by David Frum
First published 1995
David Frum examines the Republican Party's ideological fractures after twelve years of failing to shrink government or cut deficits. The Forbes columnist combines sharp reporting with bold prescriptions as he traces how conservatives abandoned their economic focus from the 1980s for new obsessions with race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Frum argues that the Religious Right poses no real threat while explaining why Reagan never eliminated a single major spending program. He shows how the 1992 Republican convention strategy collapsed and why conservatives chose to embrace Big Government rather than fight it. The book dissects conservative positions on education, workfare, immigration, and enterprise zones while examining the movement's leadership. Frum warns that conservatives who abandon their anti-government principles face certain failure and maps a path back to core issues that could revitalize the party.
Genres: political-science, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ideological-conflict, social-commentary
Setting: United States
Period: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s
256 pages · Paperback · Basic Books