Doorstep Democracy: Face-to-Face Politics in the Heartland
ISBN: 9780816666591
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / University of Minnesota Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Political campaigns -- United States; Political participation -- United States;

The famous Tip OOCONeill axiom OC all politics is localOCO comes alive in this chronicle of Democrat James H. ReadOCOs hard-fought but unsuccessfulOCoby 98 votesOCobid for state legislature in the socially conservative communities of Stearns and Morrison Counties, Minnesota. Read door-knocked 7,500 households during his campaign, visiting with voters and engaging in genuine dialogue on doorsteps from St. Anthony to St. Joseph. At once a memoir of a hard-fought contest and a meditation on the state of American democracy, ReadOCOs work contrasts the modern media-driven political campaign, where candidates glean their knowledge of voters from pollsters and communication only flows one way, with the kind of true understanding of constituents and issues that can only grow from individual encounters. Face-to-face doorstep conversations, he claims, give a candidate (or volunteer) and voter an opportunity to truly persuade and learn from one another. In a district where the pro-life movement dominated politics, ReadOCOs invitation to honestly discuss abortion and reject single-issue politics resonated with many voters. Refusing the OC red stateOCO versus OC blue stateOCO view of American voters, Doorstep Democracy shows the power and importance of kitchen-table politicsOCopeople sitting down together to tackle the issues that affect usOCoand proves that voters and candidates can be convinced to change their minds. Read ultimately demonstrates how conversations between citizens concerned about their communities can get us beyond the television ads, mass mailings, and sound bites to rejuvenate American democracy.


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