"Whether running through a mock jungle firing an Uzi in Kentucky or enjoying a reasonably priced meal at Applebee's with white supremacists, author, agitator, flaming liberal and first-class playa-hater Harmon Leon is willing to go to great lengths to understand the psyche of right-wing conservatives. In his new book, Republican Like Me, Leon goes undercover as a conservative . . . The result is one of the funniest and most insightful books ever written, worming into the belly of the Bible-thumping beast and beating the enemy on its own turf. Republican Like Me raises the bar for political humor, turning journalism into a contact sport. There are no pundits or rhetoric-spewing talking heads-just Leon vs. the bad guys in no-holds-barred death match at the juncture of political activism and absurdist theater."
- Boulder Weekly
"Funny as hell."
- Howard Stern
"Harmon Leon is a free radical, a random element that infiltrates a situation to introduce chaos, mayhem and hilarity ... Republican like Me turns the tables on red state rednecks who paint lefties as exotic and un-American. With each incursion into such conservative bastions as the Republican Party and racist hate groups, brazen liberal Leon exposes the right for the weirdos they are. And he still has time left over to make fun of Democrats! A tour-de-force of political satire. "
- Ted Rall, editorial cartoonist for Universal Press Syndicate
When the red states trumped the blue states in the 2004 presidential election, many Democrats were left wondering just what makes the conservative mindset tick. Wonder no more. Join self-described "infiltration journalist" Harmon Leon as he goes undercover to explore what being conservative really means.
A flaming liberal in real life, Leon has been called "a cross between Michael Moore and South Park." He shares with readers his hilarious misadventures as he dons the persona of a "pissed-off convenience store clerk" at the Knob Creek Biannual Machine Gun Shoot in Bullit County, Kentucky. Next, he's working security in southern California at an "Arnold for Governor" rally, where he has several memorable encounters with the Terminator himself - and finds himself constantly promoted!
But this is only the beginning. Leon reports on his zany experience at a Christian wrestling extravaganza, where the scantily clad wrestlers toss opponents into the stands in the name of Jesus. Taking a different tack, he paints on temporary tattoos, wears a black T-shirt reading "Kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out!" and then entertainingly describes the reactions he gets when he tries to purchase a condominium in an exclusive gated community.
Uncertain about whether his inspiration is Jane Goodall or journalist John Howard Griffin, author of the 1950s' classic Black Like Me, Leon nonetheless perseveres from one adventure to the next, hoping not to be found out and get his head broken. Leon's daring anthropological romps into finding out how the other half lives are by turns outrageous, disturbing, and hilarious, yet always illuminating. Don't be surprised to find yourself laughing out loud as you turn each page!
Harmon Leon (San Francisco, CA) is an award-winning journalist who has appeared on The Howard Stern Show, Penn and Teller: Bullshit!, and The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, and has written for The San Francisco Chronicle, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Details, E!, NPR's This American Life, Spin, Wired, The Guardian, and more. His first book, The Harmon Chronicles, won a 2003 Independent Publishers Award for humor. Leon is also a stand-up comedian.
