The Politician

Robert Welch

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779792631
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Russian History
• Index: History

The Politician by Robert Welch is a controversial and polemical work that reflects the fervent anticommunist sentiments of mid-20th-century America. Written by the founder of the John Birch Society, the book centers on Welch's deeply critical assessment of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom he portrays as a willing participant—or, at the very least, a passive enabler—of communist influence in American political life. Initially circulated privately among Birch Society members in the late 1950s, The Politician was never intended for wide publication, but its contents leaked, sparking national debate over Welch's methods, claims, and ideological convictions.

Blending political commentary, conspiracy theory, and ideological warning, Welch lays out a worldview in which the United States government and major institutions are infiltrated by subversive forces. His arguments, though heavily criticized by mainstream historians and political leaders, offer a revealing portrait of Cold War anxieties, particularly within the radical right. The book's notoriety stems as much from its role in shaping public perceptions of the John Birch Society as from its provocative thesis about Eisenhower and the broader American political establishment.

Today, The Politician is viewed as both a historical curiosity and a window into the mindset of a movement that championed uncompromising patriotism while challenging the legitimacy of prevailing political authority. For scholars of political extremism, Cold War rhetoric, and postwar American conservatism, it remains a significant—if highly contentious—document of its time.

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Please Note
• PROLOGUE
• AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER ONE — The Lieutenant-Colonel
• CHAPTER TWO — “Lucky Ike”
• CHAPTER THREE — The Supreme Commander
• CHAPTER FOUR — “Operation Keelhaul”
• CHAPTER FIVE — The Hero
• CHAPTER SIX — The Candidate
• CHAPTER SEVEN — The Campaign
• CHAPTER EIGHT — The Anti-anti-Communist
• CHAPTER NINE — The Pro-Communist
• CHAPTER TEN — The Republican
• CHAPTER ELEVEN — The Modern Republican
• CHAPTER TWELVE — The President Of The United States
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN — Leader Of The Free World
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN — The One-Worlder
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN — The Propagandist
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN — Associates And Appointments
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN — The Word Is Treason
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN — The Present Danger
• The American Opinion Scoreboard
• THE OVER ALL RECKONING
• EPILOGUE
• Bibliography
• A Correction Corrected