| Broken Government - How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches
(2007)
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| Front Cover |
Book Details |
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| Genre |
Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Conservatism - United States; Federal government - United States; Public administration - United States; Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ); United States - Politics and government - 2001-2009 |
| Publication Date |
9/11/2007 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.3
x
6.5
mm)
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| Publisher |
Viking Adult |
| Language |
English |
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| Description |
| The former White House counsel faults Republican mismanagement for the current state of the government John Dean has become one of the most trenchant and respected commentators on the current state of American politics and one of the most outspoken and perceptive critics of the administration of George W. Bush in his New York Times bestsellers Conservatives Without Conscience and Worse Than Watergate. In his eighth book, Dean takes the broadest and deepest view yet of the dysfunctional chaos and institutional damage that the Republican Party and its core conservatives have inflicted on the federal government. He assesses the state of all three branches of government, tracing their decline through the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II. Unlike most political commentary, which is concerned with policy, Dean looks instead at process making the case that the 2008 presidential race must confront these fundamental problems as well. Finally, he addresses the question that he is so often asked at his speaking engagements: What, if anything, can and should politically moderate citizens do to combat the extremism, authoritarianism, incompetence, and increasing focus on divisive wedge issues of so many of todays conservative politicians? With the Democrats now in control of both the House and Senate, the stakes for the 2008 presidential election have never been higher. This is a book for anyone who wants to return government to the spirit of the Constitution. |
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| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
JK275 .D43 2007 |
| Dewey |
973.931 |
| ISBN |
9780670018208 |
| Cover Price |
$25.95 |
| No. of Pages |
332 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
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| Notes/Review |
I was a bit afraid that this book fit more into the category of "contemporary political screed" than scholarly history. I tend to eschew the former in favor of the latter. Although there are some parts of this book that fit in the former category, I think the book fits my criteria of scholarly history.
Dean was what I call the honest Nixon appointee. Most of his life he was a member of the Republican party, but he states that in recent years he left the party and identifies as independent. So, even though he still considers himself a Goldwater conservative, partisans of the right won't like this book at all, given that it relies on well documented fact (the notes are copious and thorough) and comes to what I feel are obvious conclusions that are not at all flattering to the Republican party (although not to conservatism itself).
The basic thesis of the book is that the Republican party has become the party of authoritarians, intent on ruling the nation over the objections of the people our government was created to serve. To do this, they will subvert long-standing processes and violate the Constitution without qualm. I think he makes a brilliant case.
In the few places where I feel the book is more "contemporary political screed" than history, he attempts to make some predictions. Some of these he gets wrong, but all too often he is 100% correct. Given that he proved his analysis correct by these correct predictions, I'm willing to forgive him these transgressions.
Although I'm sure most Republicans won't go near this book, I highly recommend they read it with an open mind and take some stock of their personal values with a thought towards reconciling those values with the actions of the leaders of their party. |
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