Writer at Ghion Journal. The must-read summary of Thomas Frank's book: “What's the Matter with Kansas? Much of "What's the Matter with Kansas" was a play-by-play rehashing of the news stories that have helped make Kansas the laughing stock of the nation. What's the Matter with Kansas? Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Synopsis submission guide. Lease advised, and she seems tohave an over-production. "[7] Frank provided a lengthy rebuttal to Bartels' analysis. Five Republican presidents — Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover — were to spend nights at his home. Follow Me . Thomas Frank spoke about his book, [What's the Matter with Kansas? The title comes from Kansas newspaper editor William Allen White’s once-famous1896 attack on Populism. spent 18 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Larry Bartels, an American political scientist and the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions and Shayne Chair in Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University, in "What's the Matter with What's the Matter with Kansas," tests "Frank's thesis by examining class-related patterns of issue preferences, partisanship, and voting over the past half-century." Libtards and Rethugs: Insulting Each Other as the “Elites” Laugh at Us. By portraying themselves as champions of the conservatives on these issues, the politicians can get "Cons" to vote them into office. What's the Matter with Kansas? Has the white working class abandoned the Democratic party? Thomas Frank: What's the Matter with Kansas? [5], Conservative columnist John Leo argues that despite Frank's belief that conservative politics is just a game of "bait-and-switch", rural conservative voters have made their voices heard on a vast array of social issues. When business screwed the farmers and the workers – when it implemented monopoly strategies invasive beyond the Populists' furthest imaginings – when it ripped off shareholders and casually tossed thousands out of work – you could be damned sure about what would follow. According to the book, the political discourse of recent decades has dramatically shifted from social and economic equality to the use of "explosive" cultural issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, which are used to redirect anger toward "liberal elites.". Synopsis Kansas, once home to farmers who marched against “money power,” is now solidly Republican. In brief: Why do these people stand with Republicans when Republicans do not stand with them? Not these days. by BusinessNews Publishing, eBook format, from the Dymocks online bookstore. : How Conservatives Won The Heart Of America by Thomas Frank. NPR coverage of What's The Matter With Kansas? This theme of victimization by these "elites" is pervasive in conservative literature, despite the fact that at the time conservatives controlled all three branches of government, were being served by an extensive media devoted only to conservative ideology, and had won 6 of the previous 9 presidential elections. The book also details how Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, was elected governor in conservative Kansas. This page was last edited on 11 December 2020, at 18:45. Teodrose Fikremariam. Meanwhile, the social issues that the "Cons" faction pushes never go anywhere after the election. But that doesn't matter. In 2004, Thomas Frank published "What's The Matter with Kansas," a book asking why so many working-class and poor white Americans in the heartland had taken to voting for a … More recently, in an apparent attempt to rebut Frank's rebuttal via Barack Obama's now infamous "bitter" label regarding Middle America during the 2008 Democratic Presidential campaign, Bartels offered a somewhat revised analysis of Frank's original thesis in an op-ed piece in the April 17, 2008 edition of The New York Times. He attributes this partly to conservatives "waging cultural battles where victory is impossible," such as a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. More than a century later, the phrase was invoked as the title of a book and a film; it has also been used in many other contexts. : How Conservatives Won the Heart of America”. [2], The notion that American politics has been transformed because of defection from the Democratic ranks of working-class social conservatives is not a new idea. Parents Guide. In What’s the Matter With Kansas?, Frank ventures into explicitly political journalism for the first time. Directed by Kevin Willmott. Not long ago, Kansas would have responded to the current situation by making the bastards pay. Kansas is allright. The policies of the Republicans in power have been exclusively economic, but the coalition has caused the social conservatives to be worse off economically, due to these pro-corporate policies. What's the Matter with Kansas? Do working class "moral values" trump economics? More info at: whatsthematterwithkansas.com Publisher's webpage, What's The Matter With "What's The Matter With Kansas", Thomas Frank's own rebuttal to this paper. In 'What's the Matter with Kansas?' The way to collect the votes and -- more important -- the money of these coveted constituencies, "New Democrats" think, is to stand rock-solid on, say, the pro-choice position while making endless concessions on economic issues, on welfare, NAFTA, Social Security, labor law, privatization, deregulation and the rest of it. "What's the Matter with Kansas" upcoming feature documentary adaptation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=What%27s_the_Matter_with_Kansas%3F_(book)&oldid=993646626, Books about politics of the United States, Books critical of conservatism in the United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Robert Huckfeldt and Carol Weitzel Kohfeld in. the matter with kansas how conservatives won the heart of america 2004 is a book by american journalist and historian thomas frank which explores the rise of populist anti elitist conservatism in the united states centering on the experience of kansas franks native statein the late 19th century says frank kansas was known as a hotbed of the "ONE OF THE TEN BEST DOCUMENTARIES OF 2009" - Roger Ebert. The book was published in Britain and Australia as What's the Matter with America? Teodrose Fikremariam is the co-founder and former editor of the Ghion Journal. Summary: What's the Matter with Kansas? : Review and Analysis of Thomas Frank's Book: Amazon.de: Publishing, BusinessNews: Fremdsprachige Bücher Summaries. With Bill Kurtis, Jack Wright, Laura Kirk, Jim Lehrer. Instead of fighting for working class interests, the Democratic party, under the direction of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), effectively abandoned them by adopting economically conservative policies. Frank's thesis goes thus: In order to explain to the "Cons" why no progress gets made on these issues, politicians and pundits point their fingers to a "liberal elite," a straw man representing everything that conservatism is not. by Thomas Frank, a renowned American political analyst and journalist, presents his use of Kansas as an example to show why many Americans vote against their economic and social interests. However, once in office, these politicians turn their attention to more mundane economic issues, such as business tax reduction or deregulation. Push them off their land, and next thing you know they're protesting in front of abortion clinics. What’s the Matter with Kansas. 