In this episode, historian Nicole Hemmer returns to the show to discuss her new book, Partisans, about the ascendancy of an angrier, more radical strain of conservatism in the Republican Party in the 1990s—a backlash driven by the right's dissatisfaction with the genial, popularity-seeking Ronald Reagan. As the Cold War ended, many conservatives stopped genuflecting to democracy and freedom and used new forms of media—talk radio and cable news especially—to spread their grievances. Topics include: Pat Buchanan's campaigns for the presidency, Ross Perot, Newt Gingrich and the GOP's takeover of the House of Representatives, Rush Limbaugh, Dinesh D'Souza, and the new breed of anti-feminist, rightwing women such as Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter.
Sources:
Nicole Hemmer, Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s (Basic, 2022)
Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics (Penn, 2016)
Kevin Phillips, The Politics of Rich and Poor (Random House, 1990)
John Ganz, "The Year the Clock Broke," The Baffler, November 2018
Know Your Enemy, "The Year the Clock Broke" (w/ John Ganz), March 16, 2020
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