The Stronghold

November 24, 2014
Political scientist and Baltimore Sun columnist Schaller (Whistling Past Dixie) charts the factionalism and internal schisms of the Republican Party in an astute and engaging manner, from the disappearance of moderate and liberals to the rise of a "xenophobic fringe" that consistently wins congressional races but alienates the electorate in presidential contests. While the topic of the modern GOP's rightward drift is nothing new, Schaller's explains the complex political history with plenty of nuance but largely without academic jargon. He persuasively argues that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, architect of the 1994 "Contract With America, had a "more lasting impact on the party than any other Republican, including Ronald Reagan" by making loathing of government a core principle. Schaller also lays out a case that simple majority control of the House of Representatives gives the Republicans enough power to govern, if sometimes only as "the party of no," without being forced to confront shifting national demographics in which a predominantly white male vote is no longer sufficient. Schaller's solution for the party's long-term survivalâembracing effective state governors as less extreme candidatesâis not novel, but he shows that if it does not happen, the GOP will weaken further still.

November 15, 2014
Political writer Schaller (Political Science/Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County; Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, 2006) examines how Republicans sacrifice presidential power for congressional clout.The author tackles a subject that has been bandied about in radio and TV in superficial ways but until now has not really been comprehensively covered in extended book-length form: how the Republican Party has not only become a political party at war with itself, but also a party that has become, in a purely congressional context, one of the most disruptive and obstructive forces in American political history and a party whose presidential potential has steadily diminished. Schaller's main thesis is clear: "The Republican Party is a Congress-centered and specifically a House-heavy party because congressional Republicans made choices and staked out positions during the post-Reagan era that tended to benefit themselves at the expense of the party's presidential candidates." While this is a somewhat general history of the post-Reagan Republican Party, it's also a straightforward recent history of the party's steady shift rightward, culminating in the far-right tea party wing. Schaller puts forward Newt Gingrich, not Reagan, as the most significant figure in the Republican Party. Gingrich, after all, instituted the policy that avoids compromise with the opposition at all costs, which is the same policy in effect today. Unfortunately, the author spreads his research too thin at times, and the main thrust of his argument tends to get lost in peripheral historical detail. The writing is also pockmarked with the sort of pesky political cliches and catchphrases that can often mar mainstream political radio and TV. However, Schaller takes care not to let the book fall into overly partisan territory (although he's assuredly pro-Democrat), and he lays out a simple, just-the-facts approach. He ends with a conclusion that's as simplistic as it is convincing. Occasionally facile but credible examination of the GOP's self-destructive Congress-centric power shift.

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