Is it 'MAGA,' or is it me? Amazon doesn't seem to like my new book very much. Here's why.

By Gary Abernathy

So far, Amazon seems to have a problem with ‘MAGA Republicans Are Already Normal.’ Is it ‘MAGA?’

This ad was not created by Amazon, but by a third party vendor I used to format my book. So far, Amazon has refused to approve any ads for the book.

If you want to easily place and market a book on Amazon, here’s some good advice: Don’t create a title that says anything good about “MAGA Republicans.” Let me explain.

After my six-year stint as a contributing columnist with The Washington Post ended last September, I decided to compile many of my columns into a book. I titled it, “MAGA Republicans Are Already Normal,” a variation of a headline on one of my Post columns — basically a response to those who warn the media not to “normalize” Donald Trump or his supporters with favorable coverage. “MAGA” is a term embraced by some and reviled by others, and President Biden has doubled down on equating “MAGA Republicans” with threats to democracy. I now know firsthand the effectiveness of Biden’s efforts.

I used Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) to host my opus, where authors can, the website attests, “self-publish print and digital books, and reach millions of readers around the world on Amazon.” Amazon suggests a 48-hour to 10-day waiting period before a book will go live, but most writers report a fast turnaround, many within hours. After having the book professionally formatted throughout December and uploading it onto Amazon’s platform in mid-January, my waiting period stretched into weeks. Part of the holdup was ostensibly over concerns regarding rights and permissions, all of which I had initially obtained and provided. I suspected that the real holdup was the term “MAGA” in the book’s title.

After endless “internal reviews” and email exchanges, Amazon finally relented, but the reluctance was palpable. It took until Feb. 9 before all three formats of the book – ebook, paperback and hardcover – were finally live on Amazon.

Maybe I was just being paranoid, you may well say. That’s what I tried to tell myself. But my suspicions soon resurfaced. A “promote and advertise” program is available to authors using Amazon and I naturally wanted to use it. I followed the user-friendly prompts and before you could say “MAGA,” a nifty digital ad was created. Again, Amazon promoted a speedy review and turnaround, with ads likely distributing across the internet in short order.

Three days later, the ad was still marked “pending review.” Same for days four, five and six. After a week, I finally found a way to send an inquiry (not obviously available on the advertising platform), which brought this non-response response: “We are working on resolving your request. We will provide an update as soon as we have any information.” Well, at least a whole team was laser-focused on it, as indicated by “we.”

After three more days and three more uninformative updates from “we,” I requested a more detailed explanation. An email from “Amazon Advertiser Support” finally admitted the real source of their heartburn, explaining, “The cover image of the book has content which is related to political campaigns, elections, or political issues of public debate; that advocates for or against a politician or a political party; or that personally attacks a political figure.” Oh no – I didn’t mean to write a political book!

In fact, most of their accusations were wrong. The book’s cover does not implicitly relate to political campaigns, nor to elections, nor does it advocate for or against a politician or a political party. It also does not attack a political figure.

Here are all the words on the book’s cover: “MAGA Republicans Are Already Normal – And Other Shocking Notions. Commentary from the Heartland on… Donald Trump. Joe Biden. Guns. Abortion. Covid. Race Relations. Immigration. Religion. Healing Our Divide. And More! Gary Abernathy. Former Washington Post Contributing Columnist. A collection of his columns.”

That’s it. No one attacked, nothing advocated, no mention of campaigns. Arguably, it does mention “political issues of public debate,” aka abortion, guns, race relations. That’s wrong? You can’t even say the words? That prevents advertising?

Riddle me this: How is a book that was (eventually) deemed acceptable to sell on Amazon subsequently deemed not acceptable to be advertised through the Amazon ad program? And let’s don’t even get into the irony of a situation wherein columns that were originally and routinely published on one Jeff Bezos-owned platform, The Washington Post, are subsequently being treated like the plague on Amazon, another Jeff Bezos-owned platform.

What is most significant in all this is the realization of how effectively Biden and others have succeeded in making “MAGA Republicans” – average Americans supporting a candidate who is leading Biden in most polls right now – a term, and a group, to be feared. Many corporations and law enforcement agencies have, in turn, almost certainly programmed internet algorithms to stop, or at least flag, anything labeled “MAGA.” Traditional media outlets increasingly echo Biden’s anti-MAGA message, squeezing millions of Americans even further outside the warm and comfy “mainstream” designation.

I’m not questioning the right of Amazon and other private companies to make such decisions, although it’s a sad day when political speech — a crucial form of expression in a democracy — is considered so radioactive that books about politics apparently send the Amazon ad program into a tizzy. But participation in our digital universe is a critical part of every American’s ability to successfully navigate modern life. It’s frightening to recognize the marginalization of Americans within that universe because of their presidential preference.

I can only surmise, but I’m guessing that if I wrote a book titled, “MAGA Republicans Are a Threat to Democracy,” it would have been approved for sale in less than a day and green-lighted for advertising an hour after that.

The left belittles “right-wing” marketplace avenues and media sources, but when conventional outlets create policies clearly targeting them, conservatives naturally create new lanes of communication and commerce, from news stations to social media platforms to, yes, book publishers.

Here’s the topper: I awakened Tuesday morning to find two emails from Amazon in my inbox. The first, received at 5:33 a.m., brought bad news – my ad had been found “non-compliant” due to content “about a specific political party, issue, or candidate during an election year.” Why would that even be a problem? Apparently, it is.

But wait! Exactly 10 minutes later – 5:43 a.m. – another email from Amazon carried glad tidings: “Your campaign has been approved and will go live within 72 hours.” As you can imagine, I was overwhelmed with a flood of emotions. Not really. But it’s enough to give you whiplash.

