First to the party : the group origins of party transformation / Christopher Baylor.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Building blocs: groups and contested party transformations -- Overcoming a troubled history: civil rights groups seek a coalition with labor -- Labor's interest in a civil rights coalition -- Twisting the donkey's tail: how groups changed a reluctant party -- Maintaining the democratic trajectory on civil rights -- Conservative Christians before the Christian right -- A Christian right takes shape -- The first wave of cultural conservative politics -- Eating the elephant, one bite at a time: influencing a national party through state politics -- Conversions: Republican nominations after Reagan -- Other evidence: populism and gay rights.