Conservative Politics

"[This book] expands and often upends existing histories by locating the early culture wars not in coastal campuses and think tanks but in Hereford, a small town in the Texas Panhandle." -- Jason Mellard, author of "Progressive Country"

With Election Day arriving one week from today, we look at two very close contests happening here in the Sooner State.

"[This book] expands and often upends existing histories by locating the early culture wars not in coastal campuses and think tanks but in Hereford, a small town in the Texas Panhandle. The themes of controversy and speech, patriotism and protest, outrage and offense, that are the political oxygen of the early twenty-first century all appear here, near fully formed, in the High Plains of 1974." -- Jason Mellard, author of "Progressive Country"

Question: How do closed primaries weaken our democracy? Answer: They produce elected officials who are more accountable to their party than their constituents, they restrict participation while also reinforcing division, and they exclude independent voters (who are the largest, fastest-growing sector of the US electorate).

Our guest, a lawyer with the Brennan Center for Justice, recently wrote an analysis titled, "SCOTUS Rulings Last Term Show What to Look for Next."

"Alice Rivlin's practical, optimistic, and inspirational voice shines through in this book, and its message is needed more than ever." -- Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

"[Leibovich is] just so good at this. He is a world-class ranter, continuing an American tradition that includes such dyspeptic luminaries as H.L. Mencken, Hunter S. Thompson, and P.J. O'Rourke.... [He's also] a brilliant interviewer able to wheedle not-quite-admissions from his subjects, who give him all the access in the world." -- The Washington Post

"The authors are tireless reporters, and the book's impact lies less in any headline revelations than in the accumulation of small details that can almost seem routine but that reveal the deeper condition of American democracy.... It's a document of decline and fall -- a chronicle that should cause future readers to ponder how American leaders in the early 21st century lost the ability and will to govern." -- The Atlantic

"[The] extent of McConnell's scorched-earth politics makes it clear why Washington has been either deadlocked or regressive. Anyone interested in social justice or the advancement of the ideals of democracy can read this chronicle and come away knowing who one of the principal political villains of the twenty-first century is." -- Booklist

"The book's title is a pun, and it's an apt one. What stands out the most from this gripping volume is how a reverence for authority -- if the right person is in charge -- is encoded into the various strands of this movement.... Required reading for anyone who wants to map the continuing erosion of our already fragile wall between church and state." -- The Washington Post