false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170441671m/54666.jpg 54666 8 The largely blue collar citizens of Kansas can be counted upon to be a "red" state in any election, voting solidly Republican and possessing a deep animosity toward the left. This, according to author Thomas Frank, is a pretty self-defeating phenomenon, given that the policies of the Republican Party benefit the wealthy and powerful at the great expense of the average worker. According to Frank, the conservative establishment has tricked Kansans, playing up the emotional touchstones of conservatism and perpetuating a sense of a vast liberal empire out to crush traditional values while barely ever discussing the Republicans' actual economic policies and what they mean to the working class. Thus the pro-life Kansas factory worker who listens to Rush Limbaugh will repeatedly vote for the party that is less likely to protect his safety, less likely to protect his job, and less likely to benefit him economically. To much of America, Kansas is an abstract, "where Dorothy wants to return. Where Superman grew up." But Frank, a native Kansan, separates reality from myth in <I>What's the Matter with Kansas</I> and tells the state's socio-political history from its early days as a hotbed of leftist activism to a state so entrenched in conservatism that the only political division remaining is between the moderate and more-extreme right wings of the same party. Frank, the founding editor of <I>The Baffler</I> and a contributor to <I>Harper's</I> and <I>The Nation</I>, knows the state and its people. He even includes his own history as a young conservative idealist turned disenchanted college Republican, and his first-hand experience, combined with a sharp wit and thorough reasoning, makes his book more credible than the elites of either the left and right who claim to understand Kansas. <I>--John Moe</I> 74517 2004 What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America total:1723|5:342|4:756|3:480|2:117|1:28| 1723 6436 2527 256 3 4 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Oct 02 23:54:54 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 23:57:19 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 08:08:10 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 12:19:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jan 26 22:17:56 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 22:31:59 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 2 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu Nov 29 21:41:12 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 20 12:23:00 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Oct 14 08:11:36 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 10:45:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 16:44:11 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 17 11:52:39 -0700 2008
This was really an unpleasant experience, I’m glad it’s over. I read the book because I am moving to Kansas and figured it would be a useful introduction to the state’s political dynamic. I was expecting an analysis that I would likely not be very sympa...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jan 02 19:19:07 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 19:27:21 -0800 2008 This book has got to be one of the most read (or at least most discussed) political commentary texts of the last ten years. It seems like everyone I know is familiar with the thesis – that Kansas is an example of what is strange (and Frank thinks, wrong) about American electoral politics –...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Oct 12 08:24:17 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 12 08:47:31 -0700 2007
Thomas Frank tells the story of how conservative douchebags convinced people in middle-America (Kansas being the best example) that elite, snobby, French, li...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sun Jul 22 12:13:14 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 12:40:34 -0700 2007
Frank examines the post-2004 Democratic Party's relationship with residents of the Heartland, which mirrors the Party's complicated relationship with Americans. Frank argues that Kansas voters -- like the rest of Ame...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Thu May 17 07:57:09 -0700 2007 Thu May 17 07:57:34 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed May 21 09:30:24 -0700 2008 Wed May 21 09:50:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat May 03 12:58:25 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 17:21:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Aug 23 13:43:05 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 29 01:11:03 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 13:42:03 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Oct 30 20:40:30 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 20:55:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 02 19:47:40 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 19:53:24 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Aug 06 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Mon Mar 30 10:24:12 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 10:52:27 -0700 2009 STOP SMILING interview with Thomas Frank:

We're Not in Kansas Anymore
By JC Gabel

Whether Thomas Frank has enough time to think about it or not, he is a hero to underground publishers. He's also an author, a lecturer and, on most afternoons, an outspoken social cr...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:04:04 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:09:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 19:49:20 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 14:56:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 12:02:52 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 09:11:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 07 19:16:59 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 17:06:23 -0800 2009
That being said I agre...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=54666