When Republicans Were Progressive

by Dave Durenberger, Lori Sturdevant

The Republican Party has dominated Minnesota’s politics for much of the state's history. Today's party, though, is very different from the progressive Republican Party that came to power with Harold Stassen in 1938, had its heyday in the middle of the twentieth century, and faded into near-obscurity by the 1990s. But from the ideas and ideals of that dynamic political movement sprang modern Minnesota's success story.

Minnesota's progressive Republican Party stood not for big or small government but for effective government. Issues that are anathema to today's GOP—environmental protection, assistance for vulnerable citizens, and economic opportunity for low-wage workers and the middle class—were at the heart of the party's agenda. Minnesota Republicans held that working across the aisle was a mark of strength, not of weakness or disloyalty.

Senator Dave Durenberger grew up in and helped build that party. In this powerful work of history and witness, he explains how Minnesota's progressive Republicans earned voters' trust and delivered on their promises—and how progressive ideas fell out of favor when an increasingly anti-government, anti-tax national party shifted Minnesota Republican thinking to the right. In the ensuing partisan realignment, both the Republican and the Democratic parties have lost public trust. With eloquence and insight, Durenberger argues that the principles and practices of progressive Republicanism are a fitting remedy for what ails American democracy today.

Genres: American History, Politics

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2018

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book delivers as advertised - a partisan history of the Minnesota Republican Party written by a partisan Republican. Actually, the writing isn't bad. In fact I found Durenberger to be a passionate conservative. And therein lies the problem. My frustration level increased as I made my way through the book. He decries the negative tone of campaigns, yet he hired Roger Ailes (the king of malicious advertising) as his campaign manager. He touts charter schools and HMO's as capitalistic solutions when fraudsters have put profits before school children and sick people and cheated their way to millions of unearned dollars. He maligns the ethics of current pols yet he was convicted of misuse of public funds while in office. But, of course, this is not a political forum .. so my diatribe is probably out of order. I apologize. The book is interesting and well-written. Just keep in mind who is telling the story.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the political history of MN as told by Dave Durenberger and Lori Sturdevant. Durenberger and some of his earlier colleagues deserve much respect for their careers in civic service.

Republicans of yore, in particularly Minnesota from 1900 through about 1980, were much more committed to democratic institutions, pragmatism, consensus building, social reform, and, frankfully, *good governance*. Durenberger, in particular, was a solid, long-time champion of environmentalism, higher education funding, progressive taxation, increasing voter turnout, health care reform (until Hillary Clinton, a politician too good for her time, purposed a 1994 version of the ACA with a public option - a bit too much for Durenberger's "progressivism"), and much more.

These not-uncommon, self-described progressive values and inclinations that were held by many Republicans were finally sent to the trash bin with election of Reagan in 1980, the GOP's emphatic support of Newt Gingrich's obstructionist politics, and, in time, their increasing reliance on minority governance to form majorities in Congress and control the White House (i.e. GWB and Trump).

I greatly respect Durenberger's admission that legitimacy in a democratic system depends on majority rule and how the Electoral College system is the antithesis to this ideal (page 232). I wish he had admitted that the Senate, where he had served for four terms, was similarly un-Democratic.

[Robin Bittick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book that describes what it meant, and can still mean, to be a Progressive Republican. Former Senator Dave Durenberger of Minnesota begins the book with a history of the Independent Republican Party in Minnesota, and then goes into his own history in Congress. He finishes the book by proposing some excellent public policy ideas.

This is a useful book for anyone interested in politics, the history of the Republican Party, and anyone (like me) who does not fit into the contemporary Republican Party (i.e. the Tea Party and Trump party), nor the Democratic Party. I found Sen. Durenberger's ideas to be both progressive and practical. Progressive should not mean "socialism." Rather, Progressive Republicanism should mean progress by enacting public policies that solve public problems in keeping with the spirit of Presidents Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eisenhower, through setting national goals where needed and allowing state and local governments to tailor such public policies to regional needs.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of the Republican party in Minnesota and the US from the mid 1930s to today. I was raised in a staunch Republican household, and my mother bemoaned that her party had left her. Until I read this, I had forgotten why we were Republicans, and why were proud to be.
Durenberger, a former US senator from Minnesota, lays out in very clear fashion, what happened, when and why. The book is very readable, very understandable, and I learned a great deal. What happened to the party did not happen all at once. He is very specific as to who he feels deserves the blame, why he feels Donald Trump is a natural outcome, and why he still holds out some hope, for the party and for politics in general.
This is worth reading - for anyone who seeks to understand how we got to where we are today.

[Andy Pederson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Minnesota politician history junkie, I enjoyed Durenberger’s chronological telling of the history of (and horrific decline of) the Republican Party. But don’t be fooled. This is a very self-serving autobiography. The same person who distanced himself from toxic partisanship hired Roger Ailes. He lumps in his own ethics investigations into the chapter about toxic house gamesmanship. He suggests the Democrat effort to block Robert Bork was problematic for its partisanship when the truth is supporting Bork on the Court is the exact opposite of the moderate/progressive brand of Republicanism that Durenberger claims to adhere to. Bork was anti-civil rights, anti-abortion, and was a Nixon stooge at a time in this country when that mattered. All of that said, if every GOP Senator was Dave Durenberger, this country would be a hell of a lot better place to live.

[Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not in line with *all* of his thinking on policies, etc. - but definitely a lot of them as well as *how* politics would benefit from a move to the middle, to finding middle ground that benefits more folks.

Minnesota-focused, but not exclusively. I still think it would be interesting and insightful for folks not in or from Minnesota. The names are just a bit more familiar for those of us that have been here a while. The book does show a solid accounting of the evolution of politics and politicians over a number of decades and gives interesting background on how and why we've gotten where we are today.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction book was a worthy read, but not necessarily an easy read. A friend, knowing my DFL ties, recommended I read this, so I did.

I’ve paid attention to politics for a long time. As a second grader I walked by myself to the Republican office in Waseca and bought a gold elephant pin. But by sixth grade, I’d left behind Barry Goldwater (“In your heart, you know he’s right”) and cheered for LBJ in class debates.

But there were details about MN’s political life that surprised me, and ALL those details were there.

Just as the author is, I’m homesick for the days when most politicians found a respectful way to meet in the middle.

[Deb M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book; I could not put it down! It is sad to see what has happened to the Republican party. The party has lost its heart.
I am 68 so have very little knowledge of the Republican party of the late 1930s into the early 1960s. This book opened my eyes to a party I would have admired.
If you have any interest in politics, this is a book for you.

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawed, but interesting. I think the book can most accurately be characterized as a history of Minnesota politics during the 20th century. I wish the book had developed his defense of federalism more strongly. The authors also mention Paul Wellstone and Jesse Ventura merely in passing which was a lost opportunity.