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Faculty Stories
A New Map for American Politics: Tom Schaller
As an associate professor of political science specializing in the U.S. electoral system, Tom Schaller is usually excited come Election Day. But Nov. 7, 2006 brought added anticipation as Schaller celebrated the publication of his latest book, “Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South.”
The book argues that religion and race have already swung the South irrevocably to the GOP and "values voters." Schaller advises the Democrats to focus on the Midwest and Interior West states, made more receptive to Democratic messages thanks to pocketbook issues and changing demographics.
According to Schaller, "Dixie" began as a conventional wisdom-challenging conversation with a former graduate school colleague. "He said, so matter-of-factly, that the Democrats could win without the South," said Schaller. "I thought about it a lot, started looking at the historical numbers and the more recent data, and realized the case could be made -- and made easily." Schaller traveled to five states - part of what he calls the "Democratic Diamond": Ohio, Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado and Arizona - plus South Carolina, to research the book.
Unlike many Washington pundits, Schaller is up front about his longtime loyalty to Democratic causes and candidates. “I think it's important to be transparent about my partisanship and personal preferences as a way to mitigate media bias,” said Schaller.
The midterm elections offered no respite for Schaller, whose analysis was in high demand by regional and national media. In the past three years, he's written 20 columns for the Washington Examiner, over 30 pieces for a variety of newspapers and magazines, and has blogged for The Gadflyer and the American Prospect. Despite this prolific resume, Schaller doesn't plan to become a full-time author anytime soon.
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