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In reply to the discussion: Thomas Frank: Dems have gone from the party of the New Deal to a party defending mass inequality [View all]appalachiablue
(41,103 posts)Last edited Fri Apr 29, 2016, 03:43 PM - Edit history (2)
GUESTS for Bill Maher Show, Fri. April 29: Wayne Pacelle, Thomas Frank, Rob Reiner, Mark Leibovich, Kellyanne Conway.
>More Show Info: http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/
In his sharp appraisal of the current political scene, Thomas Frank, founding editor of The Baffler and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harpers, notes that though Democrats have held the White House for the majority of the last twenty-four years, theres been little commensurate achievement on many social justice issues. With the same common sense and mastery of argument and evidence he wielded in books including Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and Whats the Matter with Kansas?, Frank takes Democrats to task and warns the party to shake its complacency or prepare to be voted out.
In 'Listen Liberal, Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?' (2016) Frank's newest book, the political writer outlines the transformation of the Democratic Party of the New Deal and the Big Tent, to a party of the professional class. Recently Frank has appeared on TV and radio shows of Thom Hartmann and Sam Seder to discuss 'Listen Liberal' and held book talks in Kansas City, Seattle and other places.
Kansas City, MO Library Book Talk, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017358989
Elliott Bay Bookstore, Seattle Talk, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017360353
The Big Picture, Thom Hartmann Show, http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=340617
Majority Report with Sam Seder, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017361838
In These Times, April 26, 2016, "Thomas Frank on How Democrats Went From Being 'The Party of the People' to the Party of Rich Elites", Democrats have gone from the party of the New Deal to a party that is defending mass inequality.
The Democratic Party was once the party of the New Deal and the ally of organized labor. But by the time of Bill Clinton's presidency, it had become the enemy of New Deal programs like welfare and Social Security and the champion of free trade deals. What explains this apparent reversal? Thomas Frankbest known for his analysis of the Republican Party base in What's the Matter with Kansas?attempts to answer this question in his latest book, Listen Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? According to Frank, popular explanations which blame corporate lobby groups and the growing power of money in politics are insufficient.
Frank instead points to a decision by Democratic Party elites in the 1970s to marginalize labor unions and transform from the party of the working class to the party of the professional class. In so doing, the Democratic Party radically changed the way it understood social problems and how to solve them, trading in the principle of solidarity for the principle of competitive individualism and meritocracy. The end result is that the party which created the New Deal and helped create the middle class has now become the party of mass inequality. Read More: http://inthesetimes.com/article/19084/listen-liberal-thomas-frank-democratic-party-elites-inequality