4.0
Blue Grit
ByPublisher Description
As the right-wing has known for decades: in tight elections, motivated grassroots groups with grit make the difference. Don’t sell them out, Democrats, for the centrist voter on the fence, says Flanders. There’s a tide of progressive activism rising that’s changing what’s possible in American politics. She’s traveled the country and gathered more than enough entertaining evidence to make her case.
Laura Flanders, the New York Times best-selling author of Bushwomen, believes there are no such things as “red” and “blue” states. Even in the most surprising places, she’s finding progressive change. From Vermont to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas’s famous Strip, Flanders journeys through the heartland USA and discovers a simple truth: people don’t vote for the GOP because Republicans represent their interests; they vote Republican because Democrats barely field a team.
Adamant, opinionated, funny, and always engaging, Flanders chronicles what she’s learned from scores of voters and activists—about how change is happening in Main St. USA, even if it rarely catches the attention of the mainstream media. Mormons defending women’s rights, casino owners teaming up with waitresses to raise the minimum wage; blue collar construction workers and lesbian mothers working together to make their workplaces safer and more secure for all. Flanders finds young, supposedly “alienated” Americans, who are driving scores of new voters to the polls. Fiery polemic, assured narrative, and acute political commentary, Blue Grit will be crucial reading for everyone interested in the future of the Democrats, and this country.
Laura Flanders, the New York Times best-selling author of Bushwomen, believes there are no such things as “red” and “blue” states. Even in the most surprising places, she’s finding progressive change. From Vermont to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas’s famous Strip, Flanders journeys through the heartland USA and discovers a simple truth: people don’t vote for the GOP because Republicans represent their interests; they vote Republican because Democrats barely field a team.
Adamant, opinionated, funny, and always engaging, Flanders chronicles what she’s learned from scores of voters and activists—about how change is happening in Main St. USA, even if it rarely catches the attention of the mainstream media. Mormons defending women’s rights, casino owners teaming up with waitresses to raise the minimum wage; blue collar construction workers and lesbian mothers working together to make their workplaces safer and more secure for all. Flanders finds young, supposedly “alienated” Americans, who are driving scores of new voters to the polls. Fiery polemic, assured narrative, and acute political commentary, Blue Grit will be crucial reading for everyone interested in the future of the Democrats, and this country.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesBlue Grit Reviews
4.0
Colleen Luther
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“I'm not really a radio listener, so I was unfamiliar with Flanders when I went to see her speak at the local "Sanctuary for Independent Media." But I am a feminist and a media junkie, so it turns out I was familiar with a lot of her work, such as starting the women's desk at FAIR (Fairness and accuracy in reporting). I left the talk armed with a signed copy of this book.
For me, it was one of those books that flushed me with relief - relief that I wasn't the only one frustrated with my political party (the Democrats). I wasn't the only Democrat who was confused and disheartened by the continual shift to the center, while ignoring or taking the very base of the party for granted.
This book talks about those ignored activists. How the Democratic party needs to embrace the margins to strengthen ourselves again.
It starts off strong, with visits to various states to discover what a Democrat truely is. As the book went on, it got a little more muddled. I stopped halfway in, during the chapter on budgeting, because I just found that truely boring. But it picked up again with the chapter, "Learn to Love the Culture Wars."
It's not a preachy book. She doesn't tell you who you should vote for. She just show you what activists around the country are doing - often contrary to what party leaders would like - and the success of those actions.”
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