[.ca] What's The Matter With Kansas?: How Conservatives Won ... (ISBN 0805073396)

The Astonishing Concession Conservatives Are Marking:
I've already reviewed this book, in a sense; my glowing blurb appears on the back cover. Here's a review of the conservative reviewers, from George Will and the New York Times Book Review essayist to the folks on Amazons. They make an astonishing concession: they grant Tom Frank's main point. He argues that the Republicans have nothing to offer working people on ECONOMIC TERMS. The conservatives don't seem to disagree. They only argue that the Republicans are worth voting for on cultural terms alone, and seek to demonstrate that this is a legitimate way to vote. This is new. Conservatives used to argue that they had the most to offer ordinary Americans ECONOMICALLY--and ALSO culturally. Now, on economics, they've simply given up. They've tacitly admitted that, for lower income folks at least, cultural conservatism is the party's sole appeal. A sad day for conservatism, and certainly evidence of its political decline. And of course none of the conservative reviews can deal with the fact that the cultural battles the Republicans choose are bottomless unwinnable sinkholes. That's why I describe conservatives as having punk'd a nation: they offer their voters nothing in return but therapy. Rick Perlstein rperlstein@villagevoice.com

The true paternalism of progressives.:
Yes, but in time-honored pop-Marx fasion, Frank considers all non-economic moral concerns as mere epiphenomena riding lightly utop bedrock economic realities. Whereas the pro-life folks he so contemptuously dismisses as too stupid to know their own material interests consider abortion, in some perhaps inchoate way, as morally equivalent to murder. This point is obviously debatable, indeed the eternal debate, but the profound gulf between "you vote against your own well-being" and abortion as murder is, I think, somewhat more than a P.R. con job by the proverbial "Wall Street Bankers". And isn't it ironic that many dismiss any criticism of this text as automatic confirmation of its main thesis, without engaging the substance of the argument.

The true paternalism of progressives.:
Yes, but in time-honored pop-Marx fasion, Frank considers all non-economic moral concerns as mere epiphenomena riding lightly atop bedrock economic realities. Whereas the pro-life folks he so contemptuously dismisses as too stupid to know their own material interests consider abortion, in some perhaps inchoate way, as morally equivalent to murder. This point is obviously debatable, indeed the eternal debate, but the profound gulf between "you vote against your own well-being" and abortion as murder is, I think, somewhat more than a P.R. con job by the proverbial "Wall Street Bankers". And isn't it ironic that many dismiss any criticism of this text as automatic confirmation of its main thesis, without engaging the substance of the argument.

Soap Box Reviews Again:
Most reviewers of political books seem to forget to review the book outside of their own politics. It seems ridiculous that all of you are either bashing the writer for his opinions or praising him for them. The important thing for open minded people is if he has stated his argument well and written a good book. I think he has, although not a great book. His argument seems accurate As for all the pro-this or that folks who jump into the fray here on Amazon I'll save my arguments for a more meaningful and valid forum than trying to get people to not read a book by posting a review. So to all you republicans in kansas, read this book with an open mind.

Good book:
Good book. The only thing I've read that impressed me more was The System by Roy Valentine. I got it here at amazon. You have to read this book.