“The Working Class Republican is a fascinating, highly readable analysis of Ronald Reagan’s particular brand of conservatism. In Henry’s excellent book, we learn that Reagan was hardly the ideologue many of his biggest detractors (and fans) presume, but felt that energetic government sometimes could and should be deployed on behalf of America’s working class. By shining some much needed light on modern conservatism’s most important figure, Henry Olsen has also showed the Republican Party a way forward.” -- J.D. Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Hillbilly Elegy

“An urgent warning for conservatives: If you admire Reagan - listen to him. What you learn will surprise you - and may save you.” -- David Frum, Senior editor, The Atlantic

“Henry Olsen’s original and remarkable book argues that the Republican Party can only win national electoral majorities if it goes beyond appeals to ideological conservatism and gains the support of working class voters in the nation’s heartland. These voters, once known as Reagan Democrats, do not look at politics through the lens of political theory, but in terms of “helping people like us.” Abandoned by Democrats and largely forgotten, at least until this year, by Republicans, this voting bloc is the lynchpin of our electoral system. And it was at the core of how Ronald Reagan always viewed the American voter. ” -- James W. Ceaser, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

Though Ronald Reagan is one of our most beloved presidents, he’s also one of our most misunderstood. In The Working Class Republican, Henry Olsen brings to light the real Reagan. Far from a rigid ideologue or an “amiable dunce,” he was a New Dealer at heart who wanted to make the economy work for all Americans, whether rich or poor. -- Reihan Salam , Executive Editor of National Review

“With this nuanced portrait of Ronald Reagan’s political evolution and maturation, Henry Olsen challenges many of his fellow conservatives to rethink, as Reagan did, the art of the possible in the America that the New Deal made.” -- George F. Will, Columnist, Washington Post

“Henry Olsen, one of the sharpest and most indispensable political analysts alive today, saw Trump coming when almost everyone missed it. Now he sees in Reagan what others missed. Agree or not The Working Class Republican promises to ignite a whole new fight over Trump, Reagan and the meaning conservatism. ” -- Jonah Goldberg, Senior Editor, National Review

Since when are the Republicans the party of the common man? Since Reagan.

Donald Trump’s election has led many to wonder if the Republican Party remains the Party of Reagan. In fact, President Trump’s election gives Republicans their last, best hope to re-Reaganize the GOP. Political analyst Henry Olsen reveals that the simplistic antigovernment Reagan most Republican politicians invoke is a myth. The real Reagan was a lifelong fan of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and supported the robust safety net FDR’s New Deal created and inspired. In The Working-Class Republican, Olsen argues that Reagan successfully wooed working-class voters—the “Reagan Democrats”—by convincing them that he was preserving, not rejecting, Roosevelt’s legacy.

As Olsen shows in this provocative work, Reagan developed a unique conservative philosophy that enhances freedom while using government to actively help Americans receive what they deserve, provided they work to the best of their abilities.

President Trump’s robust defense of American manufacturing and the safety net was closer to Reagan’s and FDR’s visions than anything Republicans have offered since the Reagan era. It’s no wonder, then, that he was the first Republican nominee since Reagan in 1984 to carry all five of the Reagan Democrat-dominated midwestern states—Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—and with them, win the presidency.

The story of Reagan’s rise and his importance for today’s America and Republican Party has never seemed as fresh and as relevant as it does in The Working-Class Republican.