cruelty are being weaponized to manipulate every facet of American life. Weaving together courtroom stories, lessons from history, and real-time legal analysis, McQuade shows how each corrupt offense, each act of cruelty, is a step toward total authoritarianism. Yet The Fix is not just a critique of power gone awry. McQuade offers clear strategies that ordinary Americans can utilize, from organizing teach-ins and protests to running for local office, to reclaim the rule of law and ensure that elected officials serve the public's interest, not their own. Eye-opening and grounded in the author's abiding faith in the US Constitution to help restore power to the people, The Fix is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of America and ready to work together to take it back.

Barbara McQuade

INTRODUCTION: The Fix Was In PART I: The Playbook of Power— The New Authoritarianism 1. Carrots and Sticks 2. Invincibility Theater 3. Disinformation Warfare 4. Above the Law PART II: Capturing Centers of Power 5. Silencing Critics 6. Doing Injustice 7. Enter the Broligarchs 8. Scapegoats and Pawns 9. Separation of Parties 10. Strongmen and Soft Power PART III: How We Take It Back 11. Lessons from History 12. Building Guardrails 13. Vision for the Future 14. Civic Awakening NOTES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INDEX