Going Red

Book excerpt: "Popular conservative radio host and blogger Ed Morrissey argues that the fate of conservatism hangs on the 2016 election--and on a mere seven counties that will decide the whole race. Together, these counties are home to only 5 million people (that is, 1.5% of the American population), but it was in these communities that Barack Obama won the 2008 and 2012 elections, and in 2016, they hold the key to the states Republicans must win in order to take back the White House. For Republicans, this is bad news and good news. Bad news, because all seven of the counties pulled for Obama in one or both of the last two elections; good news, because they all voted for George W. Bush in 2004, and due to the Democrats' misadventures under the Obama administration, the door is open for Republicans to win these counties--and the presidency--once again, making a decisive mandate against progressivism for the generation to come. Going Red will take readers inside these battlegrounds, weaving never-before-seen data into human portraits that illuminate why these communities have changed from Republican to Democrat, why the Obama administration has disappointed them, and what conservatives can do to win them back in this election cycle--and beyond. With echoes of Nate Silver, Dick Morris, and Charles Murray, this is a timely and crucial book for anyone who cares about conservatism's future"--