How Republicans Win Elections

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviewed Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten this morning about their new book, "One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century." Hamburger and Wallsten, both reporters for the Los Angeles Times, dicussed several factors that give Republicans an advantage, including Wednesday strategy meetings headed by Grover Norquist every week where the party's disparate groups hammer out compromises to meet long-term and short-term goals, a highly sophisticated voter database that includes information on everything from church attendance to buying preferences (yes, you're probably on it) of voters, and, of course, the Democratic redistricting plan that backfired. The level of organization and hard work that Republicans dedicate to winning elections is certainly admirable, and, no, you can't blame everything on Diebold. This 24-minute interview is highly recommended.

Democracy Now! video (24:00)