Red Highways

Book excerpt: Tired of speaking to like-minded people, San Francisco blogger and radio journalist Rose Aguilar quit her job, bought a Toyota van, picked up her boyfriend, and took off on a six-month road trip through southern and mountain states. There she interviewed a wide array of people who rarely, if ever, appear in the national media. They include a former Republican evangelical pastor who now preaches inclusion in Tulsa; anti-war, pro-choice, and green Republicans; and a Montana hunter planning to leave his job as a conservationist to fight for gay rights. This political travelogue challenges stereotypes and goes far beyond the sound bites and statistics to reveal what red-state voters really care about—and what they expect from their political leaders. As Aguilar writes in the first chapter, “We breathe the same air, we live under the same political system, we’ve probably seen the same television and news shows, and most of us grew up going to public schools; yet because we might vote differently once every four years, we find ourselves stereotyped in the national media and separated by red and blue borders.” Red Highways is a riveting examination of what matters most in the heartland, what makes it tick, and what issues get its citizens to vote.