All Politics Is Local, Meaghan Winter
All Politics Is Local, Meaghan Winter
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

All Politics Is Local
Why Progressives Must Fight for the States

Author: Meaghan Winter

Narrator: Meaghan Winter

Unabridged: 10 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2019


Synopsis

Democrats have largely ceded control of state governments to the GOP, allowing them to rig our political system and undermine democracy itself.
After the 2016 election, Republicans had their largest majority in the states since 1928, controlling legislative chambers in thirty-two states and governor offices in thirty-three. They also held both chambers of Congress and the presidency despite losing the popular vote. What happened?
Meaghan Winter shows how the Democratic Party and left-leaning political establishment have spent the past several decades betting it all on the very risky and increasingly foolhardy strategy of abandoning the states to focus on federal races.
For the American public, the fallout has been catastrophic. At the behest of their corporate patrons, Republican lawmakers have diminished employee protections and healthcare access and thwarted action on climate change. Voting rights are being dismantled, and even the mildest gun safety measures are being blocked.
Taking us to three key battlegrounds--in Missouri, Florida, and Colorado--Winter reveals that robust state and local politics are the lifeblood of democracy and the only lasting building block of political power.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Betsy on June 12, 2019

This book has a lot of good pieces to it. There are many examples presented that illustrate why as progressives, we need to renew our focus on state and local politics. The descriptions of each phenomenon are well-researched and, individually, they are interesting. However, I couldn't help but get th......more

Goodreads review by Dee on September 24, 2019

The author is a talented writer, consistently putting forth persuasive arguments to back up her points. Unfortunately, many times only the information that will support her points is included, and many well-known and easily found facts that contradict her words are omitted. While the author presents......more

Goodreads review by Anya on October 07, 2019

Like many liberals, I was upset and confused by the 2016 election. How did we go from Obama to…this? What did the Democratic Party do—or not do—that led to Republicans having the largest majority since 1928, and how can we correct for 2020 and beyond? All Politics is Local answers those questions. I......more

Goodreads review by Jim on November 09, 2020

A very good book that describes political organizing's failures and successes through three case studies in Colorado, Missouri, and Florida. Especially important analysis and recommendations post-2020 elections, when Democrats failed to win over many voters in Senate, House, and state legislature ra......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on January 18, 2021

I thought this book might be a one-note argument for investing in state and local politics, however, it offers so much more. Winter lays out the chronology and evolution of Democratic investments, key players and organizing over the last 20 years, which I found incredibly illuminating. She also dive......more


Quotes

"In this rousing debut...Winter's account is well-reported and reasonable...With its emphasis on the power of long-term organization and incremental change, this book will speak deeply to aspiring activists."—Publishers Weekly

"A timely, urgent call for political engagement."—Kirkus Reviews

"The fight for control of state governments is the biggest sleeper issue in American politics right now and that story is told brilliantly in Meaghan Winter's new book. From extreme abortion bans to undermining gun control to gutting unions, Winter compellingly shows how democracy is being subverted in the states, and how Democrats and progressives can fight back."—Ari Berman, senior reporter at Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot

"Winter shows through deeply researched storytelling how progressives can win and keep winning: start with issues that matter in people's everyday lives, build infrastructure that can win on the local level, and grow our power from the ground up-not from DC down."—Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO

"Why do Democrats--the party of prosperity--keep losing to [Republicans]? Can this be changed? How much does it matter? Meaghan Winter's All Politics Is Local: Why Progressives Must Fight for the States looks into these questions with remarkable clarity and tenacity."—New York Review of Books