Walter Karp

[bemildred]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Karp

The guy that first explained to me how US politics really works.

You heard of him? Any opinions?

[deutsey]

1. I loved Liberty Under Siege when I first read it

Very interesting book that traces American democracy from July 4, 1976 through 1988. Basically, he says in 1976 American elites were on the ropes after Watergate and the fall of Saigon and, consequently, a people-powered democracy had been re-awakened.

He points to Carter, an outsider to the Washington power establishment, who was nominated as a result of new, post-Watergate reforms that selected nominees more democratically than ever before. He said the power of this newly energized democracy such reforms fostered (in addition to a more activist-minded population) scared the elites (both on the Republican and Democrtaic sides), which, in turn, generated a Reaction among the political, economic, media elites to reassert their control. The Reaction (that's what he calls it) culminated in the destruction of Carter, the election of Reagan, and the rollback of democratic (small "d" ) gains made during the '60s and '70s.

Great book...the only big gripe I have about it is lacks substantial documentation. I'd love to see the sources upon which he based his book. I don't say he's making it up, I'd just like to look into source material to expand my own understanding.

I think I read an essay of his in Harper's as well. Beyond that, I haven't read anything else by him and know little about him as a person.

[bemildred]

2. That one was Ok.

I found his explanation of the politics of 70s and 80s very illuminating, it made little sense to me at the time.

I really liked "The Politics of War", which traces the period from McKinley to Wilson, and "Indispensible Enemies" which elaborates further on the Two Party system, where it came from and how it really works.

Then there is "Buried Alive", which is a collection of more recent essays.

But the reason I like him is that I find his explanations still are very useful to understand what is happening now. I have had a problem all of my life with figuring out what our politicians were up to, because they so consistently do what appear to be really stupid things.