Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson's highly readable book is a timely look at how extremists pulled the Republican Party to the right--and are now pulling the country along.
Even if it does not reflect a majority of Americans (who have more liberalized attitudes on abortion, contraception, and GLBT issues) the right learned that who is in control ultimately decides the agenda. Room in the 'big tent' for moderates in the mold of William Weld and Gerald Ford is rapidly shrinking today; the official party machinery does not recognize their positions on social issues as 'good policy'.
That shrinking environment produces an extreme polarization. Ironically as they accuse the Democratic party of being 'extremist left-wingers' the Republican Party moves ever-further to the right. Flying in the face of conventional electoral wisdom (which says the most voters are in the middle) this strategy has only become more pronounced in the past years.
The strategy is abetted by very careful media positioning. Using legislative leadership and media allies (ahem...Fox News) these extremists are able to convince a majority of the American public to 'trust us'. In other words, how a policy is sold becomes more important than that policy's actual effects upon the American people. We saw this both with President Bush's tax cuts package and the war on terror, both of which were originally adopted without significant visible public dissent 'We' are convinced that 'we' are included in the people to actually benefit from a bill---despite being in a much lower economic bracket.
I also appreciated their examination of the political role of agencies. How a bill is implemented can affect the public perception of enacted legislation and who is staffing an agency ultimately affects how policies are created and implemented to enact legislation. Both the White House and Republican congress are most likely to support people who share their unilateral view of the nation and world---'they' are the only ones with the 'correct' answers. If there is a problem, it is best to let 'other people' deal with it while you are moving onto another target.
Then there is the symbiotic view of the relationships between lobbyists and legislators, Republican Party leaders have figured out that the control of one facilitates the compliant nature of another.
However, I was honestly shocked by their research that social conservatives had not played a role in this shift because their conclusion trumps at least 30 years of evidence from many other political scientists.
Providing a thoughtful read, this book is highly recommended for personal and academic collections. Hacker and Pierson's engaging text encourages readers to think critically about American government, image, and power issues.
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