Chaotic Neutral: How the Democrats Lost Their Soul in the Center

This irreverent polemic debut alleges that Democrats “give up when they should fight” and have a “broken” view of how politics works. Political scientist Burmila traces the roots of the problem to the breakup of the New Deal coalition between Southern Dixiecrats and Northern liberals amid the push for civil rights legislation in the 1960s, and details how the shift from bread-and-butter economic issues to more elusive demands for racial equality and women’s rights contributed to the declining influence of labor unions and the increasing sway of “moneyed interests” over Democratic politicians. A new breed of pro-market, tough-on-crime, anti-bureaucracy Democrat clamored for change in the 1980s and, with Bill Clinton’s election in 1992, returned the party to the White House and majority control of Congress. But the bet on the electoral dominance of the growing professional middle classes turned into a self-fulfilling race to centrist mediocrity, Burmila argues. He calls for Democrats to remember their roots as a party for the poor, the marginalized, and the working classes, and to recommit to the state’s role in pursuing social justice. Throughout, Burmila combines deep research and sophisticated history lessons with acerbic wit (Donald Trump is “a store-brand dictator, the perfect synthesis of Kim Jong-Il and Don Rickles”). This smart and entertaining screed packs a punch. (Sept.)