If ever an author missed a
golden opportunity to explain Donald Trump and the American voter, it might be
David Brown, a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, with
his new book, Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from
the Founding to Today.
The title alone makes you
think he’s written about voters. But you
soon discover he focused on a few presidents, their moderate views and how that
helped them win the White House.
In a time when people are
taking to the streets against Trump, yelling at Congressional representatives
during town meetings, or venting anger on social media – in other words, in an
era marked by high tension, distrust and vitriol as people attempt to figure
out where the United States is headed – this book stands out as a total miss for
these turbulent times.
Had he showed how
Americans size up issues and candidates as they determine their voting
preferences, this book would be a worthwhile read. Comparing recent American voting habits to
the most recent election, it’s hard to believe a candidate as disruptive as Trump will be seen again, from either major political party, and
it’s unfortunate he didn’t explore this issue.
Another problem with this
book is the history presented about President Carter. If all you knew about Carter was what you
read from Professor Brown, you might think his downfall was due to two
challengers from within his own party, Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and
California Gov. Jerry Brown. The U.S.
Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran – which made him vulnerable to those challengers
and destroyed his presidency – is never mentioned.
The next faux pas Brown
makes is to repeat a tired criticism of the Republican Party – that unless it includes
more minorities and women in its ranks, it’s likely to die off, a critique that
circulated after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney failed to knock out Barack
Obama from the White House in 2012, something that didn’t matter in 2016.
If there’s any take away
from this book it might be that last November’s election was an
aberration. Over the last 40 years, Americans
chose presidential candidates not too wedded to their political party. Presidents Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill
Clinton and Obama are cited as examples.
Indeed, a Gallup Poll, released
in January 2016, about political affiliation suggests moderates should continue
to win the White House because 42 percent of American voters identify as
independents while 29 percent identify as Democrats and 26 percent identify as
Republicans.
If you're going to write about moderates, shouldn't this detail be in the book? Perhaps the professor should take a class on research.
If you're going to write about moderates, shouldn't this detail be in the book? Perhaps the professor should take a class on research.
“The rise in political
independence is likely related to Americans’ frustration with party gridlock in
the federal government,” Gallup reported.
But Gallup also pointed
out a contradiction: Sixteen percent of
independents lean toward the Democrats and the same percentage leans Republican,
giving each party more than 40 percent of all voters, meaning there are far fewer
independents out there. These numbers also
provide a warning – politicians, at the national level, cannot stray too far
left or too far right.
They also say there’s not
a shred of evidence the Republican Party will implode; that the Democrats will
easily waltz back into the White House – because of the Electoral College just
might stop them again in 2020 – or that they’ll dominate Congress after next
year’s midterm elections because more voters find Democratic Party positions
acceptable. In other words, there are no
guarantees about future elections.
The problem with this book
is that the author was lazy. He doesn’t
offer a shred of new scholarship nor does he take a chance to explain why Americans tend to prefer moderates at the helm. Instead, he parrots what others have
written. That said, his conclusion appears accurate:
A successful presidential candidate tends to be a centrist, someone independent
voters and the party faithful find suitable.
But had he done the work a book like this requires -- examining Americans’ tendency to skew a hue of purple instead of bright red or deep blue, checked his history, perhaps even accompanied reporters during last year’s primary and election seasons as they interviewed voters, it would stand out for offering great discovery about the American citizen. As it stands, however, it isn’t worth the money.
Publishing Information:
Moderates:
The Vital Center of American Politics, From the Founding to Today, by David S. Brown. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press,
2016. Available at barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com for $34.95
Gallup Poll:
