The Politics of American Discontent

Advance praise for The Politics of American Discontent "This is a manifesto for a new American political system. Unlike most manifestos, it is backed by hard data and sound analysis, demonstrating impressively that a third party will work and can free America from the shackles of the outmoded two-party system. Gordon and Ben Black have written a book that I wish I had written." -Theodore Lowi Professor of American Institutions, Cornell University and Past President of the American Political Science Association "The authors' agenda for political reform should send a wake-up call to every concerned American. Like Thomas Paine in Common Sense, they identify root causes...;the section on the pervasive corruption of our electoral process by special interests is both well-documented and thoroughly researched...;a blueprint for political action to bring about genuine change." -John Anderson Professor of Law, Nova University "A passionate plea for forming a third party of the 'radical middle,' The Politics of American Discontent is the best analysis yet of the Perot voters who may provide its base...;indispensable to understanding the present political scene." -Joel Rogers Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin "Gordon and Ben Black define the political quandary of America with powerful statistics. But unlike other 'expert' commentary, they neither leave us hanging or in despair, showing that the way out of gridlock is to break out of an irrelevant monopoly: the two party system." -Lowell Weicker Governor of Connecticut "This is a richly documented and vigorously argued analysis of the contemporary American party system and the malaise that afflicts so many of our citizens as they long for political change...;Americans concerned about their country and their own responsibilities as citizens should give this book careful attention." -Robert Salisbury Professor of Political Science, Washington University

About the authors GORDON S. BLACK is the Chairman and CEO of the Gordon S. Black Corporation, a polling research firm that has conducted political polls for USA Today (from 1984 to 1993), NBC, CNN, Newsday, and the Gannett News Service, as well as numerous polls for Ross Perot. He holds a doctorate in political science from Stanford University, and for ten years he taught political science at the University of Rochester. He has been a Ford Foundation Fellow and a Social Science Research Council Fellow. BENJAMIN D. BLACK is a former manager of Survey Operations for Voter Research and Surveys, the organization that conducted all polls for the major networks during the 1992 presidential campaign. He is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Minnesota.