What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

1. The Central Puzzle: Why Working People Vote Against Their Economic Interest

People getting their fundamental interests wrong is what American political life is all about.

The core mystery. The book opens with the perplexing observation that the poorest county in America voted overwhelmingly Republican in 2000. This phenomenon, where working-class people support a party whose policies often benefit the wealthy, is presented as the central enigma of contemporary American politics. It challenges the basic assumption that voters act in their own material self-interest.

A widespread pattern. This isn't an isolated incident but a defining feature of the modern political landscape. Across the country, particularly in the "red states," voters who would historically align with parties advocating for workers' rights, social safety nets, and progressive taxation are instead supporting conservative candidates who champion deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and reduced government spending. This "derangement" is the foundation of the current political order.

Benefiting the wealthy. The consequence of this voting pattern is a significant shift in wealth distribution, favoring corporations and the affluent. Policies like the repeal of the estate tax, weakening of labor unions, and deregulation of industries directly benefit those at the top, often at the expense of the working class whose votes helped enact these changes. The question is, why do they do it?

2. The Great Backlash: Mobilizing Cultural Anger for Economic Gain

Cultural anger is marshaled to achieve economic ends.

A new form of conservatism. The "Great Backlash" is identified as a distinct style of conservatism that emerged in the late 1960s. Unlike older forms focused on fiscal prudence, the backlash uses explosive social and cultural issues to mobilize voters. It taps into public outrage over perceived moral decay, liberal values, and cultural changes.

Culture war as strategy. This focus on cultural grievances serves a strategic purpose: it distracts from and enables a pro-business economic agenda. By focusing voters' attention on issues like abortion, gun control, or perceived attacks on traditional values, conservative leaders gain support from working-class voters who might otherwise oppose their economic policies. The culture war is the engine driving the economic transformation.

Economic achievements are the monuments. Despite the constant focus on cultural battles, the true lasting impact of the backlash lies in its economic policy victories. Over decades, this movement has successfully pushed for deregulation, privatization, tax cuts for the wealthy, and the weakening of labor unions, fundamentally altering the American economic landscape. These are the tangible results of the cultural mobilization.

3. Kansas's Transformation: From Radical Populism to Right-Wing Reaction

Today the mystery is only heightened; it seems inconceivable that the Midwest was ever thought of as a “radical” place, as anything but the land of the bland, the easy snoozing flyover.

A history of radicalism. Kansas, often seen as the epitome of the conservative heartland today, has a surprising history of radicalism and leftist movements. A century ago, it was a hotbed of Populism, agrarian revolt, and even socialism, with farmers and workers organizing against corporate power and demanding economic reforms like state ownership of railroads and progressive taxation.

The great inversion. The state's political trajectory represents one of the most dramatic reversals in American history. The same region that once produced fiery progressives and fought against the "money power" now reliably votes for candidates who dismantle the very programs its ancestors fought for. The mystery is how a place once known for its radicalism became a symbol of staunch conservatism.

A testing ground for extremes. Kansas has a historical tendency to embrace ideological extremes, from abolitionism and prohibition to utopian communism and the John Birch Society. This characteristic persists today, with the state becoming a prominent battleground for culture-war issues like evolution, abortion, and religious freedom, often pushing these debates to their most extreme forms.

4. The "Two Americas" Myth: A Cultural Divide Masking Economic Reality

The great dream of conservatives ever since the thirties has been a working-class movement that for once takes their side of the issues, that votes Republican and reverses the achievements of working-class movements of the past.

A post-2000 election narrative. The "two Americas" idea, popularized after the 2000 election's red state/blue state map, posits a fundamental cultural cleavage between the "plain people" of the red heartland and the "sophisticated, wealthy, and materialistic" liberals of the blue coasts. This narrative was eagerly embraced by conservatives.

The "latte libel". This framework allows conservatives to define political differences not by economic interests but by cultural tastes and consumer preferences. The "latte libel" suggests liberals are identifiable by their snobbish consumption habits (Volvos, imported cheese, lattes), implying their values are foreign and arrogant, while red-staters are humble, authentic, and "normal."

Masking class reality. While presented as a cultural divide, this narrative effectively obscures the underlying economic class structure. It allows conservatives to claim the mantle of the "common people" and depict Democrats as the party of the elite, even as Republican policies disproportionately benefit the wealthy. The focus on cultural authenticity distracts from the reality of economic inequality.

