Where Have All the Democrats Gone?

Leading up to the 2024 election, it’s becoming clear that the Democrats could easily lose the White House, whether Biden or a replacement is heading the ticket. But this is not as big a surprise as we might think. Since 1992, American politics has been plagued by a breakdown between the Democratic and Republican parties, in which victory has inevitably led to defeat, and vice versa. Both parties have lost sight of the political center of the American electorate, leading to polarisation and paralysis, and resulting in an inability to meet challenges at home and abroad. While many are likely to blame our presidents for leading the country astray, the politicians are mere symptoms of the underlying disease. John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira reveal the major driving forces behind the current state of American politics - the tectonic changes shaping the country’s new political landscape that pundits and political scientists alike have missed. The Democratic party, once the preserve of the industrial working class and racial minorities, has become the party of new post-industrial metro centres. In the process, Democrats have abandoned and even actively alienated immigrants and working-class voters, pushing them toward the right. In this incisive critique, Judis and Teixeira provide a clarion and essential argument for common sense and common ground to fix our broken political system. Provocative and illuminating, Where Have All the Democrats Gone? reveals the transformation of American politics and serves as a much-needed wakeup call for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Leading up to the 2024 election, it’s becoming clear that the Democrats could easily lose the White House, whether Biden or a replacement is heading the ticket. But this is not as big a surprise as we might think. Since 1992, American politics has been plagued by a breakdown between the Democratic and Republican parties, in which victory has inevitably led to defeat, and vice versa. Both parties have lost sight of the political center of the American electorate, leading to polarisation and paralysis, and resulting in an inability to meet challenges at home and abroad. While many are likely to blame our presidents for leading the country astray, the politicians are mere symptoms of the underlying disease. John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira reveal the major driving forces behind the current state of American politics - the tectonic changes shaping the country’s new political landscape that pundits and political scientists alike have missed. The Democratic party, once the preserve of the industrial working class and racial minorities, has become the party of new post-industrial metro centres. In the process, Democrats have abandoned and even actively alienated immigrants and working-class voters, pushing them toward the right. In this incisive critique, Judis and Teixeira provide a clarion and essential argument for common sense and common ground to fix our broken political system. Provocative and illuminating, Where Have All the Democrats Gone? reveals the transformation of American politics and serves as a much-needed wakeup call for Democrats and Republicans alike.