So is my ad “non-compliant,” or is it approved? It’s like a cliffhanger. We’ll see whether Amazon’s left hand or right hand carries the day. My suspicion is that the first email was the accurate one — on Wednesday morning, more than two weeks after I initially scheduled it, the ad remains “not approved.” Here’s a screenshot to show what it has looked like on the Amazon ad program for two weeks, and what it still looks like as of this writing.

In the meantime, I’ll try purchasing some Google ads – just for the fun of setting off those algorithm alarms and comparing which bells ring louder, Amazon’s or Google’s.

I have sincere doubts about how long Amazon will allow my book to remain available for sale. We’ll see.

Nikki Haley needs to admit it’s over and step aside

Nikki Haley went down to defeat again Tuesday, this time in Michigan’s Republican primary election, with Donald Trump swamping her yet again.

I like Nikki Haley. I wrote a WaPo column about a year ago suggesting that she could be the GOP’s best presidential nominee. But it’s clearly not happening, and she should step aside. She got trounced Tuesday by more than 40 points. It was interesting watching Trump-hating pundits suggest that Haley’s 26.6 percent somehow represented bad news for Trump. Please. Haley is supposed to be a top-tier candidate. She lost her home state Saturday badly, and got embarrassed in Michigan, where Trump won nearly 70 percent against her. It’s a sign of Trump’s utter dominance. And despite polling, and what Haley voters say now, the vast majority of them will vote for Trump in November.

By the way, Haley ending up on a “No Labels” ticket, as some have suggested, is an implausible notion. Forty-seven states have “sore loser” laws preventing candidates who run and lose in the Republican or Democratic primaries from turning around and running some other way in the same cycle. There are people who detect loopholes in a few of those state laws, but the legal challenges would be immense, and it’s simply an impractical notion.

Haley has clearly gone further than she needed in bashing Trump in recent weeks, likely – likely – ruling out the possibility of running with Trump as his vice-president. Of course, everything in politics must have a caveat, because stranger alliances have happened, and will again.

Even if Trump wins in November, he’s a one-termer, and Haley is well-positioned to make another try in 2028 – if she doesn’t burn too many bridges in 2024.

Biden is badly losing the border messaging wars

President Biden was making only the second visit of his presidency to the southern border on Wednesday, and it’s a sign of how badly he is losing the spin wars on the topic of the border when USA Today produces a story headlined, “A Joe Biden photo op at the border? Here’s what mayors and governors say they really want.”

It’s not a partisan op-ed in the opinion section, just a straight-up news story. From the story:

Biden heads to Brownsville, Texas on Thursday − his second trip to the U.S.-Mexico border of his presidency − in the most public display yet of his new get-tough strategy on immigration. It will produce a striking split screen with former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner to win the Republication nomination, who is set to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, 325 miles way on the Rio Grande River.

And this:

On the same day President Joe Biden announced he's headed to the southern border this week, the New York City Fire Department discovered 40 West African migrants cramped into a small Queens basement behind a furniture store sleeping in dangerous conditions.

It was the latest troubling scene from a migrant humanitarian crisis that has forced New York City to provide housing and other care for 180,000 asylum seekers who have arrived since the spring of 2022.

Mayor Eric Adams, an outspoken Democratic critic of Biden's handling of the border crisis, said his administration has worked to find safe shelter for the migrants and prevent tent cities from being erected like elsewhere in the country.

Adams has long insisted the greater focus needs to be "the source of this."

"We're going to do our job," Adams said Tuesday. "But we should be asking the national government: Why is this happening to Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Washington?"

Biden’s effort to blame congressional Republicans is falling flat. Everyone knows - as Trump demonstrated - that Biden has the authority as president to make the southern border much more secure and to slow the illegal crossings to a trickle instead of a flood. He doesn’t need Congress to empower him.

Biden’s early decisions reversing Trump’s border policies are, for me, the greatest failings of his presidency. They represent a dereliction of duty, a clear violation of a president’s first and foremost responsibility to defend the country’s borders. More than any other issue — including his obvious signs of aging — Biden’s lax border policy is likely to defeat him.

A good time at the Highland County Lincoln Day Dinner

I’m either introducing a candidate or singing “My Way” at the Highland County Lincoln Day Dinner. Could be either.

Thanks to Dick and Paulette Donley, Bill Fawley and anyone else who had a hand in inviting me to emcee last week’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Highland County, Ohio. It was great seeing a lot of friends, and I enjoyed listening to what the candidates had to say. Honest, I really did.

The food was great, which is always the case when Shoelaces Catering is on the job.

Of the 11 GOP candidates for the 2^nd District congressional seat, it was interesting to see who showed up and who didn’t.

But it was great to see a packed room and to witness a lot of enthusiasm for the 2024 election. And congratulations to Shawn Priest, the Republican of the Year award winner. Well deserved – my first reaction was surprise that she hadn’t won it a long time ago.

Lora and I were very happy to be there. Thanks to everyone for all the hospitality. Here’s a write-up of the event.

Shawn Priest, right, receives the Republican of the Year award from Highland County GOP Chair Paulette Donley last week in Hillsboro, Ohio.

Get it while you can (and while Amazon lets you): ‘MAGA Republicans Are Already Normal,’ in print and eBook

My new book, “MAGA Republicans Are Already Normal — And Other Shocking Notions,” is available on Amazon — so far. Buy it here.

Here’s a link to our website dedicated to the book. Please spread the word, because, as detailed above, Amazon is not allowing me to use its ad program to promote the book. Thanks!

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