What Are You Reading?

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by SC Skins Fan

I also just finished Thomas Frank's What's the Matter with Kansas?, which is directed at a more popular audience. More descriptive than analytical and I found it particularly lacking in its historical analysis of the 'Backlash' ideology that he describes, but as a description of the de-coupling of economic class from politics and his characterization of contemporary Kansas as a case of 1890's Populism turned on it's head I found it compelling (though he perhaps takes an overly romantic view of Populism by avoiding - as he does throughout the book - any discussion of race).

I take it Frank makes the case that issues like abortion have distracted ordinary Americans from voting their economic interest. They have been deceived into thinking that social issues are more important than financial ones. But, couldn't one also make the case that the Democratic Party has decided that abortion, homosexual rights, etc are more important to them than the economic interests of Middle America? It seems to me that he is letting one side off of the hook too easily. But, you've read the book so maybe you can help. Isn't it a bit unrealistic to expect our proverbial 'Kansan' to pretend that abortion is inconsequential when the Democrats have been telling us for 30 years how consequential it is? Does the author deal with this at all?