Crossing the Aisle: How Bipartisanship Brought Tennessee to the Twenty-First Century and Could Save America

The latter third of the twentieth century was a time of fundamental political transition across the South as increasing numbers of voters began to choose Republican candidates over Democrats. Yet in the 1980s and '90s, reform-focused policymaking-from better schools to improved highways and health care-flourished in Tennessee. This was the work of moderate leaders from both parties who had a capacity to work together "across the aisle."

The Tennessee story, as the Pulitzer Prize-winning au...