It's Even Worse Than It Looks
How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism
by Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein
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Pub Date May 01 2012 | Archive Date Sep 01 2012
Perseus Books Group | Basic Books
Description
Though partisanship is as old as American democracy, political acrimony is no longer confined to moments of high passion; it's a permanent state of affairs. Congress is deadlocked and its approval ratings are at record lows. America's two main political parties have given up their traditions of compromise, creating a mismatch between our Constitutional democracy and the functional realities of modern politics. And one of these parties has taken on the role of eternal adversary; many Republicans refused to so much as acknowledge the legitimacy of those duly elected officials who do not fit within their own rigid ideological framework.
In It's Even Worse Than It Looks, Congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein present a grim picture of how personal pettiness and childish tribalism have led Congress - and the United States - to the brink of institutional collapse. Since the Republicans were rewarded for their obstructionist tactics in the 2010 midterm elections, they have refused to allow anything that might help the Democrats politically, resulting in grinding gridlock. At the same time, artificial barriers to compromise - such as campaign pledges, the abuse of arcane parliamentary rules, and purity tests in primary campaigns - have exacerbated pre-existing structural deficiencies in all branches of government.Having diagnosed the problem, the authors endorse some solutions, like greater public participation and institutional restructuring of the House and Senate, while debunking others, like independent or third-party candidates. Above all, they call on the media as well as the public at large to focus on the true causes of dysfunction rather than just throwing the bums out every election cycle. There is no "silver bullet" reform that can solve everything, but without attempts to restore functionality to our government, American democracy will remain in serious danger.
Thomas E. Mann is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. He is a former executive director of the American Political Science Association, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the author of a weekly column for Roll Call and an election analyst for CBS News. He has done extensive work on campaign finance reform. He lives in Washington, D.C.
They are co-authors of The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track and joint recipients of the Policy Studies Organization's Hubert H. Humphrey award for distinguished public service by a political scientist.
Advance Praise
“In It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, Mann and Ornstein diagnose the roots of our nation’s new legislative order. In doing so, they draw attention to the forces holding back America’s future and the changes we must make in order to overcome them.”
—William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America
“More than anytime in my lifetime, the United States is challenged at home and so is our place in the world. When Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein get together to sound a loud alarm about the way our political system is being torn apart, it’s time to listen – and to listen hard. Then the tough part: – how do we restore some sense of common purpose, of working together to make our government work? Mann and Ornstein set out ways to rebuild political bridges, beginning right now. We better get to work.”
—Paul A. Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve
“The standard line on a good book is that it's 'essential reading'. That's true of Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein's The Road to Obstruction, but the phrase does not begin to get at the importance of this passionate warning by two of our very best political scientists about our nation's capacity to govern itself. Mann and Ornstein sweep aside the timid conventional wisdom to inform Americans that our problems are even worse than we think they are. It is absolutely vital that this book's findings and its message enter the consciousness and consciences of journalists, politicians and citizens who care about the future of our republic.” —E. J. Dionne, author of Our Divided Political Heart
“Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein are two of the most respected experts on the United States Congress today. One doesn’t have to agree with every one of their proposals to appreciate the extraordinary contribution to improving governance that they make in this important book. We could do no better than to use it as a compelling blueprint for urgently needed reform. If every member of Congress would read just one book on the subject, my wish would be that it would be this one.”
—Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader
“This is an exceptionally important and cogent analysis of America’s breakdown in self-governance. It is an urgent warning of the consequences of our intolerant politics and governing paralysis, and ways to fix it.”
—Chuck Hagel, U.S. Senator (1997-2009), Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9780465031337 |
| PRICE | $26.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 224 |
