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A review by gloame
It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the Politics of Extremism by Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann
5.0
Though this book was published in 2012, before President Obama's reelection, it's still relevant today. In fact, in the closing chapter, I was particularly struck by a passage under the tips for things we civilians could do to bring our political landscape back on track:
That struck me hard.
The authors (there are two: both Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein lean middle-right on the political spectrum) talked throughout the book on what has happened in the past and what could happen if things go one way or another. Here in post-Trump 2017, they were right.
The story they told of our nation's political history—how its roots grew for many years and then how, recently, those roots were ripped apart and new, shakier, more extreme grabs for purchase were made by the Republican party—is terrifying, stark, and hits hard with a sense of deja vu. It was published in 2012, and now it's even more of a current affairs primer.
If you want to truly know—from unbiased, academic sources—what has caused the stagnation and obstructionism in the legislative branch, you want to read this book. It's approachable, readable, and deeply, horrifyingly resonant.
That struck me hard.
The authors (there are two: both Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein lean middle-right on the political spectrum) talked throughout the book on what has happened in the past and what could happen if things go one way or another. Here in post-Trump 2017, they were right.
The story they told of our nation's political history—how its roots grew for many years and then how, recently, those roots were ripped apart and new, shakier, more extreme grabs for purchase were made by the Republican party—is terrifying, stark, and hits hard with a sense of deja vu. It was published in 2012, and now it's even more of a current affairs primer.
If you want to truly know—from unbiased, academic sources—what has caused the stagnation and obstructionism in the legislative branch, you want to read this book. It's approachable, readable, and deeply, horrifyingly resonant.