Book of the Week: What’s Wrong With Kansas?
Do people vote against their own interests? Thatโs the question Thomas Frank asks in his 2004 book, Whatโs the Matter With Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. ย Frank, an ardent liberal at his core, argues that Kansans have been conned by the Republican Party. ย Despite the stateโs blue collar identity, citizens reliably vote in favor of the party of big business; largely because of the Republican rhetoric of anti-elitism and cultural conservatism. ย In the end, Kansasโ status as red state isnโt whatโs best for the people. ย
Frankโs views in Whatโs the Matter With Kansas have proven controversial– the work has been criticised by many as condescending and contemptuous. ย Others have critiqued its failure to address economic and racial issues motivating voters. ย
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Indeed, just days away from Election Day, Frankโs vision seems to have been upended. ย Donald Trump claims to speak for working people, and rejected the favorable assessment of free trade and big business that Republicans have advocated for so long. ย
But it could be argued the hypothesis of Whatโs Wrong With Kansas still holds true. ย Donald Trump, many say, is just as a much a con artist as the GOP Frank portrays. ย A life of cheating workers and advocating sexual assault, they might say, is antithetical to Kansasโ evangelical and traditionally conservative values. ย
Itโs hard to know how accurate Frankโs ideas are– but they are nevertheless important to understanding Americaโs complicated political environment. ย
