Pre-Owned Blue Grit: Making Impossible, Improbable, and Inspirational Political Change in America (Paperback) 0143113224 9780143113225

A searing attack on the Democrats from one of today's most engaging political voices, and an incisive strategy for victory over the Republican party Air America Radio host, Laura Flanders, the best-selling author of "Bushwomen," believes there are no such things as "red" and "blue" states. Even in the most surprising places, she's finding progressive change. From Vermont to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas's famous Strip, she journeys through the heartland USA and discovers a simple truth: people don't vote for the GOP because Republicans represent their interests; they vote Republican because Democrats barely field a team. Adamant, opinionated, funny, and always engaging, Flanders chronicles what she's learned from scores of voters and activists-about how change is happening in Main St. USA, even if it rarely catches the attention of the so-called mainstream media. Mormons defending women's rights, casino owners teaming up with waitresses to raise the minimum wage; blue collar construction workers and lesbian mothers working together to make their workplaces safer and more secure for all. Flanders finds young, supposedly "alienated" Americans, who are driving scores of new voters to the polls. Fiery polemic, assured narrative, and acute political commentary, Blue Grit will be crucial reading for everyone interested in the future of the Democrats, and this country. Based on Flanders' bottom-up style of journalism, it tells a story of good news: progressives are coming after the conservative establishment with new talent, new ideas, newmedia and new cash, and they have their sights set on building a new progressive movement, whether the Democratic Party is ready or not.