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Partisans : the conservative revolutionaries who remade American politics in the 1990s / Nicole Hemmer.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Basic Books, 2022Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: vii, 358 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781541646889
  • 1541646886
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction : the puzzle of the partisans -- The revolution -- The apostate -- The alternatives -- Reagan's heir -- The other leader of the opposition -- Angry white men -- and women -- Race sells -- Politically incorrect -- Pitchfork Pat -- High crimes -- The last Reaganite -- The triumph of pitchfork politics.
Summary: "For decades, Ronald Reagan's name has served as shorthand for the entirety of the modern conservative movement. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, Reaganism was, from today's vantage point, a brief digression in conservatism's history. In the 1980s, an unusual set of economic and political conditions and an unusually charismatic leader combined to win huge majorities for Reagan's vision of American exceptionalism, commitment to small government, and faith in free markets and free movement in an era of rapid globalization. But from the very moment Reagan left office in 1989, dissatisfaction with Reaganism in the GOP rank-and-file began to grow. In Partisans, historian Nicole B. Hemmer identifies the forces that were, often imperceptibly, rewriting the DNA of conservatism in the 1990s. Propelled by former Reagan devotees, from Pat Buchanan to Rush Limbaugh, the Republican Party abandoned the optimistic Reagan worldview that once seemed to bind the conservative movement together. Changing demographics, shifting congressional coalitions, and the emerging political-entertainment media fueled the rise of combative far-right politicians and pundits who mixed anti-globalism, appeals to white resentment, and skepticism about democracy. Under their leadership a new American right emerged. It would have far more in common with the isolationist, pessimistic Old Right of the 1930s and 1940s than with the Reagan coalition of the 1980s. Tracking the transformation of Reagan acolytes into Trump cheerleaders, Partisans is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the right's turn toward divisive, populist politics"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 320.5209 H489 Available 33111010895098
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A bold new history of modern conservatism that finds its origins in the populist right-wing politics of the 1990s



Ronald Reagan has long been lionized for building a conservative coalition sustained by an optimistic vision of American exceptionalism, small government, and free markets. But as historian Nicole Hemmer reveals, the Reagan coalition was short-lived; it fell apart as soon as its charismatic leader left office. In the 1990s -- a decade that has yet to be recognized as the breeding ground for today's polarizing politics -- changing demographics and the emergence of a new political-entertainment media fueled the rise of combative far-right politicians and pundits. These partisans, from Pat Buchanan and Newt Gingrich to Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham, forged a new American right that emphasized anti-globalism, appeals to white resentment, and skepticism about democracy itself.



Partisans is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the crisis of American politics today.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : the puzzle of the partisans -- The revolution -- The apostate -- The alternatives -- Reagan's heir -- The other leader of the opposition -- Angry white men -- and women -- Race sells -- Politically incorrect -- Pitchfork Pat -- High crimes -- The last Reaganite -- The triumph of pitchfork politics.

"For decades, Ronald Reagan's name has served as shorthand for the entirety of the modern conservative movement. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, Reaganism was, from today's vantage point, a brief digression in conservatism's history. In the 1980s, an unusual set of economic and political conditions and an unusually charismatic leader combined to win huge majorities for Reagan's vision of American exceptionalism, commitment to small government, and faith in free markets and free movement in an era of rapid globalization. But from the very moment Reagan left office in 1989, dissatisfaction with Reaganism in the GOP rank-and-file began to grow. In Partisans, historian Nicole B. Hemmer identifies the forces that were, often imperceptibly, rewriting the DNA of conservatism in the 1990s. Propelled by former Reagan devotees, from Pat Buchanan to Rush Limbaugh, the Republican Party abandoned the optimistic Reagan worldview that once seemed to bind the conservative movement together. Changing demographics, shifting congressional coalitions, and the emerging political-entertainment media fueled the rise of combative far-right politicians and pundits who mixed anti-globalism, appeals to white resentment, and skepticism about democracy. Under their leadership a new American right emerged. It would have far more in common with the isolationist, pessimistic Old Right of the 1930s and 1940s than with the Reagan coalition of the 1980s. Tracking the transformation of Reagan acolytes into Trump cheerleaders, Partisans is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the right's turn toward divisive, populist politics"-- Provided by publisher.

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