Redstate

By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Culture — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Blogger Mike Krempasky--my colleague at this excellent site--was kind enough to get Richard Viguerie to send me this book (along with an inscription!), and I'm glad he did--it is one of the better books on political organization and the mechanics of politics that I have read in a while.

The book goes through the history of political communication--starting with the invention of the printing press, the use of pamphlets by Martin Luther to spread his message, a comprehensive history of direct mail, and the effects of talk radio, the Internet and blogs on political communication.

Despite the fact that the book is written from a conservative point of view, liberals should also be interested in what it has to say about political communication, as both Viguerie and co-author David Franks are very good about calling things as they see them. They are more than willing to give liberals credit where credit is due in terms of political organization and getting out their message (example: Viguerie and Franks point out that after a slow start, liberals are doing quite well in the direct mail game, and are better than conservatives at using the Internet for political organization purposes--which is why Red State is such an important vehicle for the Right to use to catch up). While the conservative ideology definitely comes through in the book, it serves as a how-to guide for all sides in terms of communicating their messages and organizing.

So if you are a politics junkie, be sure to buy the book. If you do, you will get a savvy guide to the evolution of political organization and communication.

Is there a cooler deal in the offing?

No. No there is not.