{"product_id":"broken-branch-how-congress-is-failing-america-and-how-to-get-it-back-on-track-paperback","title":"Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eThomas E. Mann\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eNorman J. Ornstein\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Broken Branch\u003c\/em\u003e 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\u003cbr\u003ein 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThomas E. Mann\u003c\/strong\u003e is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. The author of numerous books on American government, and a contributor to major magazines and newspapers like \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNorman J. Ornstein\u003c\/strong\u003e is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. An election analyst for CBS News, he writes a weekly column called \"Congress Inside Out\" for \u003cem\u003eRoll Call\u003c\/em\u003e. His work has also appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eForeign Affairs\u003c\/em\u003e, and he appears regularly on television programs like \u003cem\u003eThe NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eCharlie Rose\u003c\/em\u003e. Like Mann, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 320\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.7 x 7.8 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 29, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51753943892256,"sku":"9780195368710","price":16.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/fb23bbdc196f8dbcb82d7873df710839.webp?v=1780030054","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/broken-branch-how-congress-is-failing-america-and-how-to-get-it-back-on-track-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}