Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s bestselling book got $400,000 worth of help from national Republican committee

Sort of a $394,800 "smile."

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has reportedly spent around $400,000—$394,800, to be exact—on purchasing 25,000 copies of Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s book, Fortitude. The NRCC reportedly uses them to hand off to donors in a promotional capacity. Politico writes that the NRCC claims to have raised $1.5 million on the promotion so far.

Putting money into the hands of a conservative “author” is not a new game. The Trump campaign spent a reported $55,000 on Trump’s books back in 2016 to a similar end. The move serves a couple of purposes: it puts money directly into the hands of the “author,” and it also greatly inflates sales numbers, ensuring that the book will hit the well-regarded New York Times bestseller list.

Rep. Crenshaw’s book has been on the top of the list for six weeks now, and having 25,500 copies bought sight unseen doesn’t hurt. You might remember the Texas Republican as the prick who refused to shake the hand of Rob Serra, a retired firefighter who survived 9/11, as Serra lobbied for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. You might also remember Crenshaw’s cowardly, slanderous attacks directed at Rep. Ilhan Omar using the 9/11 attacks of 2001 as his cover.