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Thomas Frank, author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter With Kansas, returns to talk about the factions in the Democratic Party and the struggle between corporatism and populism.Frank Skypes in from Cleveland, latest stop on a gruelling worldwide book tour for the paperback edition of Listen, Liberal, for which the Washington Post tagged Mr. Frank as “prescient”.
After some chatter about his travels and his prescience, we address a recent email SOS from listener John Zweibel in Hawaii. Frank reviews the history of the Clinton takeover using the Democratic Leadership Council, and explains their tradeoff of values for victories, at the expense of the liberal/populist wing of the party.
We also discuss the weak opposition to Trump and the GOP offered by the Democrats so far, the continuing popularity of Bernie Sanders, and how the superdelegates and party leaders have learned little from 2016, as evidenced by the orchestrated effort to prevent Rep. Keith Ellison from becoming DNC chair.
It’s another frank, if rambling conversation with Tom Frank. Enjoy!