Producing Politics

Why, in such a dynamic, diverse country, do so many of our political campaigns feel so repetitively similar? Daniel Laurison's study of who goes to work for candidates, how they got there, and why they make the choices they do points us to an answer that will change the way you see and participate in elections. -Sasha Issenberg, author of The Engagement: America's Quarter-Century Struggle over Same-Sex Marriage Aspiring politicos often ask me for advice about how to get a job on a campaign or in political consulting. From now on, I'll recommend they read Producing Politics. Daniel Laurison's book will help you understand the pathways and barriers to getting in the game and the good and not-so-good of the campaign culture that comes with it. -Mark Blumenthal, former senior polling editor at The Huffington Post and cofounder of Pollster.com With compelling prose and vivid storytelling, Daniel Laurison takes a holistic look at how and why the elections industry sometimes undermines our democracy instead of supporting it. Producing Politics is a fresh, urgent take on one of the most pressing-but overlooked-challenges to democracy in America. -Hahrie Han, author of Prisms of the People: Power & Organizing in Twenty-First-Century America In Producing Politics, Daniel Laurison pulls back the curtain on the understudied and often misunderstood world of political campaigns. By harnessing the insights and methods from the social sciences, he explains who campaign professionals are and why they hold the key to improving democracy in America. A compelling read. -Dana R. Fisher, author of American Resistance and professor of sociology, University of Maryland Daniel Laurison has listened closely to the aspirations and strategic considerations that drive American campaign professionals. He reveals that their decisions create the campaigns voters experience, partially guided by evidence but also reflecting their unrepresentative backgrounds. Producing Politics offers an urgent plea that American campaigns can improve when the people who run them better reflect the voters they seek to mobilize and persuade. -Matt Grossmann, author of How Social Science Got Better: Overcoming Bias with More Evidence, Diversity, and Self-Reflection