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In his book 1984, George Orwell described the state of perpetual war in his fictional future society by saying that the war wasn't meant to be won, it was only meant to be continuous. In WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS?, Thomas Frank illustrates how, and how effectively, the neoconservative right has implemented Orwell's concepts via a neverending war over culture and values.

Using his home state of Kansas as the model and focal point, Frank asks rhetorically why it is that Kansans so willingly espouse right-wing social issues (creationism, defunding public schools, prayer in schools, pro-life) while simultaneously allowing their state to become economically devastated by Republican free market policies of unfettered, unregulated capitalism. In other words, why do Kansans (and many other Red Staters) vote consistently against their pocketbooks, against their own economic self-interest?

With great specificity, Frank illustrates these behaviors and their devastating economic consequences by describing individuals and communities in Kansas. These are some of the strongest parts of his book, since they demonstrate through real people and real towns how life has changed, and continues to change, under Republican conservative rule. If anything, Frank could use more of these examples, particularly more description of some of the small towns and communities in his state that are dying a slow and tortured economic death. Regardless, the examples given convey the sense that Kansans are voting Red even as they vote themselves economically dead.

Frank correctly ascribes this seemingly self-contradictory behavior to the idea that Conservatives have discovered a means to incite permanent "backlash" among the Red Staters through culture wars. Whatever the issue, whether it's Janet Jackson's right breast or gay marriage in Massachusetts, Conservative politicians whip up fierce indignation and activism by threatening the loss of American moral values to the eastern, intellectual elite who support the denigration of those values and the denial of moral absolutes. And, as Frank points out, despite years of bitter denunciation, almost nothing has changed. The war rages on, but the Conservatives rarely win even a skirmish.

By focusing attention on culture issues, the Conservatives not only distract their followers from economic concerns, they remove capitalism itself as an issue. For Red Staters, capitalism is a natural force, and free markets are an absolute good. Concerns about environment, globalization, estate taxes, Wal-Martization, health and welfare all disappear, since laissez-faire is an inviolable principle. Capitalism cannot and must not be regulated in this worldview, and any restrictions and regulations designed to "thwart" it are necessarily wrong if not evil. The fact that culture itself -- MTV, Hollywood, Howard Stern, Fear Factor -- is a capitalist product that follows the same profit motivations goes unnoticed. In Kansas, as in most places, there is no connection in people's minds between culture and capitalism.

Frank has put his thumb directly on the source of America's current problems, the so-called Red State, Blue State divide. As I write this review on July 9, 2004, the United States remains embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan, our standing in the world is at an all-time low, Tom Ridge is warning against another imminent Al-Qaeda attack, the country is hemorrhaging jobs, young kids can less and less afford to go to college, gas and milk prices have soared to all-time highs, working men and women can't make ends meet even with two or more jobs, millions are without health insurance, the President claims the power to arrest and detain anyone he chooses without legal representation, and our education system is becoming enslaved to meaningless standardized tests. What solutions does our Republican President and Republican legislative branch offer? The Senate is too busy preparing for an all-out legislative war over a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to worry about real problems. The newspaper every day tells us just how correct Thomas Frank is in his analysis. Kansas isn't just Kansas, Kansis is us!

Anyone who truly wants to understand today's upside-down political world, who wants to understand how middle class people can enthusiastically support tax cuts that give them nothing and the rich more money and power, should read WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS? Mr. Frank offers clear and straightforward explanation of this bizarre phenomenon, and his insights and implications should send chills down the spines of those who espouse a free, fair, and open society. To quote Frank's closing line: that the "fever-dream of martyrdom that Kansas follows today...invites us all to join in, to lay down our lives so others might cash out at the top; to renounce forever our middle-American prosperity in pursuit of a crimson fantasy of middle-American righteousness." How much better can it be said?

First off, I ask readers who claim genuine objectivity to check out the excellent review of this book in National Review's June 28, 2004 edition (p48). NR is definitely the conservative stalwart's publication, but I found the review to be a fair assessment (read the final paragraph as proof). Once I read Mr. Frank's book, I had a better understanding of the angle he was coming from (bent considerably to the left). When finished, I came away with this: he's ticked off that the dumb masses of Kansas have been duped into having the nerve to hold values (God, Pro-Life, Gun Protection) that are diametrically opposed to the Democrats, and even though the Republican Party appeals to a Kansan's values, the fact that poor people could vote Republican is ridiculous, and strange at best. And so someone like Mr. Frank, who is canted towards the Marxist ideal, will never understand why Americans with lower incomes would ever vote Republican. Because, how economically useless are 'values?'

I think the voting trend makes sense, for this one simple reason: Marxists/Leftists/Socialists/Liberals/Democrats - WHATEVER their current disguise du jour - thrive on the poor and disaffected, and utterly depend on their vote. This despite the fact that most of the Donkey Party politicos were born, bought into, or stole fabulous wealth (Kerry+Edwards = over $1 bil in personal wealth; what an emotional tie they must have to their constituents!). Yet, c'mon people, poor folk DON'T WANT TO BE POOR!! The American demand for independence transcends one's yearly net income. Yet even Mr. Frank's book title hints at his impatience with independent thought ("Don't you all get it? Are you that stupid?" - what a compelling technique for unity!) Rather than lament, as he does, the question of why in hell would the poor vote overwhelmingly Republican, a better question might be to ask which party's polices will help one the most in the long run.

Without the poor and dependent, the Democrat's days of influence would end abruptly, since once a voter has gained economic independence (read: freedom) through private wealth, Republican policies traditionally are more attractive (granted, their record here is weakening with each new Fiscal Year). Democrat policies are by far a greater drain on the middle and upper class than Republican. Mr. Frank spends hundreds of pages denying this truism, yet voting records don't lie (but fat bearded 'documentarists' do). Without the poor, Dems would be homeless. So why would they ever support policies that help people create wealth and independence? Such policies would be political suicide for leftists.

Human nature will always seek freedom, it's in our genetic and spiritual makeup; therefor the policies (fiscal, educational, even spiritual) Mr. Frank evidently holds dear in his compelling yet flawed "What's The Matter With Kansas" will always, ultimately, fail.

Still a worthy book to peruse if you can get it for free.

I've already reviewed this book, in a sense; my glowing blurb appears on the back cover. Here's a review of the conservative reviewers, from George Will and the New York Times Book Review essayist to the folks on Amazons.

They make an astonishing concession: they grant Tom Frank's main point. He argues that the Republicans have nothing to offer working people on ECONOMIC TERMS. The conservatives don't seem to disagree. They only argue that the Republicans are worth voting for on cultural terms alone, and seek to demonstrate that this is a legitimate way to vote.

This is new. Conservatives used to argue that they had the most to offer ordinary Americans ECONOMICALLY--and ALSO culturally. Now, on economics, they've simply given up. They've tacitly admitted that, for lower income folks at least, cultural conservatism is the party's sole appeal. A sad day for conservatism, and certainly evidence of its political decline.

And of course none of the conservative reviews can deal with the fact that the cultural battles the Republicans choose are bottomless unwinnable sinkholes. That's why I describe conservatives as having punk'd a nation: they offer their voters nothing in return but therapy.

Rick Perlstein
rperlstein@villagevoice.com