Yeah, I know it's not theory, but hear me out...

I read "What's the Matter with Kansas?" when it came out and it's a great lively exploration how Kansas went from being a firey populist labor-rights state to being the conservative libertarian hellscape it is today. Great insightful analysis of the multi-decade conservative propaganda campaign and how the modern Republican party operates on an organizational level.

His follow-up book "Listen Liberal!" is a similarity scathing takedown of the "moral superiority" of the Democratic party and shatters the thin veneer that Democrats are "on your side."

Frank can pretty well be described as a solidly "democratic socialist" FDR-style thinker. He does a pretty good job diagnosing the problems of politics today, but never quite veers into abolition of capital stuff. He was also talking about DemSoc class based politics long before Bernie made it trendy.

None of this stuff is controversial to most of you... you're probably thinking, "yeah, duh."

So why is his stuff worth a read? It's great de-brain-worming material for centrists! Gift a copy of "Listen Liberal" and maybe it'll start getting them asking the right questions. Was an important step in my development and a great "baby's first steps" towards developing class consciousness!