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When Democrats Won the Heartland

Progressive Populism in the Age of Reagan, 1978-1992
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In the 1980s, the Midwestern economic collapse caused by the farm crisis and deindustrialization inspired the region's liberal politicians to call on progressive populist traditions to rebuild local, state, and national Democratic parties. Cory Haala looks at the Midwest's central role in asserting an updated populism wielded by grassroots activists, politicians, and a wide-ranging coalition of voters to counter Reagan-era conservativism. This left-oriented movement resurrected the imagery and policies of twentieth-century radical parties like the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and Robert La Follette's Wisconsin Idea. Delving into progressive populist ideas and tactics, Haala illuminates the work of the activists and politicians who led protests, founded a congressional caucus, and backed presidential campaigns that sought to advance their cause. Haala's account moves from Iron Range union halls to Iowa farmhouses to South Dakota reservations to revise views of Democratic Party history, the Midwest's political culture, and populism's role in US politics. A counter to established political narratives, When Democrats Won the Heartland takes readers into the history of an unexpected political moment.
Cory Haala is an assistant professor of history and the Museum Studies Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
List of Abbreviations ii Introduction 1 Part I: 1980-1984 27 Chapter 1: Redefining Progressivism 27 Chapter 2: Early Victories 52 Chapter 3: Reintroducing Populism 86 Part II: 1985-1988 108 Chapter 4: Organizing in Crisis 108 Chapter 5: Political Prairie Fires 136 Chapter 6: The Promise of the Rainbow 175 Part III: 1989-1992 210 Chapter 7: Post-Crisis Politics 210 Chapter 8: A Green Bus, a Painted Garage 237 Chapter 9: Progressive Populism or the Third Way? 284 Conclusion: Reflections on the New Midwestern Liberalism 309
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