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The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy) | 
| Authors: Thomas E. Mann, Norman J. Ornstein
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 31057
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0195368711
Dewey Decimal Number: 328
EAN: 9780195368710
ASIN: 0195368711
Publication Date: August 29, 2008
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Product Description
The Broken Branch offers both a brilliant diagnosis of the cause of Congressional decline and a much-needed blueprint for change, from two experts who understand politics and revere our institutions, but believe that Congress has become deeply dysfunctional. Mann and Ornstein, two of the nation's most renowned and judicious scholars of government and politics, bring to light the historical roots of Congress's current maladies, examining 40 years of uninterrupted Democratic control of the House and the stunning midterm election victory of 1994 that propelled Republicans into the majority in both House and Senate. The byproduct of that long and grueling but ultimately successful Republican campaign, the authors reveal, was a weakened institution bitterly divided between the parties. They highlight the dramatic shift in Congress from a highly decentralized, committee-based institution into a much more regimented one in which party increasingly trumps committee. The resultant changes in the policy process--the demise of regular order, the decline of deliberation, and the weakening of our system of checks and balances--have all compromised the role of Congress in the American Constitutional system. From tax cuts to the war against Saddam Hussein to a Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Legislative process has been bent to serve immediate presidential interests and have often resulted in poorly crafted and stealthily passed laws. Strong majority leadership in Congress, the authors conclude, led not to a vigorous exertion of congressional authority but to a general passivity in the face of executive power. br
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Yep, Still Broken July 7, 2008
Mann and Ornstein's "The Broken Branch" already needs an update to catch up on all the dysfunction since 2006. Congress' inability to accomplish much of anything is explained fairly well here, though the book is at its best when it offers the history of the Congress instead of the brief highlights it offers on more recent news events such as the attempt to change the filibuster rules (the so-called nuclear option), Terry Schiavo, and the multi-hour Medicare Part D vote. br /br /A missing piece is a thorough discussion of the the consolidation of policymaking power in the Executive Branch. Congress has not only lost power due to a lack of institutional knowledge or partisanship, but also as a result of the President's increased budgeting authority, large staff, and regulatory powers since the 1930s. br /br /Another weakness is how much time Ornstein and Mann, who are both excellent scholars of Congress, spend talking about their own efforts at reform. Reading the book, you would think there had been no reform efforts unless Ornstein and Mann were behind them. That seems unlikely despite their influence on the hill and the respect many have for them.br /br /As stated above, it is time for an update to the story to include the two years of dysfunction since the 2006 election. The Republican minority has run roughshod over the Democratic majority, using procedural techniques to grind Congress to a halt and practically force Democrats to adopt the same practices they decried when in the minority. Part of the problem is just a philosophical difference. Democrats never let Congressional business grind to a complete halt because they believe in the power of government to create change. Republicans, broadly speaking, do not really care if an appropriations bill passes so they are happy to put Congressional business on hold endlessly. Mann and Ornstein offer no solution for this, and the only one might be a more active and engaged citizenry. br /br /There are, of course, good people on both sides who want to reform Congress and keep the policymaking process running smoothly, but the current system is set up to be adversarial, money intensive, and leadership driven. Not a recipe for success unfortunately. As a partisan Democrat and former hill staffer, I probably share part of the blame as part of the problem, and this book and the current inability of Congress to do much of anything is a grim reminder of that.
 Important Book July 11, 2007
This book is important. When you realize how much power Congress has and how little they have been doing, and how little institutional responsibility everyone on Capitol Hill seems to have, you will begin to fear that America may be on the start of a downward slide.
What do they do? April 16, 2007
I want a job, where by I can inform the boss, when I will work, how long I will work, and what my benefits will be. When I will go on vacation, how many vacations I will take per year, and how long said vacation will be. Oh yes I want to enform my employer what my salary will be, when I get a raise, and what that amount of that raise will be.br /br /I will refuse to meet with any of my employers, I will only meet with "Lobbists," and I will never discuss a pending law with my fellow law makers, and any and all significant laws will only be voted on in the dead of night to keep my employers in the dark.br /br /I will spend most of my time in Washington chasing dollars so that I can keep this very wonderful job. You know I have to be able to tell my employers what a good job I am doing so that they will return me to my position, in two years, or maybe give me a promotion.br /br /A dream job, and the title you would have would be "Congressman," or "Congresswoman." Oh did I mention I would be jetted around the world at the expense of Exxon, DuPont, or General Motors? How good is that? The really good part is it will not cost me one thin dime.br /br /Besides, my employers are stupid. They do not keep any checks and balances on my activities, and care not what lie falls out of my mouth. I can dilute the powers and responsibilities of my office, "The War Powers," as an example. Once we are in a war, I can relenquish oversight of a few idiots who happened to have joined the military and may loose their lives, is not my concern, because that may get in the way of my "Dollar Chasing." Besides I can just rubber stamp what ever the president wants, look busy, and that keeps him happy. No one will rat on me because we are all doing it together. And I do not have to worry about the news media, because they are too busy smelling after Brittney Spears.br /br /The good life, you think? All I can say is we get what we deserve. We as Americans do not keep ourselves informed, we will not pick up a newspaper, and definately not a book so that we know what is happening to our freedoms, or our nation. Well here it is all laid out for you the author has done the hard part, now all you have to do is read it.br /br /Solutions are offered up here as well, but they too are as about as useless as udders on a bull, if we the people pay no attention.br /br /br /br /
 A great history lesson January 10, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I read this after I saw one of the authors interviewed by Chris Matthews who spoke of the quality of the text. The author had obviously been 'around the block' a few times in Washington and it is clear he not only knows Congress's procedures but he knows the players as well. The author does a remarkable job of explaining how legislation is crafted and how deals are put together often in the 11th hour to 'insure' the outcome of the vote. Much discussion, often critical, of how Congress has failed on both sides of the aisle gives the book a very non-partisan feel. You sit back and hope that somehow this thing is on cruise control, because with more and more human intervention, things just seem to be getting worse.
 A Broken Branch's Hasty Book January 9, 2007
8 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book, though purporting to expose abuses of the legislative process in the House, is lacking in a number of areas. Its substance suffers from an obvious rush to get to print prior to the 2006 midterm elections. It could easily have been written as a less profitable and more concise essay.br /br /There is very little history of the Houses's storied past. The book is best when it differentiates between abuses of the Democrats in the majority in the past, and the Republicans in their 12 year reign. The Medicare prescription drug vote stands out.br /br /That vote, however, does not stand out as much as the author's naivete in their own dealings with Congress. While working on a House study group, formed by the Democrats to help improve the operation of the House, the authors actually inserted in the report that the Democratic house leadership was "arrogant."br /br /The authors then appear to be taken aback that they were called to a meeting of House chairmen who didn't appreciate that characterization of their leadership. Regardless of whether true or not, their characterization of the leadership not only could have been more diplomatically stated, it needn't have been stated at all. Such naivete raises the question as to how effective the authors can actually be in their declared mission to fix a broken branch.br /br /This is the kind of political book all too often found in the public domain these days. It was rushed to print to address a contemparary issue that will fade into history. it won't even meet President Bush's criterion as a footnote. It will not serve as a good primary source for historians. br /br /It also spends too much of its time in discussing the authors's self-laudatory attempts to "reform" Congress. These days self-promotion seems to be required material for books whose existence drifts between contemporary journalism, history, and "expert" commentary.
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