this little free library (#108367) was literally a dark blue frigidaire refrigerator before it was a library. it's filled with children's fiction and nonfiction books.
read: "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives won the Heart of American" (Thomas Frank)
-in it's infancy, Kansas was an anti-slavery state. they literally had battles with pro slavery Missouri. Populism among the farmers was strong.
*Frank is a native of Kansas. his book reveals how Kansas changed.
-Kansas was once dominated by "country club Republicans" whom the farmers disliked. outside Republicans ousted the "club" by linking them to coastal elitists, i.e. media, educational elites, government bureaucrats.
-the new Republicans pushed "culture war" issues: abortion, homosexuality, media & religion but not economic ones. they were founded with corporate $$.
-the New Democrats (Clinton) also skipped economic issues, thus losing the farm and working class voters. they wanted to pursue corporate donations and moderate Republican voters. new Dems also funded with corporate $.
-Kansas lost good paying factory jobs when corporations moved factories. only low wage meat packing plants opened in Kansas employing imported labor. read more