Download or read book The Senate Syndrome written by Steven S. Smith and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its rock-bottom approval ratings, acrimonious partisan battles, and apparent inability to do its legislative business, the U.S. Senate might easily be deemed unworthy of attention, if not downright irrelevant. This book tells us that would be a mistake. Because the Senate has become the place where the policy-making process most frequently stalls, any effective resolution to our polarized politics demands a clear understanding of how the formerly august legislative body once worked and how it came to the present crisis. Steven S. Smith provides that understanding in The Senate Syndrome. Like the Senate itself, Smith’s account is grounded in history. Countering a cacophony of inexpert opinion and a widespread misunderstanding of political and legislative history, the book fills in a world of missing information—about debates among senators concerning fundamental democratic processes and the workings of institutional rules, procedures, and norms. And Smith does so in a clear and engaging manner. He puts the present problems of the Senate—the “Senate syndrome,” as he calls them—into historical context by explaining how particular ideas and procedures were first framed and how they transformed with the times. Along the way he debunks a number of myths about the Senate, many perpetuated by senators themselves, and makes some pointed observations about the media’s coverage of Congress. The Senate Syndrome goes beyond explaining such seeming technicalities as the difference between regular filibusters and post-cloture filibusters, the importance of chair rulings, the changing role of the parliamentarian, and the debate over whether appeals of points of order should be subject to cloture margins, to show why understanding them matters. At stake is resolution of the Senate syndrome, and the critical underlying struggle between majority rule and minority rights in American policy making.
Download or read book The Senate Syndrome written by Steven S. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This obstruct-and-restrict syndrome is new to the Senate. In this paper, I report how the Senate, a body of legislators who long took pride in the informality and civility of their deliberations, became so obsessed with parliamentary procedure. I conclude by noting a few of the lessons from the story about the role of the Senate, the blame to be attributed to senators and the parties, and the prospects for reform -- p.2.
Download or read book The Senate Syndrome written by Steven S. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2024-01-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its rock-bottom approval ratings, acrimonious partisan battles, and apparent inability to do its legislative business, the U.S. Senate might easily be deemed unworthy of attention, if not downright irrelevant. This book tells us that would be a mistake. Because the Senate has become the place where the policy-making process most frequently stalls, any effective resolution to our polarized politics demands a clear understanding of how the formerly august legislative body once worked and how it came to the present crisis. Steven S. Smith provides that understanding in The Senate Syndrome.
Download or read book The Senate Syndrome written by Steven S. Smith and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With its rock-bottom approval ratings, acrimonious partisan battles, and apparent inability to do its legislative business, the U.S. Senate might easily be deemed unworthy of attention, if not downright irrelevant. This book tells us that would be a mistake. Because the Senate has become the place where the policy-making process most frequently stalls, any effective resolution to our polarized politics demands a clear understanding of how the formerly august legislative body once worked and how it came to the present crisis. Steven S. Smith provides that understanding in The Senate Syndrome. Like the Senate itself, Smith’s account is grounded in history. Countering a cacophony of inexpert opinion and a widespread misunderstanding of political and legislative history, the book fills in a world of missing information—about debates among senators concerning fundamental democratic processes and the workings of institutional rules, procedures, and norms. And Smith does so in a clear and engaging manner. He puts the present problems of the Senate—the “Senate syndrome,” as he calls them—into historical context by explaining how particular ideas and procedures were first framed and how they transformed with the times. Along the way he debunks a number of myths about the Senate, many perpetuated by senators themselves, and makes some pointed observations about the media’s coverage of Congress. The Senate Syndrome goes beyond explaining such seeming technicalities as the difference between regular filibusters and post-cloture filibusters, the importance of chair rulings, the changing role of the parliamentarian, and the debate over whether appeals of points of order should be subject to cloture margins, to show why understanding them matters. At stake is resolution of the Senate syndrome, and the critical underlying struggle between majority rule and minority rights in American policy making.
