The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma

By David Paul Kuhn

Book Overview

In the 1960s, the Republican Party began to win over a crucial demographic: white male voters. Presidential politics was transformed for a generation. David Paul Kuhn explains this fundamental fact behind the rise of the Republicans and the decline of the Democrats, and reminds the political left that midterm victories (1986, 2006) do not always equal sustainable success. In revealing, lucid prose, Kuhn explains how America's conservative party came to win a majority of workingmen and the White House. Grounded in practical politics, The Neglected Voter presciently reconfigures the American political landscape. Equipped with unprecedented research data, reporting, and exclusive interviews with such figures as Jimmy Carter, Norman Mailer, Mark Warner, and Pat Robertson, Kuhn examines the role of gender and racial identity in presidential politics through the social changes that have defined the last half century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1403982740
• ISBN13: 9781403982742
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 1.0" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Should Be Read

David Paul Kuhn, a journalist for outlets that cross party lines, handles a touchy subject with exceptional sobriety. His masterstroke is to neither criticize nor aggrandize the left, but to simply analyze how, practically, Democrats can win elections. This engagingly-written book left me feeling that I understood a great deal more about the electoral politics of my lifetime. Kuhn regards "masculine values" of honor and grit to be at the heart of the optimistic American point of view. By mocking or failing to represent these values, the Democrats lost their majority and their connection with the white (especially male) working class. It is notable that he quotes from right as well as left-wing figures, and that he quotes so often from Norman Mailer. It is as if Kuhn had to resort to the recently-deceased Mailer to find someone who stood classic notions of masculinity. A book whose title calls white men "neglected" will never sell as well as one like "who needs men?" or "stupid white men," but Kuhn's objectivity may actually change a few minds. There is a danger, however, that it will be overlooked because it doesn't fit neatly onto either side of the culture wars. That would be a shame. The book illuminates far more than its central topic.

Most Important Book for the 2008 Elections

In my view, gender is going to the the fault line of the 2008 elections and this book does an outstanding job of explaining the history and current state of gender politics. It absolutely is a must read for every candidate and his/her policy staff. Without understanding this book, they have little chance of winning the nearly 40% of the total vote constituted by the Neglected White Male Voter. Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Florida International University Miami

Fascinating reading

As a Republican, I found this book very interesting and must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading page after page about how the Democratic Party has failed at the polls because it has repeatedly attacked white men and failed to appeal to them. I greatly enjoyed every word of every sentence! Although the book's author is a Democrat, he very accurately describes the reasons why I and other white men I know vote Republican. In addition, the book's recommendations for getting the Democratic Party to attract white men are good ones. (Let's keep them a secret!) Regardless of the political views of the reader, this book is extremely well written and researched and is very compelling. I would highly recommend it. Anyone who is interested in politics or current events should buy it. (PS: Seth Kramer's review on this page is not based on a careful reading of the book, which does not blame the Democrats for Southern racists fleeting the party; rather, the book states that white men both in the South and elsewhere have shifted away from the Democrats and exhibit similar voting behavior.)

A provocative read

A very good read. If you are like me, you will be surprised by the conventional wisdom that this book turns on its head. Also, I guarantee as you read this book you will find yourself mentally parsing through the presidential candidates, trying to figure out who is going to be successful in reaching out to the consituencies that will elect the next president. It seems like anyone planning to vote in the upcoming primary elections is going to want to read this one before heading to the voting booth. Also, it is particularly thought provoking for those looking to understand the future strategic and policy directives of the Democratic party.

A refreshing look at the gender gap

I read this book in two days. It's intense, a really good read, and the best writing is, as others have said, when the author brings you inside the presidential races, most potently the ones that I never lived through but shaped so much of the politics I now do indeed live through, the late 1960s. Perhaps it was the polling data, which he does do a strikingly well job weaving with the narrative, but I had never looked at the gender gap this way. It's crazy but I cannot recall ever reading about the MALE side of the gender gap (and I read much of everything on politics): what Kuhn calls the White Male Gap. This is, straight away, a book about white guys, more than a third of our voters (which surprised me). At times I felt like I was reading about my father, who left Democrats with Reagan and as upset as he is at Bush, still can't get his heart around voting for a liberal. After reading this book, I finally understand why, why it all went down, why it is all around me when i'm talking politics, and why when these men in some sense abandoned the Democratic Party they took its ability to win a majority of Americans with them. This is the metaphor Kuhn uses, one of a divorce between Democrats and white men. It is indeed worth pondering... I recommend this book very much.