Gene Lyons on Republican fund-raising strategies. I am reminded of the book by Thomas Frank, What's the Matter With Kansas? that advanced the following theory: That the G.O.P. has been highly successful in whipping up Middle America to vote its way, promising to outlaw abortion and bring back school prayer…but then Republican leadership takes the clout they get from those election victories and uses it, not for those issues but to push for economic policies that help mega-corporations and the super-rich, often at the expense of Middle America. I thought that book was right when I read it and it's more right today.