Download or read book The Obama Syndrome written by Tariq Ali and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written early in 2010 and initially published in September 2010, The Obama Syndrome predicted the Obama administration’s historic midterm defeat. But unlike myriad commentators who have since pinned responsibility for that Democratic Party collapse on the “reform” president’s lack of firm resolve, Ali’s critique located the problem in Obama’s notion of reform itself. Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency by promising to escalate the war in Afghanistan, and his economic team brought the architects of the financial crisis into the White House. Small wonder then that the “War on Terror”—torture in Bagram, occupation in Iraq, appeasement in Israel, and escalation in Pakistan—continues. And that Wall Street and the country’s biggest corporations have all profited at the expense of America’s working class and poor. Now a thoroughly updated paperback continues the story through the midterms, including a trenchant analysis of the Tea Party, and Obama’s decision to continue with his predecessor’s tax cuts for the rich. Ali asks whether—in the absence of a progressive upheaval from below—US politics is permanently mired in moderate Republicanism. Already called “a comprehensive account” of the problems with Obama (The Huffington Post), this new edition is sure to provide a more “powerful boost to Obama dissenters on the left” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
Download or read book Insecure Majorities written by Frances E. Lee and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] tour de force. Building upon her argument in Beyond Ideology, she adds an important wrinkle into the current divide between the parties in Congress.” —Perspectives on Politics As Democrats and Republicans continue to vie for political advantage, Congress remains paralyzed by partisan conflict. That the last two decades have seen some of the least productive Congresses in recent history is usually explained by the growing ideological gulf between the parties, but this explanation misses another fundamental factor influencing the dynamic. In contrast to politics through most of the twentieth century, the contemporary Democratic and Republican parties compete for control of Congress at relative parity, and this has dramatically changed the parties’ incentives and strategies in ways that have driven the contentious partisanship characteristic of contemporary American politics. With Insecure Majorities, Frances E. Lee offers a controversial new perspective on the rise of congressional party conflict, showing how the shift in competitive circumstances has had a profound impact on how Democrats and Republicans interact. Beginning in the 1980s, most elections since have offered the prospect of a change of party control. Lee shows, through an impressive range of interviews and analysis, how competition for control of the government drives members of both parties to participate in actions that promote their own party’s image and undercut that of the opposition, including the perpetual hunt for issues that can score political points by putting the opposing party on the wrong side of public opinion. More often than not, this strategy stands in the way of productive bipartisan cooperation—and it is also unlikely to change as long as control of the government remains within reach for both parties.
Download or read book Solutions to Political Polarization in America written by Nathaniel Persily and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-27 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political polarization dominates discussions of contemporary American politics. Despite widespread agreement that the dysfunction in the political system can be attributed to political polarization, commentators cannot come to a consensus on what that means. The coarseness of our political discourse, the ideological distance between opposing partisans, and, most of all, an inability to pass much-needed and widely supported policies all stem from the polarization in our politics. This volume assembles several top analysts of American politics to focus on solutions to polarization. The proposals range from constitutional change to good-government reforms to measures to strengthen political parties. Each tackles one or more aspects of America's polarization problem. This book begins a serious dialogue about reform proposals to address the obstacles that polarization poses for contemporary governance.
Download or read book Do Members of Congress Reward Their Future Employers written by Adolfo Santos and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2006 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasingly, former members of Congress are finding their way back into the corridors of power representing the very interest groups they once regulated. As lobbyists, former members of Congress carry significant clout that gives them access not only to their former colleagues in the House of Representatives and Senate, but also to members of the executive branch. This book evaluates why former members of Congress become lobbyists, and the implications of this career choice on pubic policy. Do Members of Congress Reward Their Future Employers? argues that post-congressional lobbying has the potential to undermine sound public policy and may ultimately jeopardize the legitimacy of the institution.
