Building Red America: The New Conservative Coalition and the Drive for Permanent Power - Softcover

Edsall, Thomas B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0465018165 ISBN 13: 9780465018161

Publisher: Basic Books, 2007

Synopsis

This powerful examination of the present and future of American politics, by one of America's most distinguished political journalists, reveals how the Republican Party has gained a long-term institutional advantage that allows it to shrug off apparent setbacks like the 2006 elections. Building Red America takes us deeper than any previous book into the operations of the power brokers and issues that galvanize voters.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas B. Edsall covered national politics for twenty-five years at the Washington Post. He is now a correspondent for the New Republic and the National Journal. He was a guest columnist in 2006 for the New York Times, and holds the Pulitzer-Moore Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at Columbia University in New York. His previous book, Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in 1992. He lives in New York and Washington, D.C.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this comprehensive and insightful book, Edsall shows just how much angrier Democrats could be—not least of all at themselves—if only they knew the half of what was going on. A senior political reporter for the Washington Post, he knows the capitol's ins and outs as well as anyone, without the bedfellowism of some other Washington journalists. The book goes a long way to explain why Bush, who ran in 2000 as a "uniter, not a divider," proceeded with an aggressively right-wing strategy once in power. Beginning with the revelation to conservative thinkers in 2000 that the "center of the electorate had collapsed," Edsall assiduously details every aspect of their successful push to galvanize their base and emasculate their opponents. "Without pressure to accommodate the center," he adds, "Republicans in the majority have been, with little cost, relatively unresponsive to criticism." Hence, the administration managed to draw both working-class evangelicals (using classic "wedge issues" like race and outrage over gay rights and abortion) and wealthy K Street lobbyists with little consequence. But he also shows that the Democrats lack salable strategies and have lost "a decisive majority of white voters." With depth and journalistic clarity, Edsall illustrates exactly why, more than ever, Democrats need their own Karl Rove. (Sept.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0465018165
• ISBN 13: 9780465018161
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 351