FRANK J. DiSTEFANO
The Next Realignment explains why America's two major parties are breaking as America begins a plunge into political chaos that will end with a political rebirth.
We're living in the middle of America's next major political realignment, the cycle of destruction and rebirth in which America's parties rise, rule, and then collapse into history.
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The great debate of the New Deal industrial era is over. Our New Deal parties of twentieth-century "liberal" Democrats and "conservative" Republicans is done. Our parties can no longer hold together their old coalitions around dead ideas about the past, instead of fresh ones about the future.
It's time again for our parties to collapse, leading to their renewal and reform.
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How do we know? From our history.
Realignments are a regular feature of American democracy built into the structure of the republic itself. By better understanding how America's previous party systems rose and fell, we can better understand what's happening to America now.
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Our decisions as we face this great transition will determine whether this is a traumatic realignment, like the one that destroyed the Whigs, or a quick burst of reform, like the one that launched the Populist and Progressive Era.
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The choice is up to us.
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If we heed our history, we can ensure this next realignment won't be a dangerous collapse. It can be a national renewal in which we the people restore the promise of the American Dream.
A necessary addition to the bookshelves of history buffs and political science enthusiasts.
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Kirkus Reviews
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Frank DiStefano does the near impossible. He combines a fascinating, thoughtful, insightful history of today’s dysfunctional, shrinking two-party system with an exciting vision of the future.
Donna Brazile, former interim chair, Democratic National Committee
A 'must' for students of American history and political process, who will find plenty of debate material and food for thought.
The Midwest Book Review
This is a must-read for those seeking a preview of the next act of the great American story.
Amanda Carpenter, CNN Contributor and Author of Gaslighting America
A compact and well-written history of our nation’s political and ideological systems.
The Washington Times
Frank DiStefano does a wonderful job of looking backward to help us look forward. We don’t know when the next major political realignment is coming . . . but it is coming.
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Charles Wheelan, Professor of Public Policy at Dartmouth College
and author of The Centrist Manifesto
A bold and deeply informed interpretation of our present moment. Anyone interested in trying to understand the present state of American politics should read this book.
Frank Lovett, Associate Professor of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis
After reading this essential book, you will never again look at American politics and political parties in the same way. DiStefano convincingly argues that the future is in our hands, and that we can—and we must—seize the opportunity to make our politics and our parties meet our needs as a nation and live up to our great democracy’s potential.
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Michael Signer, former mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, and author of Demagogue, Becoming Madison, and Cry Havoc
A must-read for scholars of political history—as well as for concerned citizens looking for a way out of our political nightmare.
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Antoine Yoshinaka, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo, author of Crossing the Aisle: Party Switching by US Legislators in the Postwar Era
