What’s the Matter with Kansas?
I just finished a reading this one. In this book, the author, Thomas Frank, discusses how those in the "heartland" of America have been won over by the extreme Right . The people of middle America are voting against their own interests on almost all counts because the Republican party has convinced them that the "liberal elite" of the Left don’t represent their "values", so the working class vote Republican because they feel they represent American "values" better. The author also points out how Republicans bring these "values" issues to the forefront in the election years, but seem to forget about them once elected. For example, they claim that things like Hollywood and abortion are destroying our culture, but what have Republicans really done about this? - Nothing. Abortion is still legal and Hollywood is still making violent and oversexed entertainment.
The author uses his home state of Kansas as the perfect example of this phenomenon. Kansas used to be one of the most progressive and liberal states in the Union, but is now one of the most staunchly conservative. While I certainly don’t agree with all of the positions the author takes, for example his pro-farm-subsidy stance and anti-free-market leanings, I definitely liked the book and would recommend it. The book provides a great insight into the mindset of the Red-Staters, and even if you are a Right-leaner yourself, it is still very humorous and might provide you with a good laugh. However, if you lean too far too the Right, then I probably wouldn’t run out and get a copy. 
One of my favorite lines from the book: "These people are tired of moral decay. They’re tired of everything being wonderful on Wall Street and terrible on Main Street." Let me repeat that: They’re voting Republican in order to get even with Wall Street.
July 24th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Wow, I didn’t know you were such a liberal donkey!