by Robert Draper
A retiring member of Congress wrote back in 1796, “Do not ask what good we do. It is not a fair question in these days of faction.”
He was venting frustration over the stagnation of the House of
Representatives due to partisan bickering. Neither Federalists nor their
opposition would budge on a variety of issues, thus grinding the
nation’s government (and her progress) to a halt.
Draper
finds many parallels in that faraway legislative body and more recent
congressional leaders. After dramatic gains in the 2010 election, a
tidal wave of Tea Party activists descended on the 111th Congress armed
with extreme ideas about governance. The ensuing Congressional year was
nothing short of a tug-of-war match by politicians for the soul of our
country. It was the last thing we needed during a time of great
financial instability.
Among
the main characters was Florida Republican Allen West and South
Carolina Republican Jeff Duncan, two freshmen congressmen who came to
Washington, D.C. to radically alter the course of our nation’s spending.
However, the two congressmen quickly find their extreme stances to
governing at odds with the decisions they were expected to make for
their congressional districts. Extreme conservative ideologies seemed
less applicable when confronted by the needs of one’s home and
community.
The
111th Congress also saw one of its members critically wounded as a
result of the extreme partisan atmosphere. Arizona Democrat Gabrielle
Giffords was shot in the head during a public speaking event. And while
she survived the tragedy, she was forced to step down from Congress due
to lengthy recovery time.
For
me, the most useful perspective in the book comes from twenty-nine-term
Michigan Democrat John Dingell, who had watched other partisan
Congressional bodies break up the slow progress of our nation’s
government. He’d seen many legislators on both ends of the isle, people
who negotiated in good faith with one another, knocked out of their
positions because of partisan maneuvering. Dingell challenges us to
question what is truly important to our nation, a winning political
party, or democratically-achieved legislation for all.
Review graciously shared by Denny Russell
Review graciously shared by Denny Russell
