Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream

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Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream

by Ross Douthat, Reihan Salam

3.40 · rating details · 48 ratings · 15 reviews

“Memo to John McCain: Please, please READ THIS BOOK. It can help you win the election and guide Republicans in shaping the political future.

Memo to Democrats: Don’t read this book. It's going to be THE political book of 2008. Republicans will be better off if you choose to ignore it.”
--William Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard

In a provocative challenge to Republican con

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Hardcover, 224 pages

Published June 24th 2008 by Doubleday

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Dec 20, 2008

Howard Olsen rated it

This book promises a lot and fails to deliver. The authors' central insight is a good one: the GOP can renew itself and its electoral appeal by focusing its policy prescriptions on "Sam's Club Republicans," a group that is really what used to be known as Reagan Democrats, soccer moms, or just the good old fashioned working class. However, the actual policy suggestions put forth by the authors take up little more than 70 pages of this 230 page book. Almost half is given over to the auth...moreThis book promises a lot and fails to deliver. The authors' central insight is a good one: the GOP can renew itself and its electoral appeal by focusing its policy prescriptions on "Sam's Club Republicans," a group that is really what used to be known as Reagan Democrats, soccer moms, or just the good old fashioned working class. However, the actual policy suggestions put forth by the authors take up little more than 70 pages of this 230 page book. Almost half is given over to the authors' version of political and economic history from 1900 to now, and how the GOP has struggled to define itself to working class voters. Sorry, boys, but any history of the GOP that fails to include Abraham Lincoln, and the limited gov't GOP that was the dominant political party from 1860 - 1929 during the period of America's industrial and international rise, will never be able to grapple with the ideas that give the GOP its saliency.

The authors include all of this history to show why the working class is in trouble, and why the GOP can help. Fine. The authors' social history is OK, but too often it falls into the conventional "working class voters felt hemmed in by the excesses of the Sixties." Their history of American social conditions is actually a history of American social conditions as put forth by the distorting lens of the media. When they name check the "Spur Posse" to show the decline in values, I had to roll my eyes.

After wasting all this time on a history lesson, the authors' policy prescriptions are anodyne. Mostly, it's tax breaks, and marginal changes in health, education, and immigration. The authors have nothing to say about two of the GOP's biggest groups of supporters: Evangelicals and Entrepreneurs. They also have nothing to say about national security issues, which is an especially glaring hole. National Security is one of the GOP's strengths, even after the Iraq War. It's also one of the legitimate functions of government, regardless of how expansive or limited you would like the government to be. They also skirt veterans issues, another missed opportunity. For heavens sake, veterans are obvious potential GOP supporters, and the present state of the VA is a scandal.

The biggest hole in the authors' analysis is their failure to grapple with the philosophy that has defined the GOP from its birth, and which has united the voting blocks that have been drawn to it: the philosophy of individual freedom combined with a limited national government. The authors are clearly very comfortable with using the tax code and the various arms of the government to appeal to voters. It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that a government that tries to do everything, will be unable to anything particularly well. This book is little more than Democrat Lite in this regard.

All told, I would say this book was very disappointing. Douthat is a thoughtful writer, but that rarely comes through in this book. if you are looking for a good book on renewing the GOP, "Comeback" by David Frum, or "How To Beat the Democrats" by David Horowitz are much more useful.

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Oct 23, 2008

Aaron Bruenger rated it

My interest in this book was sparked by an interview with the authors on NPR's "Fresh Air". Douthat and Salam are trying to create a new direction for the GOP by re-focusing traditional conservative ideals in a direction that the party hasn't, other than through lip service. Their goal is to make the GOP more relevant to the needs of working-class Americans (which they define as non-college graduates) by creating policies that address W-C concerns: job instability, instability in the...moreMy interest in this book was sparked by an interview with the authors on NPR's "Fresh Air". Douthat and Salam are trying to create a new direction for the GOP by re-focusing traditional conservative ideals in a direction that the party hasn't, other than through lip service. Their goal is to make the GOP more relevant to the needs of working-class Americans (which they define as non-college graduates) by creating policies that address W-C concerns: job instability, instability in the traditional family unit, and health care.