Download or read book Hearings Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Veterans' Affairs and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 1034 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Waxman Report written by Henry Waxman and published by Twelve. This book was released on 2009-07-02 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when some of the most sweeping national initiatives in decades are being debated, Congressman Henry Waxman offers a fascinating inside account of how Congress really works by describing the subtleties and complexities of the legislative process. For four decades, Waxman has taken visionary and principled positions on crucial issues and been a driving force for change. Because of legislation he helped champion, our air is cleaner, our food is safer, and our medical care better. Thanks to his work as a top watchdog in Congress, crucial steps have been taken to curb abuses on Wall Street, to halt wasteful spending in Iraq, and to ban steroids from Major League Baseball. Few legislators can match his accomplishments or his insights on how good work gets done in Washington. In this book, Waxman affords readers a rare glimpse into how this is achieved-the strategy, the maneuvering, the behind-the-scenes deals. He shows how the things we take for granted (clear information about tobacco's harmfulness, accurate nutritional labeling, important drugs that have saved countless lives) started out humbly-derided by big business interests as impossible or even destructive. Sometimes, the most dramatic breakthroughs occur through small twists of fate or the most narrow voting margin. Waxman's stories are surprising because they illustrate that while government's progress may seem glacial, much is happening, and small battles waged over years can yield great results. At a moment when so much has been written about what's wrong with Congress-the grid, the partisanship, the influence of interest groups-Henry Waxman offers sophisticated, concrete examples of how government can (and should) work.
Download or read book Senate Cloture Rule written by and published by . This book was released on 1975 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hearings Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Appropriations written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 1704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The U S Senate written by Burdett Loomis and published by CQ Press. This book was released on 2011-07-26 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With an avalanche of scholarship on the House, it can be tough to balance out coverage in a typical Congress course with appropriate readings on the "slow institution." Offering top-notch research geared to an undergraduate audience, Loomis' new edited volume represents a broad picture of the contemporary Senate and how it came to be. While addressing issues of delay, obstruction, and polarization in a variety of ways, the scholars in this collection are not proposing a reform agenda, but instead, explore the historical and political contexts for how difficult it can be to change a non-majoritarian, highly individualistic institution. Students will come away from these chapters with a much greater appreciation of the Senate's unique combination of tradition, precedent, and constitutional mandate.
Download or read book The Senate written by Daniel Wirls and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this lively analysis, Daniel Wirls examines the Senate in relation to our other institutions of government and the constitutional system as a whole, exposing the role of the "world’s greatest deliberative body" in undermining effective government and maintaining white supremacy in America. As Wirls argues, from the founding era onward, the Senate constructed for itself an exceptional role in the American system of government that has no firm basis in the Constitution. This self-proclaimed exceptional status is part and parcel of the Senate’s problematic role in the governmental process over the past two centuries, a role shaped primarily by the combination of equal representation among states and the filibuster, which set up the Senate’s clash with modern democracy and effective government and has contributed to the contemporary underrepresentation of minority members. As he explains, the Senate’s architecture, self-conception, and resulting behavior distort rather than complement democratic governance and explain the current gridlock in Washington, D.C. If constitutional changes to our institutions are necessary for better governance, then how should the Senate be altered to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem? This book provides one answer.
Download or read book Hearings Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Human Resources written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Human Resources and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 1084 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book More Alike Than Different written by David Egan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-09-07 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this inspiring memoir, David Egan tells his own story, giving us a window into a life spent pushing boundaries. With a family undaunted by his diagnosis of Down syndrome, Egan learned early to speak up for himself. He has since become a powerful advocate for all people with disabilities. His optimistic perspective rejected the limits of stereotypes and the expectations of others. He shares how the support of loving family and friends led him to overcome challenges and blaze new trails. It started with swimming and baseball, when he earned places on his neighborhood teams, competing fiercely and as a fully accepted teammate. He writes firsthand of the empowering feeling of being fully included in elementary school and at work as an adult. Egan has earned positions at prestigious companies and a distinguished fellowship on Capitol Hill. He sits on the boards of influential advocacy organizations. He has addressed audiences worldwide and has played a powerful global advocacy role with Special Olympics. He allowed himself to dream big, and he encourages everyone to do the same. His lesson to all of us is to focus on our shared humanity despite our differences--and our diagnoses. This hopeful memoir will encourage everyone to make the most of their lives.
Download or read book Hearings Reports and Prints of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs written by United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
