Download or read book The Conservative Ascendancy written by Donald T Critchlow and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative history of the Right in modern America, Critchlow finds a deep dilemma inherent in how conservative Republicans expressed their anti-statist ideology in an age of mass democracy and Cold War hostilities. As the Right moved forward with its political program, partisanship intensified and ideological division widened--both between the parties and across the electorate. This intensified partisanship reflects the vibrancy of a mature democracy, Critchlow argues, and a new level of political engagement despite its disquieting effect on American political debate.