The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It

by Stanley B. Greenberg | Nonfiction |
ISBN: 0312318383 Global Overview for this book
Registered by avanta7 on 2/20/2004
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9 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by avanta7 on Friday, February 20, 2004
I heard about this book on an NPR interview a few weeks ago, and started scouting the local Barnes & Noble for it. Alas, it apparently is not in our local inventory, so I ordered it online (through the BX link, of course!). Here's the publisher's blurb from the B&N website:

The 2000 presidential election left the nation standing still, but it was no fluke. America is divided right down the middle - the result of a half century, unique in our country's history, of inconclusive, increasingly heated partisan battle. Tantalizingly close to victory, each party inflames and mobilizes its most loyal supporters and battles to gain even a small edge with some contested groups. Politics has become culture war - a fight about values, faith, the family, how people should live their lives. The result: partisans are more partisan, politics more polarized, America more divided.

The Two Americas: Our Current Political Deadlock and How to Break It tells the history of each party's failed efforts to dominate the era's politics and ideas, radically changing the political landscape. The book provides an in-depth guide to the new groups at the center of our politics. Internationally renowned political strategist and pollster Stanley Greenberg puts the reader in the room with the strategists and politicians and shows how each party can win, even shatter the impasse. The Two Americas is a political primer and strategic playbook for this unique era - essential reading for any armchair political strategist or engaged citizen eager to understand our future politics.

Will be sent out on a bookring, once I've read it.

Hardcover.

Journal Entry 2 by avanta7 on Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Stanley Greenberg has written a deeply researched, extensively footnoted, highly readable indictment of our current political state, and we should be humbly grateful for it.

From the preface, where he observes the press "...prefers the politics of character...." to reporting anything of substance, to the afterword, in which he presents the two scenarios he developed in the previous 300 pages to his focus groups, Greenberg holds very few cows sacred and presents a relatively even-handed treatment of the current political deadlock.

However, I give you fair warning: If you, the reader, are not of the liberal persuasion, this book may irritate the starch out of you. Remember, I said "relatively even-handed." Also remember, I'm a liberal.

Greenberg starts out with a short review of the last 200 years of political history, showing us that one-party domination is the rule rather than the exception. He devotes much attention to the last fifty years, in which no party has dominated, and even greater attention to the last 25, from the Reagan Revolution in 1980 to the bitterly contested and still controversial 2000 brouhaha, and on to the beginnings of the 2004 campaign. (Incidentally, I was reading the section on President Reagan when he died and for the first few days of our national mourning period. I was struck by irony: the facts in Greenberg's work versus the hyperbole issuing from every talking head on television.) Greenberg's liberal bias is highly evident in this section: he is far too easy on President Clinton. I laughed out loud at "...[he] advanced his proposals for gays to serve in the military, thus dramatically illustrating the breadth of the principle for America's ever-expanding rights." Oh, puh-leeze. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was hardly a milestone in civil rights.

The author goes on to discuss the makeup of each party's core voters, or base; to present hypothetical, occasionally foul-mouthed, and often amusing "secret planning sessions" in which potential party strategies are plotted; and in the final sections, to propose a plan for each party to break the deadlock and pull the majority of voters in line with its political views. Footnotes and graphs and "chalk talk" illustrations abound throughout.

Greenberg writes in clear lucid prose, plainly setting out his premise while using minimal political jargon. While the book is meaty and dense with facts, the only dry thing about it is Greenberg's somewhat sardonic wit. It is a surprisingly funny book which should be read by every voter, regardless of political party.

Journal Entry 3 by avanta7 on Thursday, July 8, 2004
On loan to my manager. As soon as he reads and returns it, it goes out on a bookring.

Journal Entry 4 by avanta7 on Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Back in my hands and ready to go on a trip around the States. Bookring now forming!

