The swing vote : the untapped power of independents /

It is estimated that 40 percent of Americans do not strictly identify as either Republican or Democrat but fall somewhere in between. These are the swing voters, who tend to vote according to the candidate rather than the party but are increasingly frustrated with and alienated from the leadership in Washington. Killian (senior scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Ctr. for Scholars; The Freshmen: What Happened to the Republican Revolution?), a columnist for a number of publications, provides an excellent introduction to the swing states that become important battlegrounds during presidential elections. She covers the concerns of the moderate middle, whose representation in Washington has nearly disappeared amid extreme partisanship. Killian argues that without this middle ground, little can be achieved by way of bipartisan cooperation. She provides further information on political groups, such as NoLabels.org and the Coffee Party, who are trying to locate ways to work cooperatively. VERDICT This is a terrific overview of an important voting segment of America. With the upcoming major election season, general readers interested in political parties, campaign influences, and swing voters or those questioning why and how our major political parties seem to have lost sight of their constituents' needs will find this investigative study informative.-Beth M. Johns, MLIS, Saginaw Valley State Univ., Univ. Ctr., MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The Freshmen: What Happened to the Republican Revolution?, 1998) in this look at the current electorate. These independent and swing voters, she argues, are "the centrist voters who decide elections and represent more voters than those at the conservative and liberal ends of the spectrum." Given the state of ideological gridlock, it is small wonder that these centrists, who are "fiscally conservative and socially tolerant," might feel overlooked and ignored. Killian examines some of the curiosities of the political system: Why, for instance, does New Hampshire's primary count so much, given that state's relative lack of influence? The author proffers a couple of answers, one local (New Hampshire law requires its primary to be the first in the nation, so it gets perhaps undue attention) and one national (the New Hampshire primary is no longer a bellwether, given that the last three presidents all finished second). Why do candidates appeal to rural and small-town values when so few voters live in such places? How is it that the Tea Party electoral sweep of 2010 was able to occur? Killian also examines some well-worn notions and discovers them to obtain today: Voters may distrust and dislike Congress, for instance, but they tend to think their own representative is OK. In passing, the author also observes that whereas President Obama made political hay of a promise to heal the partisan rift in Washington, he has done little to act on it, such that independent voters in particular have been "disappointed in Obama's presidential leadership"--with obvious implications for the upcoming election. A useful look at the current makeup and mood of America's voters.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.