Description
"It's the statehouses, stupid."
Laboratories of Autocracy shows that far more than the high-profile antics of politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Jim Jordan-and yes, even bigger than Donald Trump's "Big Lie"-it's anonymous, often corrupt politicians in statehouses across the country who pose the greatest dangers to American democracy.
Because these statehouses no longer operate as functioning democracies, these unknown politicians have all the incentive to keep doing greater damage, and can not be held accountable however extreme they get. This has driven steep declines in states like Ohio and others across the country. And collectively, it's placed American democracy in its greatest peril since the dawn of the Jim Crow era.
But Pepper doesn't stop there. He lays out a robust pro-democracy agenda outlining how everyone from elected officials to business leaders to everyday citizens can fight back.
About the Author
David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, adjunct professor, and served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party between 2015 and 2021. Pepper is the author of Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wakeup Call from Behind the Lines (2021) which received nationwide attention and praise for its dire warning about the attack on democracy happening in states across the country. A review in Salon called it "arguably the most important" work on democracy in the nation. Pepper's work has been featured on: CNN, MSNBC, and CSPAN; highlighted in the Washington Post, Time, The New York Times, Salon, The New Republic and The New Yorker; and has earned praise from a wide range of political leaders across party lines. Pepper also authored four novels that bridge real-world politics and fiction. His first novel, The People's House, earned praise for having "predicted the Russia scandal." The Wall Street Journal named Pepper "one of the best political-thriller writers on the scene." Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, David is a fifth-generation Cincinnatian. He earned his BA magna cum laude from Yale University where he was Phi Beta Kappa, and later earned his JD from Yale Law School. He was elected to serve as a member of the Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commission. The Ohio Democratic Party elected him chair in December 2014. David also teaches election and voting rights law as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
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