In Live Free or Die, a new work of political analysis written for Election 2020, Sean Hannity puts his back-to-basics approach to conservatism to good use. The book is a primer for the uninformed and a surprisingly comprehensive memory-jogger for people who manage to keep up with the news.

While it is not an “apologia pro vita Trumpa,” Live Free or Die understands President Donald J. Trump’s role as a lightning rod in the culture wars that roil America and explains why every voter should be doing his or her part to assist Trump’s bid for a second term. As Hannity’s colleague Steve Hilton commented recently, “Trump is no intellectual, but he wins the battle of ideas.” Just so. Hannity does yeoman work showing why.

Early chapters in the book (“A Republic—If You Can Keep It” and “Rise of the Radicals”) make a stellar impression because they show Hannity in a seldom seen light. This is popular history backed up by solid research and none of the bombast one has come to expect from television celebrities. Hannity can be forgiven for one brief lapse when he assures readers that “the founders saw no contradiction between faith and reason, and I certainly don’t, either.” Heh. People writing about Madison, Franklin, and Jefferson don’t typically include themselves in that rarefied company, but it’s hard to begrudge Hannity for wanting to perch on an adjoining barstool when those sages discuss political philosophy. I’d like to have a beer with Ben Franklin myself.

The Left Is Driven by Narcissistic Madness

“The left seeks to redefine liberty as selfishness,” Hannity writes. That’s true. Fortunately, he has the chops to show us how and why, and he cites the Russia hoax as an example.

If you call yourself conservative or follow American politics closely, you’ll recognize at least the outlines of what Hannity covers in the middle of the book. Spoiler alert: “collusion,” “obstruction,” and “impeachment” were legal concepts hijacked for partisan gain because Democrats selfishly refused to accept the outcome of the 2016 election.

It was a narcissism-induced psychopathy ready to impose any cost on perceived “enemies.” Rather than jeopardize reliable votes by admitting to their own selfish and irrational hatreds, party leaders hatched schemes to use entire countries as cutouts and camouflage for their attempted coup. Nicholas Sandmann, Michael Flynn, Carter Page, and David Dorn were obvious casualties of this glaringly un-Constitutional effort. But the intended target was always the same—the Trump presidency.

Hannity’s original contribution to this narrative is to show why the Democrats and their “NeverTrump” allies in the old Republican establishment were never going to make peace with Hillary Clinton’s richly deserved loss. Commentators like Mark Levin and David Limbaugh have also explored parts of this theme, so I was heartened to see Hannity thank them by name for reading and making suggestions on an advance copy of the manuscript.

Hannity shows how an influential class that profits handsomely from its globalist bias regards freedom for anyone else as a threat to its own prerogatives. He also explains that, despite what most of the missing-in-action media says, Trump is a symptom of public discontent rather than a cause. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris would prefer you believe otherwise, but Hannity makes a more coherent case than they do.

Hannity ends Live Free or Die with a review of Trumpian successes and an extended look at the president’s competent and constitutional response to this year’s outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus. Live Free or Die is the clarion call we need now, and its 340 hardcover pages are very much worth reading.