Texas Republicans wear Dan Crenshaw around their necks like an Olympic Medal.  They are so proud of him. His memoir and social critique, “Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage,” soared to the top of the bestseller lists when it was published last year. The book, which he didn’t write but probably did read, was sexy and brutal enough that they all promptly spit shined their dancin’ shoes and did The Dan. They were celebrating that Dan could add Best Selling Author to his Former Navy Seal bragathon.

Come to find out, Crenshaw and his publisher, Hachette Book Group, got a little help from the Texas Republican’s friends.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect GOP candidates to Congress, spent nearly $400,000 on bulk purchases of the book. The organization acquired 25,500 copies through two online booksellers, enough to fuel “Fortitude’s” ascent up the bestseller lists. The NRCC said it gave away copies as incentives to donors, raising $1.5 million in the process.

Crenshaw just disclosed that he received between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in royalties from sales of Fortitude in 2021.

And then last month the NRCC spent another $49,000 on books for “donor mementos” last month.

He gets by with a little help from his friends.

And here’s something cool. If Crenshaw’s book is tl/dr there’s a Reader’s Digest version. Crenshaw Cliff Notes for Republicans.  It’s 31 pages long, with lots of white space.