Chain Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights, and Taxes on American Politics [Paperback]

Mary D. Edsall (Author), Thomas Byrne Edsall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 1992

Three volatile issues—race, rights, and taxes—drive American politics today.

They have come to intersect with an entire range of domestic issues, from welfare policy to suburban zoning practices. In an explosive chain reaction, a new conservative voting majority has replaced the once-dominant Democratic presidential coalition, and a new polarization has pitted major segments of society against one another. How did this massive power shift occur? Thomas Byrne Edsall of The Washington Post and Mary D. Edsall provide answers in this compelling analysis, cited by Newsweek as "one of the book[s] that shape[d] the debate" in the 1992 presidential campaign.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a blunt, on-target analysis of the disintegration of the liberal coalition, Washington Post reporter Edsall, writing with his wife, charges that the Republican Party since 1964 has capitalized on issues of race and taxing, pitting proponents of meritocracy against advocates of special preference. These issues, the authors point out, now intersect in the minds of the electorate with a range of domestic controversies, from drug enforcement to suburban zoning practices. The Edsalls urge Democrats to learn from voter rejection and to engage in constructive, open discussion of such problems as soaring urban-ghetto crime and illegitimacy. In order to tackle the crises of poverty, race and educational reform, they insist, both parties require a "wrenching alteration of habit, strategy, and worldview." However, the book's scorecard of the last seven presidential elections is geared more to policymakers, scholars and activists than to general readers.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

For readers who wonder why Democratic coalitions have failed to retain control of the White House in recent elections, the Edsalls show how race, the civil rights decisions of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and the taxpayers' revolt have made Democratic presidents an endangered or possibly extinct species. They blame the Democrats' problems on their inability to see the impact of the agenda of the 1960s and 1970s on the middle-class and lower-class white vote. In addition, the authors place heavy emphasis on the increased prominence of fundamentalist Christianity in areas like the South, which had been crucial to the Democratic coalition. An excellent foil to Sen. Paul Simon's Once and Future Democrats ( LJ 5/15/82), which argued that to win elections, Democrats should not give up their issues or political soul. Recommended for general readers and informed laypersons. See also Peter Brown's Minority Party ( LJ 8/91)--Ed.
- Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (August 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393309037
• ISBN-13: 978-0393309034
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 20 years later, still timely. April 10, 2010

By W. Tuohy

Format:Paperback

I am more drawn to policy than to politics (political strategies and tactics, etc). Hence, although I both studied and taught political science/government, and later worked in government (including 10 years with a congressman), I paid little attention to the "politics" of government. This book (see the outstanding summary in Chapter 1) has been a real eye-opener (even when read in 2010).
The book offers invaluable insights into the strategies of the two main parties, and the rhetoric that surrounds them and their campaigns. I found it especially enlightening regarding my own party, the Democrats, who still today rely on various "special interests" (a pejorative applied by Republicans) and fail to perceive or acknowledge the costs (both political and policy) of such dependencies. Want to know more? Read this book. It really helps cut through the rhetoric to the reality.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent explaination of the past and future February 22, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

of American politics as we now know them today. After you read this book, you will understand what a republican is and a democrat is. It deeply explains what has happened to the minorities in our country and does make a good arguement how the 1964 Civil Right Act has been the catalyst to the current situation we have today. This book has made me more politically aware then ever before, and aided me in making a more educated decision of where I stand on the political continuim. This is an undervalued book on the market today, and is a great bargain for the knowledge it will give you of contemporary America.