5. Economic Hardship in Kansas: Prosperity for Elites, Decline for Workers

The fortunes of Mission Hills rise and fall in inverse relation to the fortunes of ordinary working people.

Uneven economic landscape. Despite the narrative of a unified, humble "Red America," Kansas exhibits stark economic divisions. The state includes:

• Wealthy suburban enclaves like Mission Hills (Kansas City area)
• Blue-collar manufacturing cities like Wichita
• Remote towns reliant on low-wage industries like meatpacking (Garden City)
• Dying rural farm communities

Elite beneficiaries. Places like Mission Hills, home to corporate executives and financiers, have thrived under conservative economic policies, experiencing increased wealth concentration and luxury development. This prosperity is directly linked to the weakening of labor and the reduction of taxes on the wealthy.

Working-class decline. Conversely, areas reliant on manufacturing and agriculture have faced significant challenges:

• Deindustrialization and job losses in cities like Wichita
• Exploitation of low-wage immigrant labor in meatpacking towns
• Ruin of family farms due to agribusiness consolidation and deregulation

This economic reality stands in stark contrast to the conservative narrative of a unified, prosperous heartland, revealing a system that benefits a few at the top while others struggle.

6. The Conservative Civil War: Class Conflict Within the Kansas GOP

In Kansas, the political geography of social class has been turned upside down.

Moderates vs. Conservatives. The Kansas Republican Party has been embroiled in a civil war between its traditional moderate wing and a rising conservative faction. This conflict, often framed in terms of social issues, reveals a deeper class divide within the party.

The Mod elite. The moderate Republicans tend to come from the state's affluent, educated, white-collar professional class, residing in wealthier suburbs. They are fiscally conservative but often more socially liberal or pragmatic, valuing public institutions like schools and accepting social changes like women's rights.

The Con base. The conservative faction draws strength from less affluent, often blue-collar or lower-middle-class areas, particularly in the outer suburbs and rural regions. They are intensely focused on social issues and deeply suspicious of government and established institutions, including the traditional Republican leadership.

An inverted class struggle. This internal party conflict represents a peculiar inversion of traditional class politics. The less affluent, conservative faction is effectively waging a political war against the wealthier, moderate faction, often pushing for policies (like extreme tax cuts) that disproportionately benefit the very elites they claim to oppose. The Mods, while targeted, often benefit economically from the Cons' victories.

7. Social Issues as Wedge Issues: Driving Voters with Unresolvable Grievances

You can’t stir the general public up to get out to work for a candidate on taxes or the economy. People today are busy. But you can get people who are concerned about the moral decline in our nation.

Focus on cultural battles. Conservative leaders in Kansas and nationally prioritize social and cultural issues over economic ones. Issues like abortion, evolution, gay marriage, and school prayer become central to their political campaigns and legislative efforts.

Mobilizing the base. These issues are effective "wedge issues" because they tap into deep-seated moral and cultural anxieties, particularly among religious conservatives. They are highly polarizing and emotionally charged, capable of motivating dedicated activists and driving voter turnout in ways that complex economic policies often cannot.

Designed to be unresolvable. Many of these cultural battles are inherently difficult or impossible to resolve through political action (e.g., overturning Roe v. Wade requires Supreme Court action, not state law). This perpetual state of conflict keeps the base energized and indignant, reinforcing their sense of being under siege by a hostile secular world, regardless of actual political power dynamics.

8. The Power of Victimhood: Conservatives as the Persecuted Majority

All claims on the right, in other words, advance from victim-hood.

Adopting the language of the left. Modern conservatism, despite its political dominance, often frames itself as a movement of the oppressed. Conservatives portray themselves as victims of a powerful, arrogant liberal elite that controls culture, media, academia, and government institutions, even when Republicans hold political power.

Indignation as a driving force. This narrative of persecution fuels a constant state of indignation. Conservatives meticulously document perceived slights, insults, and impositions by liberals, creating a "plen-T-plaint" of grievances. This focus on being offended reinforces group identity and motivates political action.

A paradoxical position. This stance is paradoxical for a movement that represents significant wealth and power. However, it allows conservatives to claim moral righteousness and deflect criticism. By portraying themselves as underdogs fighting against an entrenched, contemptuous establishment, they maintain the loyalty of voters who feel marginalized or disrespected by mainstream culture.

