What’s the matter with Kansas?By: Thomas Frank

Presented by: Scott Matthews and Casimir Peters

Thesis: The Republican party has captured the heart of America by appealing to fears of a culture war known as the “backlash.” This process has been facilitated by the Democrat’s lack of attention to the needs of their core base.

What is the matter with those asses?

How did they mess up? How did they lose the

support of the very people that Liberalism was created

for?

Traditional Liberal Causes • According to Frank,

Liberals are supposed to represent the working class man. Liberalism is supposed to support Labor Unions, banking regulation, and anti-trust laws.

What changed?

Liberals turned their backs and took the blue collar vote for granted. Despite remaining steadfast on social issues, they made endless concessions on economic issues.

The 180 °

The Democrats lack of attention to their original base allowed Conservatives to craft the “backlash.”

The “Backlash”• In the

“backlash,” Democrats were labeled as un-American, snooty, elitist, god-hating, tax and spend, baby killers.

The Party of “Family Values” The Republicans, however are the party of the real Americans who love god, go hunting, watch NASCAR, and are concerned with the moral decline of society. (Excluding Mark Foley of course--------)

The Central Contradiction

The working class supports a party that advocates economic policies that are harmful to their own interests. In return, they ask for their social values to be valiantly defended. But they never are…

Case StudyWhat better state than good-ole Kansas. The wealthy suburbs of Overland Park and Mission Hills provide an example of the spoils of capitalism. While poorer towns like Garden city show its vices and yet they both remain equally conservative.

What about 2008?

• If Frank’s thesis is right, how does he account for the 2008 general election?

• Is his thesis still valid?