Rise, Decline and Renewal...
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Rise, Decline and Renewal tells the remarkable story of the Maine Democratic Party – how it suddenly rose from irrelevance in 1954 with the election of Governor Ed Muskie, successfully challenged the ruling Republican Party, and initiated a creative period of wide-ranging reforms that produced a model state government. Prosperity, however, was clouded by leadership failures, then succeeded by institutional decline. The vision that had once galvanized Democrats faded. The final chapters describe how Maine’s largest political party can again seize the initiative, energize a new generation of young people, and govern in the public interest. |
Ed Muskie (right) and his campaign manager, Frank Coffin, setting off on a campaign trip during Muskie’s breakthrough 1954 campaign for governor.
What They're Saying
“Rise, Decline and Renewal covers in fascinating --
and to some of us, at least, eye-opening — detail
how the Democratic Party in Maine rose from its own ashes . . . This book is not a partisan glorification of Democratic politicians, but a detailed critical overview
of how the party has shaped itself in Maine.”
Dana Wilde, Off Radar
“Equal part comedy, history and tragedy.”
Castine Patriot
“Rooks examines what the Maine Democratic Party needs to do in order to achieve sustained electoral success.”
Brunswick Times Record
“Every candidate for Governor and Legislature
should read it – and you should too.”
George Smith, Columnist
“Rise, Decline and Renewal covers in fascinating --
and to some of us, at least, eye-opening — detail
how the Democratic Party in Maine rose from its own ashes . . . This book is not a partisan glorification of Democratic politicians, but a detailed critical overview
of how the party has shaped itself in Maine.”
Dana Wilde, Off Radar
“Equal part comedy, history and tragedy.”
Castine Patriot
“Rooks examines what the Maine Democratic Party needs to do in order to achieve sustained electoral success.”
Brunswick Times Record
“Every candidate for Governor and Legislature
should read it – and you should too.”
George Smith, Columnist
“Through decades of writing, Doug Rooks has chronicled, with unparalleled insight and devotion, Maine’s politics . . .
Now, Rooks tells where these leaders came from, and in the process tells Maine’s story . . . Democracies are under stress.
Rooks provides a case study for how to grapple with that stress, and meet the challenges citizens face.”
Peter Mills, former Maine State Senator
Now, Rooks tells where these leaders came from, and in the process tells Maine’s story . . . Democracies are under stress.
Rooks provides a case study for how to grapple with that stress, and meet the challenges citizens face.”
Peter Mills, former Maine State Senator
Frank Coffin campaigns from a flatbed truck made to look like a “whistlestop” train platform during his ill-fated 1960 campaign for governor.
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Governor Joe Brennan and Senator George Mitchell at a 1982 campaign rally – the peak year for the resurgent Maine Democratic Party.
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Ed Muskie’s old Senate office in downtown Waterville still bears his name after all these years.
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