They provide an interesting take on these issues, and some of their plans I wouldn't mind seeing implemented: like tax credits for parents who choose to take time off from work to raise young children, and governmental supplements for "sub-living wage" workers. Additionally, they are smart enough to acknowledge that anti-government rhetoric is self-defeating (although they don't point out that it is also anarchistic), and what most American's actually want is government that works efficiently.

However, there are some serious problems with the book. First of all, I find their lack of citations annoying. I don't believe that they are just making things up, I just like to know where they are getting their information from, especially when they make claims that divorce is a bigger problem for working-class families than middle-class ones. I'd like to know their sources to help me judge their credibility. Additionally, it would help if they would clarify claims like that one; by reading the book, the implication is that divorce does more economic damage to the W-C than the M-C, which while I don't have the evidence to dismiss that claim, they did not provide me with any to support it either. Having a number of these claims sans support really undermines their credibility.

Another problem was their history of the GOP of the last 60 years. I think they made a valiant effort to re-frame that history of GOP reformers who want to help the W-C being defeated by the short-sighted members/special interests in their own party and the Democrats who had their own agenda for the W-C. However, after this pattern is repeated over and over, it started to run thin, and the left-critique that the Republicans only care about the W-C during elections seemed more credible. Additionally, some of their defenses for the rise of uber-wealthy in the last 20 years because they created so much wealth for the nation seemed very dated considering the current economic state of the US.

Additionally, while I wouldn't claim that they are necessarily advocating the anti-intellectualism that has been rampant in the recent Right, their set-up does create and opposition between those with college education and those without. Additionally they ridicule the idea of liberal education in favor of more job training and vocational education, citing the example of English majors who can't write a business letter right out of college. The point that is missed is that while English majors might not learn the genre of business letters in their classes, they learn how to adapt to different genres, so can easily learn writing business letters, as well as reports, presentations, press releases, etc. Additionally, they gain analytical skills that can make them useful in other capacities to the company. Someone who is only trained to write business letters does not get the meta-skills involved. While might be nit picky of me, it seems that they want people to be productive workers, not necessarily productive contributors to both work and society.

But what troubles me more about their argument is that they are calling for the GOP to focus upon those who do not have college degrees (which isn't necessarily bad) based upon the idea that college education provides more economic stability. Considering that a college education is supposed to be so helpful, wouldn't it be better for them to advocate for better programs to help the W-C to get this benefit rather than advocate for more training/vocational programs? If getting a college-education makes them M-C and the M-C has an advantage, why not make college for everyone the focus in education, other than the W-C would no longer be W-C in their definition. That seems to be the crux of the problem. They are dependent upon having a group that does not have what they claim is an advantage. Ultimately, they are trying to make up for a disadvantage that does not have to exist.(less)

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Jul 16, 2008

Jeffrey rated it

Shelves: conservatism, current-events, economics

Grand New Party – Ross Douthat & Reihan Salam

Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam are popular authors working for The Atlantic, the fabled long-lived magazine. Their new project is a book that is a call to arms for the GOP. It seems that even though times are as tough for the party as they have ever been, there is still some hope. There exists a subset of Americans that are not truly aligned with either party. Once called the Silent Majority, Reagan Democrats, or the angry white males, the...moreGrand New Party – Ross Douthat & Reihan Salam

Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam are popular authors working for The Atlantic, the fabled long-lived magazine. Their new project is a book that is a call to arms for the GOP. It seems that even though times are as tough for the party as they have ever been, there is still some hope. There exists a subset of Americans that are not truly aligned with either party. Once called the Silent Majority, Reagan Democrats, or the angry white males, they are a collection of non-college educated electorate that is not beholden to any party. They are the working class, but they are quite different from the working classes of previous eras. They are not union workers that walk in lockstep with organized labor therefore the Democrats have not been able to lock them down. They vote for the GOP, but quickly get disillusioned with the way the party governs.
This group, the authors refer to them as Sam’s Club voters, are concerned with social issues, to the detriment of the Democrats, but favor progressive economics. They see the social upheaval of destroyed families and a decaying culture as a minus. The Sam’s Club voters are seen as prize that the GOP can catch, if they change a bit.
The authors see the GOP as still the home of the wealthy. One can argue that they are dead wrong, as disclosures show that the DNC is now home to the wealthiest folks. Yet, the authors welcome change in the party that would cement a hold on these voters, increased spending on health and schools (disregard that more money might not help…), a change in tax law to benefit lower income and remove pay-roll taxes (the vast majority of workers are already off the income tax roles) and so on…
I must say that the writers may be right for the GOP, but by embracing these items the GOP would force out the conservatives who already see the “progressive tax system” as a civic failure and the proscribed increases in spending as a sure sign of loss. The authors are bright and want to be helpful, I just think that they have not fully thought out the entire ramifications of their plan. I also do not see that type of criticism coming from folks that should know better.
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Feb 06, 2011