Journal Entry 5 by avanta7 on Friday, August 20, 2004
Bookring participants thus far (subject to additions or revisions):

U.S.
Ixion
Rendiru
Zmrzlina (who is willing to send internationally, so we'll keep her as last on the U.S. list)

After the go-round in the States, we'll hop over the pond to:

Kernow8 -- Southhampton, England
Brujula -- Belfort, France

And then another go-round in the States:
Shendoah
Fanclub
PokPok

And one more hop across the pond:
Ardachy (added 06/08/2006)

And then back to me.

All participants, please make a journal entry when you receive the book, another for your review and a third entry when you mail it off to the next person. Feel free to make interim entries as you wish!

Journal Entry 6 by avanta7 on Saturday, August 21, 2004
Mailed to Ixion today.

Journal Entry 7 by Ixion from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Thursday, August 26, 2004
I received the book in the mail today in excellent condition with nifty plastic sheeting on the cover like they do in the libraries. Will start to read this weekend.

Journal Entry 8 by Ixion from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Thursday, September 9, 2004
I have to be quite honest here, I was a bit disappointed. It's quite obvious the author is a democrat, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the arguments he makes are less about what's right for the country but rather about winning a campaign -- how to appear like you care about the public rather than actually caring about the public. I guess I'm a bit skeptical of his true underlying intentions of writing the book. I was expecting a more independent look at the difference (or lack thereof) between the parties. Mailed on September 25, 2004 from Providence, RI to California.

Journal Entry 9 by Rendiru from Carmichael, California USA on Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Ooh, this looks like good election year reading material. I'll start it tonight, but it looks like it may take a while to get through. More later. :-)

Journal Entry 10 by Rendiru from Carmichael, California USA on Monday, November 1, 2004
Avanta7, you weren't kidding when you mentioned this book was meaty and dense. It took me a long time to wade through it. I found most of it interesting, but I found his writing a little confusing at times - it wasn't always clear to me when he was quoting real people and when he was making up examples in the section with postcards written to the president and the generic democratic candidate. Still, it was fascinating to see how many of the voter groups fit into today's political climate and to understand how the system could become so polarized.

This will head out to Shendoah later this week.

Journal Entry 11 by Shendoah from San Jose, California USA on Monday, November 8, 2004
Got it in today's mail. I"m slow as hell with political books, I'll try to keep it under a month. Yell at me if I'm taking too long.

Journal Entry 12 by Shendoah from San Jose, California USA on Sunday, December 5, 2004
I give up. I'm on page 15. I can't force myself to read this. I think I'm politically burnt out right now. Maybe if it comes back to the US, I can try again, but I can't even read anything else cause I'm annoyed I can't read this. Off to the PO when I get the next addie.

Journal Entry 13 by Shendoah from San Jose, California USA on Tuesday, December 7, 2004
FanClub asked to be skipped due to schoool load. Contacting PokPok

Journal Entry 14 by Shendoah from San Jose, California USA on Tuesday, December 7, 2004
PokPok is swamped with work and holiday's and asked to be skipped as well.

On the upside, when it swings back to the US, there'll be 3 takers!

Released on Wednesday, December 08, 2004 at about 3:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Controlled Release in Controlled Release, Controlled Release Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Off To Zmrzlina in the mail today.

Journal Entry 16 by PostMuse from Wellfleet, Massachusetts USA on Tuesday, January 18, 2005
I'm feeling a bit like the woman David Sedaris satirizes in Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim. She has two houses and in an oh-so-subtle, but not-so-subtle, way lets everyone know how difficult it is to live in two houses. Sedaris and his mother strive to perfect the woman's exact intonation when they say "my other house." Anyway...I got this book at my other house and completely forgot to journal it.

So, I've been reading this and though I like it better than the other "what went wrong" book I've been reading, What's the Matter With Kansas?, and I like it tons more than all the books the screaming Michael Moore et al group have produced, I am still not convinced the way to break the deadlock in US politics is to win more campaigns.

I've got to read more and then post a thorough review with references. I should be able to get through this by the end of next week and it will go off to England.

Thank you avanta7 for sending this out!


Journal Entry 17 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Monday, July 18, 2005
The Two Americas has arrived in Britain - thanks!

