Claire Snyder-Hall is an independent scholar who received her PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University and is the author of Gay Marriage and Democracy: Equality for All.

• Preface: Claire Snyder-Hall to "We the People," the 99%—An Opening Tribute to MachiavelliAcknowledgmentsThe Big Picture: A Theoretical Introduction1. Becoming an Activist2. My First Career: Democratic Theorist3. Tales from the Campaign Trail4. Good Ole Boys vs. Nasty Women: Cultural Polarization in US Politics5. The Royalist Mindset6. Soft Authoritarianism in the Democratic PartyConclusion: What Is to Be Learned?NotesBibliographyIndex

"Snyder-Hall's engaging account of running for a state senate seat in Delaware is a novella about authoritarian good-ole-boy networks, institutionalized misogyny and homophobia, and the continuing strength of toxic masculinity and its imagery in our day-to-day politics. She also offers a window into the meaning of the phrase that all politics is local and, as such, it is a never-ending battle against little princes who consider themselves entitled to rule and who prop up a corrupt and antidemocratic system of governance from below. Finally, she provides us with an opportunity to see the world through a woman's eyes from the ground level. This is a close-up, insider's view of the unfortunate reality that contemporary American politics is more about identity than public policy, social issues, or even solving basic problems in our communities." — Clyde W. Barrow, author of Toward a Critical Theory of States: The Poulantzas-Miliband Debate after Globalization

Claire Snyder-Hall is an independent scholar who received her PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University and is the author of Gay Marriage and Democracy: Equality for All.

• Preface: Claire Snyder-Hall to "We the People," the 99%—An Opening Tribute to MachiavelliAcknowledgmentsThe Big Picture: A Theoretical Introduction1. Becoming an Activist2. My First Career: Democratic Theorist3. Tales from the Campaign Trail4. Good Ole Boys vs. Nasty Women: Cultural Polarization in US Politics5. The Royalist Mindset6. Soft Authoritarianism in the Democratic PartyConclusion: What Is to Be Learned?NotesBibliographyIndex

"Snyder-Hall's engaging account of running for a state senate seat in Delaware is a novella about authoritarian good-ole-boy networks, institutionalized misogyny and homophobia, and the continuing strength of toxic masculinity and its imagery in our day-to-day politics. She also offers a window into the meaning of the phrase that all politics is local and, as such, it is a never-ending battle against little princes who consider themselves entitled to rule and who prop up a corrupt and antidemocratic system of governance from below. Finally, she provides us with an opportunity to see the world through a woman's eyes from the ground level. This is a close-up, insider's view of the unfortunate reality that contemporary American politics is more about identity than public policy, social issues, or even solving basic problems in our communities." — Clyde W. Barrow, author of Toward a Critical Theory of States: The Poulantzas-Miliband Debate after Globalization

Claire Snyder-Hall is an independent scholar who received her PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University and is the author of Gay Marriage and Democracy: Equality for All.

• Preface: Claire Snyder-Hall to "We the People," the 99%—An Opening Tribute to MachiavelliAcknowledgmentsThe Big Picture: A Theoretical Introduction1. Becoming an Activist2. My First Career: Democratic Theorist3. Tales from the Campaign Trail4. Good Ole Boys vs. Nasty Women: Cultural Polarization in US Politics5. The Royalist Mindset6. Soft Authoritarianism in the Democratic PartyConclusion: What Is to Be Learned?NotesBibliographyIndex

"Snyder-Hall's engaging account of running for a state senate seat in Delaware is a novella about authoritarian good-ole-boy networks, institutionalized misogyny and homophobia, and the continuing strength of toxic masculinity and its imagery in our day-to-day politics. She also offers a window into the meaning of the phrase that all politics is local and, as such, it is a never-ending battle against little princes who consider themselves entitled to rule and who prop up a corrupt and antidemocratic system of governance from below. Finally, she provides us with an opportunity to see the world through a woman's eyes from the ground level. This is a close-up, insider's view of the unfortunate reality that contemporary American politics is more about identity than public policy, social issues, or even solving basic problems in our communities." — Clyde W. Barrow, author of Toward a Critical Theory of States: The Poulantzas-Miliband Debate after Globalization