Sjo rated it

Shelves: 2008

An interesting perspective on how the Republicans can extend reach to the working class including healthcare, education, with specific emphasis on marriage and the family. Not all ideas are good ones, but at least they are new ideas, which is a welcome change.

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Jan 30, 2009

Rainey rated it

contains interesting political history from a conservative point of view and some very interesting policy ideas. the authors advocate a more pro-government form of conservatism that would probably appeal more to liberals than the standard fare.

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Jan 29, 2009

Joseph rated it

Two young party-loyalists argue that Republicans could win the 2008 election by marketing themselves as populists without changing values. Well-thought theories but communicated awkwardly in the author's first book. I believe the strategies laid out would have decisively succeeded.

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Jan 09, 2010

Jamminalley is currently reading it

Some compelling ideas in here by young, iconoclastic conservative thinkers that Democrats would try to coopt if they were smart.

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Jan 17, 2010

Bdesmond Desmond added it

Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream by Ross Douthat (2008)

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Oct 24, 2008

Benjamin rated it

Shelves: nonfiction

Douthat and Salam strive for a lofty goal in Grand New Party: to create a humane, secular, race- and gender-neutral conservative plan to preserve the middle class. And, for the most part, they achieve that goal - they show how strong families combine with what would be "liberal" labor protections to create the conservative ideal of an "ownership society" without government social services husbanding the individual from cradle to grave. Libertarians will not be on board; the...more

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Oct 02, 2010

Tim rated it

It is a good conversation starter. I don't agree with all of the solutions, especially the author's approach to Social Security and Medicare. But, the authors emphasize a new way forward on social issues. As with David Frum's "Comeback," the authors rightly note that Republicans and conservatives need to expand their social causes beyond just homosexuality and abortion: An emphasis on strengthening the family should begin to take precedence. It is a good book.; but, like I said, it...more

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Aug 30, 2011

Justin Mitchell rated it

Essentially pathetic rationalizations for the same conservative horsesh*t we've been fed for a generation. Salaam and Douthat might be smarter than most Republicans, and outwardly nicer, but they sure don't have any new ideas. The part where they try to justify C.E.O. pay is especially desperate and pathetic. I am just not convinced that the American brand of uber-conservatism has any place in the modern world, and nobody I read has convinced me otherwise.

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Jan 25, 2009

Nigel rated it

Shelves: 2009-book-a-week

This book reads very quickly, but I'm not sure how much I got out of it b/c it's discussion of issues is pretty superficial. Nevertheless, the first half was a really interesting chronology of 20th century politics that I found helpful.

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Aug 08, 2009

Alec rated it

Interesting book that chronicles the conservative movement over the past 60 years or so and proposes action for the future. As far as political books go, I found this to be interesting, optimistic and very tolerable.

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Oct 31, 2008

Justin Ton added it

A lot of debatable ideas within this novel. I liked as a mini-history for myself, even if its slanted to the thirtieth degree. A nice book for those willing to experiment with some other points of view.

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Oct 09, 2008

jerry rated it

Interesting but too brief to be of any real use to the Republican party. Needs to develop its ideas on Health Care, Education et. al.

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About Ross Douthat

Ross Gregory Douthat is a conservative American author, blogger and New York Times columnist. He was a senior editor at The Atlantic and is author of Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class (Hyperion, 2005) and, with Reihan Salam, Grand New Party (Doubleday, 2008), which David Brooks called the "best single roadmap of where the Republican Party should and is likely to head."...more

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Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class

Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics

To Kill a Mockingbird (SparkNotes Literature Guide)

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