Are third or non-major party politics a dead end in this age of two highly polarized major political parties? New author, Sean Scallon, argues no and shows why in his new book Beating the Powers that Be: Independent Political Movements and Parties of the Upper Midwest and Their Relevance for Third Parties of Today. Scallon shows examples of successful, non-major parties that have organized themselves on the basis of local economies, ethnic groups and religions. He highlights three of them that happen to be from the region he calls home, the Upper Midwest. They are the Non-Partisan League of North Dakota, the Farm-Labor Party of Minnesota and the Progressives of Wisconsin.In so doing, he provides examples and ways current, non-major political parties and independent political movements can fulfill their traditional role in U.S. politics.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overall, a fine effort, interesting read, and excellent viewpoint,
By Jeff Taylor (Jacksonville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beating the Powers that Be: Independent Political Movements and Parties of the Upper Midwest and their Relevance for Third Parties of Today (Paperback)
Yes, this book could have benefited from more editing. Also, an index would have been helpful. But the book does include endnotes and the occasional inaccuracy or typo is more than balanced-out by the multitude of interesting details and the quality of political perspective. I attribute deficiencies in editing and packaging to the print-on-demand publisher. Such an arrangement is often necessary for talented writers with something to say who may lack commercial appeal or academic connections. I'm not too judgmental about the end result. Would it be better for no book to exist at all? I don't think so. I gladly recommend this book to political activists, political scientists, historians, and citizens.
Scallon writes as a populist, a viewpoint as American as apple pie but one which is neglected or scorned by elite-oriented professional scholars. Scallon has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Midwest political history. For example, he can put Paul Wellstone's career into a proper context. He goes beyond just looking at elections and politicians. He highlights cultural aspects and grassroots voters. The author conducted numerous interviews with political leaders and scholars, and did on-site research in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. So this isn't just a reliance on secondary sources. There is some new and important research here. And Scallon writes well. Polk County, Wisconsin, is used as a case study for a fascinating examination of La Follette's Progressive Party. Scallon does not claim that this county was the center of state, or regional, progressive activity. On his web site, the author responds to criticism in the Amazon review below: "Yes, I could have highlighted Progressive activity in Madison and Dane County, but without places like Polk County there would not have been a statewide Progressive Party. Polk County had the demographics that are the building blocks any political party needs to be successful. Non-major parties need to organize themselves in this fashion.....A movement of upper-class Madisonians would not have cut it. The Progressives needed Scandinavian farmers and co-op members to work..." [......]
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
More nostalgic than remedic,
By D. M. Miller (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beating the Powers that Be: Independent Political Movements and Parties of the Upper Midwest and their Relevance for Third Parties of Today (Paperback)
I'm currently reading this book, and as much as I'd like to say I like it, I find it disappointing. It's premise of holding up the third party movements of the progressive Midwest as a remedy to today's problems smacks more of nostalgia than deep analysis. And that history is retold in a most clumsy manner, eschewing any chronological narrative in favor of a more scattershot regional approach that often digresses into other areas and other area's reformers.
I also found many inaccuracies. For example, Charles Van Hise is dubbed as Bob La Follette's mentor, but in fact he was a classmate. It was UW president John Bascom who was the greater inspiration. He claims that socialists held the office of Milwaukee mayor until 1960, but that wasn't without interuption. His affinity for a northwestern Wisconsin county accounts for his claim that the tiny local progressive newspaper there was the engine behind the Progressive movement in Wisconsin and beyond. That story certainly deserves telling (and one wishes he would have instead written the entire book about that corner of the state), but his praise is all out of proportion. On top of this, Scallon's syntax is often awkward, and the book is rife with typos and poor grammar (or extremely poor editing.) His historical narrative only briefly touches on current situations, and I can only conclude that Scallon relishes retelling the story of the progressives, but his insistence on revelency seems forced and tacked on.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Third-party power,
By Storm King (Wisconsin, WI. USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Beating the Powers that Be: Independent Political Movements and Parties of the Upper Midwest and their Relevance for Third Parties of Today (Paperback)
Sean Scallon has written a book that illustrates some ways current non-major political parties can fulfill a "traditional" role in national politics.
Scallon wrote "Beating the Powers that Be," recommended reading for those who are not finding what they need from the Democrats or Republicans - and for those who simply find political history fascinating. The book does a good job at making us think about how entrenched we've become with the two-party system. The book makes for interesting reading.
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