9. Anti-Intellectualism: Blaming the "Liberal Elite" for Societal Ills

The enemy of the plain people, of good ol’ red-state America, is intellectuals.

Targeting the professional class. A core component of the backlash narrative is the resentment and suspicion of intellectuals and the professional class. This "liberal elite" is blamed for societal problems, cultural decay, and governmental overreach. They are portrayed as arrogant, out-of-touch, and contemptuous of ordinary Americans.

Historical roots. This anti-intellectualism has roots in earlier periods, including the business class's reaction to New Deal reformers ("brain trusts") and the McCarthy era's targeting of educated elites as potential subversives. It taps into populist distrust of experts and formal knowledge.

A unifying grievance. Blaming intellectuals provides a common enemy that unites different segments of the conservative coalition. It allows working-class conservatives to direct their anger at perceived cultural authorities (professors, journalists, judges) rather than the economic powers (CEOs, financiers) who benefit from conservative policies. It frames political conflict as a battle between common sense and pretentious expertise.

10. The Erasure of Economics: Business Exempted from Criticism

To backlash writers, the operations of business are simply not a legitimate subject of social criticism.

Business is natural, politics is artificial. A fundamental tenet of the backlash worldview is the separation of business and economics from politics and social criticism. The free market is seen as a natural, benevolent force, beyond reproach. Economic outcomes, even negative ones like job losses or inequality, are attributed to natural market dynamics or individual failings, not political choices or corporate power.

Blaming liberalism for market outcomes. When economic problems are too obvious to ignore, the backlash narrative often blames them on liberal interference with the market (e.g., regulations, taxes) or on the cultural failings supposedly promoted by liberals (e.g., lack of work ethic). This deflects blame from the corporate sector and conservative economic policies.

A necessary precondition. This systematic erasure of economics is essential for the backlash narrative to function. It allows conservatives to portray themselves as the party of the common man while serving the interests of the wealthy. It enables the belief that cultural institutions are controlled by liberals, not by the commercial interests that own them. Without this blindness to economic power, the core arguments of the backlash would collapse.

11. Religion and Politics: Zealotry and Opportunism in the Heartland

Kansas is to ghostly matters what Silicon Valley is to tech startups, or Seattle to alt-rock bands.

A landscape of piety. Kansas has a long history of intense religious fervor and innovation, from charismatic movements to traditionalist Catholic groups. This deep vein of religiosity provides fertile ground for political mobilization.

True believers and opportunists. The conservative movement in Kansas is composed of both genuine religious zealots driven by deeply held beliefs and political opportunists who strategically adopt religious language and positions to gain support. This alliance is crucial to the movement's success.

Transcending the material. For many religious conservatives, political action is seen as a spiritual battle, a fight for the soul of the nation. This elevates cultural and moral issues above mundane economic concerns, making them willing to sacrifice material self-interest for perceived spiritual or moral victories. Leaders like Sam Brownback and Phill Kline skillfully blend religious rhetoric with pro-business policies.

12. Liberalism's Failure: Abandoning the Working Class and Economic Issues

Somewhere in the last four decades liberalism ceased to be relevant to huge portions of its traditional constituency...

Democrats' strategic shift. The Democratic Party, particularly under the influence of groups like the Democratic Leadership Council, has consciously moved away from its traditional focus on working-class economic issues. This strategy, known as "triangulation," aimed to appeal to affluent, socially liberal professionals and corporate donors by downplaying economic populism and conceding ground on issues like welfare, trade, and deregulation.

Leaving a vacuum. By abandoning class-based language and economic advocacy, Democrats created a political vacuum. They no longer effectively speak to the material concerns of working-class voters, leaving them vulnerable to the cultural appeals of the Republican backlash. Voters who once relied on the Democratic Party to represent their economic interests now feel ignored.

The consequence. This strategic failure has contributed significantly to the rise of conservative populism. While Democrats focus on appealing to a different, wealthier demographic, Republicans have successfully crafted a narrative that, however distorted, speaks to the frustrations and anxieties of working-class Americans, even as their policies harm them economically. The "party of the people" has, in many ways, left the people behind.

Last updated: May 7, 2025