3.7K likes. by Thomas Frank, a renowned American political analyst and journalist, presents his use of Kansas as an example to show why many Americans vote against their economic and social interests. What's the matter with Kansas? In the late 19th century, says Frank, Kansas was known as a hotbed of the left-wing Populist movement, but in recent decades, it has become overwhelmingly conservative. Radio interview with Larry Bartels 9/29/05. Kansas is all right. This would have been a political certainty, as predictable as what happens when you touch a match to a puddle of gasoline. Nothing under the shining sun. What's the Matter with Kansas was an 1896 newspaper editorial. This complete summary of "What's the Matter with Kansas?" Kansas never did believe indiversified crops. What’s the Matter with What’s the Matter with Kansas? Poorer Protestants, they argue, are much less likely to vote Republican than affluent ones. They argue that the class basis of New Deal coalition had given way to a new structure in which conservative ideology and cultural issues brought large numbers of working-class whites into the Republican camp. Against this backdrop, Frank describes the rise of political conservatism in the social and political landscape of Kansas, which he says espouses economic policies that do not benefit the majority of people in the state. In the late 19th century, says Frank, Kansas was known as a hotbed of the left-wing Populist movement, but in recent decades, it … Be the first to contribute! In 'What's the Matter with Kansas?' According to Frank, "abortion is never outlawed, school prayer never returns, the culture industry is never forced to clean up its act." While I find Frank's concept of "cultural backlash" interesting, it still doesn't answer the question of "why do rural people continue to I learned early on that reading the opinion pages of the newspaper was just spitting into the wind. | Which Kansas is he? The Republicans sent out hundreds of thousands of copies of the editorial in support of William McKinley during the 1896 U.S. presidential election. He also argues that the very capitalist system the economic conservatives strive to strengthen and deregulate promotes and commercially markets the perceived assault on traditional values. a politically active Kansas megachurch splinters, moves to an amusement park, and when that fails, a Best Western motel. About; Latest Posts; Follow Me. (disambiguation), What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (2004) is a book by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of populist anti-elitist conservatism in the United States, centering on the experience of Kansas, Frank's native state. Frank applies his thesis to answer the question of why these social conservatives continue to vote for Republicans, even though they are voting against their best interests. Bartels identifies numerous scholars making the claim. Has the white working class become more conservative? There’s a lot the matter with Kansas for Philip and Elizabeth, who are loathe to accept a new assignment related to the possible sabotage of Soviet grain by … It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. A brilliant analysis-and funny to boot-What's the Matter with Kansas? Everett Carll Ladd, Jr., "Liberalism Upside Down: The Inversion of the New Deal Order,", What's the Matter with Kansas? Squander their life savings on manicures for the CEO, and there's a good chance they'll join the John Birch Society. By emphasizing issues such as health care and school funding and avoiding hot-button social issues, Sebelius successfully fractured the Kansas GOP and won a clear majority. | Meanwhile, an idealistic farmer revives Kansas' progressive tradition, taking his message all the way to Washington, D.C. Now available on Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. Are religious voters distracted from economic issues? What's the Matter with Kansas? Specifically, Bartels focuses on four questions: Bartels's answer to each question is "no. Summary Of Whats The Matter With Kansas How Conservatives Won The Heart Of America Thomas Frank Right here, we have countless books summary of whats the matter with kansas how conservatives won the heart of america thomas frank and collections to check out. More than a century later, the phrase was invoked as the title of a book … Out here the gravity of discontent pulls in only one direction: to the right, to the right, further to the right. The book derives its name from an August 15, 1896 editorial by William Allen White in the Emporia Gazette,[1] in which he took Populist leaders to task for letting Kansas slip into economic stagnation and not keeping up economically with neighboring states because of Populist policies chasing away economic capital from the state. Taglines To differentiate themselves from Republicans at the national level, Democrats also focused on socio-cultural wedge issues: The Democratic Leadership Council, the organization that produced such figures as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Joe Lieberman and Terry McAuliffe, has long been pushing the party to forget blue-collar voters and concentrate instead on recruiting affluent, white-collar professionals who are liberal on social issues. The editorial established White's career in journalism. | (editorial), Kansas Historical Society web page: "Red Rocks State Historic Site", "Deconstructing the God squad: Not all conservative Christians are Republicans". And, they claim, conservative Protestants are actually more likely to support progressive taxation than "mainline" Protestants are. Paraphrases (not excerpts) of early paragraphs from the book. Buy (ebook) Summary: What's the Matter with Kansas? Meanwhile, an idealistic farmer revives Kansas' progressive tradition, taking his message all the way to Washington, D.C. — Laura Cohen. Watch Now - Season 3, Episode 27 - What's the Matter with Kansas? ], published by Metropolitan. In "What's the Matter with Kansas?," journalist and historian Thomas Frank uses the example of his native state to ponder both how and why working-class and poor white Americans in the heartland vote for a party that advances policies benefiting wealthy individuals and corporations. How Conservatives Won the Heart of America is a book by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of populist anti-elitist conservatism in the United States, centering on the experience of Kansas, Frank's native state. But while White asked the title question because of his aversion to left-wing politics, Frank uses it to critique contemporary Kansas civic life from the other direction. Frank says that since the coalition formed in the late 1960s, the coalition has been "fantastically rewarding" for the economic conservatives. A Kansas megachurch splinters, while a farmer brings a progressive message to Washington. Strip today's Kansans of their job security, and they head out to become registered Republicans. a politically active Kansas megachurch splinters, moves to an amusement park, and when that fails, a Best Western motel. 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