The Man Card

Ranging from Richard Nixon's tough-talking, law-and-order campaign in 1968 to Donald Trump's hyper-macho revival of the same fear-based appeals in 2020, "THE MAN CARD" shows how conservatives have lured white working-class men away from the Democratic Party by branding the Republican Party as the party of real men, attacking Democratic leaders as soft, and promising to restore declining white male power and authority in the face of demographic changes and ongoing struggles for racial, gender, and sexual equality.

"THE MAN CARD" pays special attention to how right-wing politicians, political operatives, and media commentators have used white-male identity politics to channel the legitimate, class-based grievances of tens of millions of white men into unbridled resentment of women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and so-called "liberal elites." It also explores how these deeply gendered dynamics have undercut the presidential prospects of women and undermined the nation's ability to adapt to a changing world.