A continuation of Hanes Walton Jr.’s work on Southern Democratic presidents, Remaking the Democratic Party analyzes the congressional and presidential elections of Lyndon Baines Johnson. This study builds upon the general theory of the native-son phenomenon to demonstrate that a Southern native-son can win the presidency without the localism evident in the elections of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Although ridiculed by contemporaries for his apparent lack of control over formal party politics and the national committee, Johnson excelled at leading the Democratic Party’s policy agenda. While a senator and as president, Johnson advocated for—and secured—liberal social welfare and civil rights legislation, forcing the party to break with its Southern tradition of elitism, conservatism, and white supremacy. In a way, Johnson set the terms for the continuing partisan battle because, by countering the Democrats’ new ideology, the Republican Party also underwent a transformation.

Widely cited by journalists and bloggers as the man to read to understand the political races, New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai has written a book about the Democratic Party that's as riveting as it is timely and vital. The Argument takes readers to the front lines of the grassroots progressive movement that is seizing power from the party's weakened D.C. establishment, capturing a colorful cast of donors and power brokers struggling to articulate a direction: an argument. The result is a fascinating, uniquely candid look at present-day politics.

Examining Southern support for Johnson throughout his political career and his transformative leadership of the Democratic Party

In this penetrating new study, Skocpol of Harvard University, one of today's leading political scientists, and co-author Williamson go beyond the inevitable photos of protesters in tricorn hats and knee breeches to provide a nuanced portrait of the Tea Party. What they find is sometimes surprising.

An assessment of the state of the Democratic Party in the new millennium, the betrayal of progressive ideals, and how real change can happen. The 2006 elections put the Democrats in the majority in both houses of Congress, yet those hoping for change were deeply disappointed. Likewise, the striking victory of Barack Obama and the Democrats in 2008 created a wave of optimism, but the promise would not be fulfilled. In this book, Lance Selfa looks at the Democrats in a broad historical perspective, showing that today’s betrayals stem from the Democratic Party’s role as one of the two parties serving the interests of the US establishment, not of the broader public or its “base” of women, African Americans, trade union members, and working and poor people. Many other books on the Democrats have seen the party’s recent history as a departure from its storied past as the “party of the people.” Selfa’s book is one of the few written for a popular audience to challenge this myth and to put today’s legitimacy crisis in the Democratic Party in a historical perspective, encouraging us to think beyond the next election cycle. “Worthy reading for anyone who is interested in social change.” —MediaMouse “With a new, duly-deserved chapter on the Obama Era, Lance Selfa’s The Democrats reveals the many ways in which the establishment Democratic Party has not just dashed progressive hopes over centuries but served as a distraction from the desperately needed business of making real change in this country. Writing dismal history like this is dirty work, but somebody’s got to do it and Selfa’s straight talk actually lifts ones spirits.”—Laura Flanders, host of The Laura Flanders Show

"While pundits obsess over who's up and who's down on Capitol Hill, the real action in Democratic politics is happening among the grass roots, where an emerging progressive movement - the first popular movement of the Internet age - is seizing power from the party's weakened Washington establishment. Bai gets deep inside this movement, penetrating a secret club of wealthy donors and following a group of other progressive power brokers - Howard Dean, the blogger Markos Moulitsas, the union chief Andy Stern, the leaders of MoveOn.org - as they vie with party leaders for control of a vastly changed Democratic landscape. What does it mean to be a Democrat seventy-five years after the New Deal, in a society transformed by the suburb, the Internet, and the mutual fund?"--BOOK JACKET.

The untold story behind the 1932 Democratic National Convention in Chicago--the pivotal battle in the remaking of the Democratic party--is placed within the larger context of the Roosevelt years and modern America.

From the founder of the influential Democratic Leadership Council, a behind-the-scenes look at the rise of the New Democrats and how they built the foundation for a new generation of progressive leaders

The U.S. Constitution makes no mention of political parties, yet parties began to form shortly after its ratification. Today, American democracy would not work without them. In Political Parties and Constitutional Government, Sidney Milkis explores the uneasy relationship between the Constitution and the party system to advance a novel argument: political parties arose as part of a deliberate program of constitutional reform. Forged on the anvil of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, parties initially formed as decentralized political associations that engaged the attention of ordinary citizens and held presidents accountable to local constituencies. But as the power of the presidency and the federal government grew, parties shifted their attention from building political support in the states and localities to vying for control over national administration and, in the process, lost their vital connection to the electorate. In the past thirty years, partisan disputes have more often than not involved confrontations between the president and Congress that have undermined the public's respect for American political institutions. With the decline of localized parties, Milkis concludes, there has arisen an administrative politics of rights and entitlements that belittles the efforts of Democrats and Republicans alike to define a collective purpose. Ending with a discussion of possible methods of revitalization and reform, this timely book does much to explain the reasons behind Americans' disenchantment with parties and the party system.

All over the world, political parties are being born and political pluralism is being fostered. Ironically, here in the United States, the parties are blurring together ideologically, and the political process is suffering. One of the messages of this book is that a vital two-party system is essential to America’s political health. The last thing this country needs, the authors argue, is two Republican parties. At this critical moment in history, the Democratic party has the opportunity to offer the nation a real political choice, a sense of direction, and a program to address the needs of Americans in a changing world. It is time, they say, for a change—a change that only the Democrats can provide. As recounted here, a generation of Republican administrations have had their chance. The results have not been happy: deepening social divisions, heightened inequalities in income distribution, a decaying educational system, environmental exploitation, an insensitivity to the concerns of the less powerful, the largest public debt in history, and a foreign policy based on force. Recurring constitutional crises have also erupted, as epitomized by the Iran-Contra affair. The record is a sorry one. Alternatives exist, and the best ones rest with the Democratic party. The Democrats must lead. It is their responsibility to offer a new vision of the future and the means for achieving it—to provide a program that is compassionate, just, and inclusive of all. The politics of greed, exploitation, self-promotion, and militarism must be put behind us. Such are the themes of this extraordinary book. Leading academicians, each an expert in his or her area, emphasize the need for new leadership, propose contributions that a progressive Democratic party could make, and suggest what this party should stand for as well as how it can win in 1992. They urge the Democrats to be both brave and principled-brave in defying the conventional wisdom that Democrats must be moderate to win, and principled in sticking to progressive ideals. The book provides analysis of such areas as the political impact of an issue-oriented, liberal party; the campaign and media choices required to get a progressive message across; the role and concerns of women, blacks, Hispanics, and other 262underrepresented groups; electoral and legislative strategies for success; and the substance of what a progressive policy agenda should contain. Challenging and thought-provoking, these essays will help reshape political thinking during this critical period in the nation’s history. Their objective is creation of a society that represents and responds to human needs, and the authors indicate the way to achieve these goals through an invigorated, forward-looking Democratic party.