Frank Talk

When Thomas Frank decides to write an election-year book about Republican misrule, you should probably pay attention. What’s the Matter With Kansas?, which came out in 2004, correctly predicted the rise of “moral values” voters before they walked out of the polls that November. It sparked a rush of critical praise for Frank, a longtime cultural critic and former academic who half-jokingly wishes he could get a friend “to sort of act my part on publicity tours.” He could then reserve more of his focus for his heavily researched, deftly written books, which intersperse anecdotes about Washington and his own life with damning evidence of Republican corruption.

This election year, Frank’s new book, The Wrecking Crew, examines how under decades of conservative rule — especially that of the Bush administration — privatization and corrupt contracting processes have become commonplace. How bad did things get under the Republicans? Local businesses stopped selling cheap beer to the masses. That’s about as undemocratic as you can get, and with Frank’s lead, we might begin to address such problems (along with more serious ones) in the upcoming election.

Frank will appear at the Denver Newspaper Agency today at 8 a.m. in an event co-sponsored by the Denver Press Club. Pre-registration is required and available at www.blacktie-colorado.com; go to www.denverpressclub.org for more information. He’ll also speak this evening at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover LoDo, 1628 16th Street. The TC event is open to the public; call 303-436-1070 or go to www.tatteredcover.com for details.
Mon., Aug. 18, 2008