The book honestly acknowledges several major hurdles. Most Americans, right and left, rightly distrust politicians. This doubt could be overcome, the authors maintain, with an attractive message. There will be no effective national leadership of a pro-working class, populist political movement without an end to corporate control of Washington. The Democrats no less than the Republicans are comfortably in bed with big business.
Some chapters do a beautiful job of exposing the conservative underbelly.
For instance, Ira Katznelson of Columbia University argues persuasively that Republican allegiance in the South is not preordained. In fact, Republicans gained control only by painting the Democrats as the party of black voters and by running attractive young white candidates against stodgy old Democratic machine bosses while the Democrats themselves developed no counter-strategy. He argues that by promoting a transracial agenda that champions working families, Democrats could win back the southern states. The book s analysis, however, leaves a gap where a feasible anti-poverty policy should be. Skocpol finds no winning strategy in promoting a fair welfare system or in trying to establish new programs for poor Americans.