Journal Entry 18 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Friday, November 11, 2005
Just finished reading - sorry it took me so long! I'll journal my thoughts later, but for now I just wanted to let you know this book hasn't stalled, and I've asked Brujula for a mailing address.

Journal Entry 19 by Kernow8 from Southampton, Hampshire United Kingdom on Monday, November 28, 2005
Sent on to brujula today.

I've just read the previous journaler's comments and have to say I'm in complete agreement with Rendiru, with the added complication that I read the book after the US presidential election, so my reading was tainted by the knowledge that Bush is still in the White House.

Thanks for the read, avanta7.

Journal Entry 20 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Friday, December 2, 2005
The book has arrived safely in France.
I've already taken a look at the first pages, and it looks really interesting, although I'm afraid it will take me some time to read it all!
Thank you for the ring, avanta7 and thanks for mailing it here Kernow8!

Journal Entry 21 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Monday, February 20, 2006
Just a little update:

I started reading this book a long while ago, and then was swamped with work and needed something lighter to read (I should say to fall asleep with, as this is what happened most of the time). I'm taking the book on vacation with me and hope to finish it some time next week...
I've tried to pm Shendoah for his/her adress, but he/she doesn't accept PMs...
I'll try again when I've finished reading, or post an ISO in the forums.
Please do excuse me for keeping the book so long.

Journal Entry 22 by Shendoah from San Jose, California USA on Monday, February 20, 2006
You can skip me. I've got to much going on right now to participate and would just hold up the chain.

Thanks
Shen

Journal Entry 23 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Boy, do I feel dumb!

I just didn't notice Shendoah had already journaled the book a while ago!

Ok, I'll ask Fanclub for his/her adress then!

Journal Entry 24 by Brujula from Valenciennes, Nord-Pas-de-Calais France on Friday, June 9, 2006
I found this book very interesting, but it was a little hard to read.
I finally made it to the post office and mailed it to fanclub this afternoon.
I apologise for keeping this book so long.

Journal Entry 25 by fanclub on Monday, July 24, 2006
Arrived today, and will be started as soon as I finish my current book!

Journal Entry 26 by fanclub on Sunday, September 3, 2006
Over the past month I have tried delving into this book several times. I can't seem to get myself into it. I don't know if it is that I, like other readers in this ring, feel "politick'ed out" or if my brain just isn't up to a heavy read right now or if I just don't like the book. Whatever it is, I feel it is only fair to move the book along to its next reader.

I have contacted Ardachy for an address and will be mailing this out in the coming week.

Journal Entry 27 by wingardachywing from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Received today as the USA mid-term election results hit the news. I have just started on another book but should start on this within the week. Thanks to fanclub for sending this to me and to avanta7 for starting the ring.

Journal Entry 28 by wingardachywing from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Wednesday, November 15, 2006
I wanted to read this book because it was recommended as a useful start in understanding how the political parties had developed in the USA. I wanted to know how the position had been reached where Americans could elect someone like George W Bush and the litmus tests dividing the parties was policies on Abortion, School Prayers and attitude to gun control etc. For me this book fulfilled this task admirably in the first few chapters.

What I could not understand was the authors obsession with the current parity between the two parties. To me this is an almost inevitable consequence of having a two party system. So instead of embarking on a discussion of reforms to the political system to bring the "Two Americas" together he examines in detail how one party can achieve dominance. I almost felt as if he believed a one party state would be preferable.

As for his plan to achieve dominance for the Democrats I felt that was something the Conservative Party in the UK would be comfortable with although whether they would be elected is another matter. It is strange that since the Reagan / Thatcher years when US and UK conservatives appeared to have so much in common they have now been pushed in such different directions.

Journal Entry 29 by wingardachywing from Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom on Thursday, November 16, 2006
Being sent back to avanta7 in the USA today. Thanks again avanta7 for starting this ring.

Journal Entry 30 by avanta7 on Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Arrived home yesterday. Thank you, everyone, for a successfully completed book ring!

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