Crackup, Samuel L. Popkin
Crackup, Samuel L. Popkin
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Crackup
The Republican Implosion and the Future of Presidential Politics

Author: Samuel L. Popkin

Narrator: John Pruden

Unabridged: 10 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 05/19/2021


Synopsis

In Crackup, Samuel L. Popkin tells the story of how the Republican Party fractured into uncompromising groups with irreconcilable demands. Changes in campaign finance laws and the proliferation of mass media opened the way for newly energized groups to split the party. The 2002 "McCain-Feingold" campaign finance reform bill aimed to weaken the power of big corporations and strengthen political parties by ending corporate donations to the parties. Instead, it weakened legislative leaders and made bipartisanship toxic.

Popkin argues that moving money outside the political parties fueled the rise of single-issue advocacy groups and Super PACs funded by billionaires with pet issues. This allowed self-promoting politicians to undermine colleagues with an unprecedented use of tactics once only used to disrupt the other party. One such politician was Ted Cruz, who effectively promoted himself at the expense of the party, mobilized other obstructionists in Congress, and blocked compromises on immigration and healthcare. Into this abyss came Donald J. Trump, who took advantage of the party's inability to do anything for Republican voters struggling with economic decline.

A gripping explanation of why the GOP ended up with Trump as their standard bearer, Crackup forces us to look at the deeper forces set in motion two decades ago.

About Samuel L. Popkin

Samuel L. Popkin is Research Professor of Political Science at the University of California San Diego and has been a consulting analyst in five Democratic presidential campaigns, in addition to consulting for polling with CBS News and YouGov. He is the author of The Reasoning Voter and The Candidate.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul

This is a good book and is well worth reading if you are interested in the recent history of the Republican Party (and let's be honest, who isn't interested in that question these days?). However, I do need to bring readers' attention to the fact that it is not the most reliable book ever published.......more

Goodreads review by Garrett

Popkin analyzes recent electoral history like no one other than a political scientist could, then preaches the endless flow of money and history at you until you fully understand what has happened to the GOP in "recent" years, when it has happened before, and how it could happen again. This book is......more