Countering the conservative Red State culture and its result, a quasi-vassal state indebted to foreign interests, the author analyzes Democratic Party politics and lays out a theoretical justification and historic, economic and social framework for advancing a new set of liberal-progressive ideas. Analyzing Red and Blue regions and the links with economic history, he shows how the Democrats can become the majority party again.

What does a recently divorced 40-something California woman living in the new millennium have in common with teenage lovers from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds living in the South during the 80's? And what binds these three to a middle aged married couple from Ohio who have a wonderful New Year's custom that begins in the 60's and continues to the present? Guess you'll have to read their stories to find out!

The American political maps of the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections were colored Red and Blue. We've all seen them on the news and in print. We've heard them discussed at length. They've become something of a media icon. Of course like any icon they are open to interpretation. And so one might ask, what are we to think about the Red States and Blue States? Many traditional pundits have weighed in on this question, and they've told us what they think. That is good up to a point, but what about other interpretations? Ed Bremson addresses this question in The Tao of Red States and Blue States. He looks at the Red State and Blue State phenomenon through the lens of Chinese philosophy. He arrives at answers (and questions) that stimulate our thinking and enlighten our understanding.

The presidential election of 2004 demonstrated that the United States is divided in a number of ways--not only, by the ever-present alienation between conservatives and liberals. Religion and politics have become intertwined and a new trend is sweeping the nation that accompanies the ever-widening rift between conservative and liberal Christians. We are a divided nation. In Red State, Blue State, author John Grevstad challenges the ideals and morality of the conservative right. How would the traditional moral values of the Red State conservative hold up to the words and philosophy of Jesus Christ himself? Grevstad both asks and answers the question. Citing Biblical text, Grevstad alleges that Jesus was a "card-carrying liberal" whose message has been destroyed by Red State conservatives. Additionally, Grevstad uses a humorous tone and clever insights as he compares the lifestyle, values, and culture of Red States and Blue States. These comparisons are intelligent, controversial, and enlightening. Red State, Blue State is an entertaining and eye-opening contribution to the cause of the American liberal. It offers profound insights while being a clever, highly volatile, and courageous attempt to speak out and do something about the political and religious climate of this country. Red State, Blue State is filled with words of wisdom the country needs to hear.

Despite winning control of twenty-four new state governments since 1992, Republicans have failed to enact policies that substantially advance conservative goals. This book offers the first systematic assessment of the geography and consequences of Republican ascendance in the states and yields important lessons for both liberals and conservatives.

Imagine if you felt out of step with every other member of the parent association at your kid's school, your quilting circle, or even your workout group. What if casual conversations revolved around Fox News and the decline of American values? How would you feel if you were afraid to put a political bumper sticker on your car or had to think twice about what liberal posts you liked on Facebook? These are just some of the experiences shared by liberals across twenty states and five time zones who tell their stories with honesty, warmth, and humor. Most of us have to “talk across the aisle” once or twice a year—when we're seated next to our conservative out-of-town uncle at Thanksgiving, say. But millions of self- identified liberals live in cities and towns—particularly away from the East and West Coasts—where they are regularly outnumbered and outvoted by conservatives. In this uplifting and completely original book, Justin Krebs, the founder of the national Living Liberally network, speaks with and tells the stories of atheists, vegetarians, environmentalists, pacifists, and old-fashioned liberals—a term he is intent on rehabilitating—from Texas to Idaho, South Carolina to Alaska. Krebs weaves these stories together to create a provocative and rollicking taxonomy of strategies for living in a diverse society, with lessons for every participant in our great democratic experiment.

No one will protect you. Months after being named the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. announced his decision to leave the public school system. His career as a high school English teacher had spanned more than a decade but ended abruptly—another casualty of the cruel and dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination that is creeping back into the halls of government and the homes of Americans. At the beginning of Carver's career, an administrator warned him about discussing his otherwise openly gay identity at work: "No one will protect you, including me." A new administration allowed for more freedom, but the initial warning eventually rang true. School officials failed repeatedly to address harassment of students and of Carver himself, until he could no longer endure such a purposeful deterioration of human rights. While Carver's testimony before the House of Representatives brought much-needed attention to the need for protections for LGBTQ+ people in schools, the damage was done. In Gay Poems for Red States, Carver counters the injustice of a persistent anti-LGBTQ+ movement by asserting that a life full of beauty and pride is possible for everyone. More than a collection of poetry, Carver's earnest and heartfelt verses are for those wishing to discover and understand the vastness of Appalachia, and for the LGBTQ+ Appalachians who long for a future—for a home—in an often unwelcoming place.

Thirteen months after Trump allegedly captured the allegiance of "the white working class," a strike wave - the first in over four decades - rocked the United States. Inspired by the wildcat victory in West Virginia, teachers in Oklahoma, Arizona, and across the country walked off their jobs and shut down their schools to demand better pay for educators, more funding for students, and an end to years of austerity. Confounding all expectations, these working-class rebellions erupted in regions with Republican electorates, weak unions, and bans on public sector strikes. By mobilizing to take their destinies into their own hands, red state school workers posed a clear alternative to politics-as-usual. And with similar actions now gaining steam in Los Angeles, Oakland, Denver, and Virginia, there is no sign that this upsurge will be short-lived. Red State Revolt is a compelling analysis of the emergence and development of this historic strike wave, with an eye to extracting its main strategic lessons for educators, labor organizer, and radicals across the country. A former high school teacher and longtime activist, Eric Blanc embedded himself into the rank-and-file leaderships of the walkouts, where he was given access to internal organizing meetings and secret Facebook groups inaccessible to most journalists. The result is one of the richest portraits of the labor movement to date, a story populated with the voices of school workers who are winning the fight for the soul of public education - and redrawing the political map of the country at large.

Beyond Red State and Blue State: Electoral Gaps in the 21st Century American Electorate explores the many demographic gaps that exist within the American electorate. This book is designed to explore the most important voting gaps in American politics today. It shows that twenty-first-century Americans are divided on a wide range of political fronts that go far beyond the somewhat simplistic red state, blue state rubric that has become so popular in American political discourse. Reality is far more complex. The authors capture and explain this complexity through a collection of chapters by leading scholars of a range of voting gaps, including racial/ethnic gaps, the marriage gap, the worship attendance gap, the income/class gap, the rural/urban gap, the gender gap, and the generation gap. Also included is a chapter by a leading political pollster and strategist, Anna Greenberg, on how campaigns use information about voting gaps.

Winner of a 2019 Foreword INDIES Award Silver Medal In Red State Christians, readers will get an honest look at the Christians who gave the presidency to the unlikeliest candidate of all time. Veteran journalist Angela Denker spent a year traveling across the United States, interviewing the Evangelical Christian voters who supported the Trump presidency and exploring how their voting block continues to influence the landscape of modern conservative politics. From booming, wealthy Orange County megachurches to libertarian farmers in Missouri, to a church in Florida where the pastors carry guns, to an Evangelical Arab American church in Houston, to conservative Catholics on the East Coast--the picture Denker paints of them is enlightening, at times disturbing, but always empathetic. In this expanded edition, Denker reflects on the lasting impact of the Trump presidency, the Christian white nationalism it emboldened, the 2020 election and transfer of power, and the subsequent insurrection at the United States Capitol. A must-read for those hoping to truly understand what Trumpism means for the 2020s and beyond.