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The Polarized Congress: The Post-Traditional Procedure of Its
Current Struggles argues that the rise of the polarized Congress
means a totally different Congressional procedure, especially after
2007, compared to the accustomed "traditional" one. Polarized
Congress explores a host of lesser-known, even sometimes below the
radar, aspects of the post-traditional or polarized model. These
range from "ping-ponging" of major measures between chambers
(without conferencing), to the Senate Majority Leader's new
"toolkit". They go from the now-crucial "Hastert Rule" in the
House, to the astonishment of legislating the Affordable Care Act
by singular procedures including budget reconciliation. The book
challenges the easy assumption, especially by the non-specialist
press, that Congressional procedure is descending into nothing more
than chaotic brutishness or eternal stalemate. Instead, it explains
the transformation of the traditional model about "how a bill
becomes a law" before 2000, into the new current model in which
Congress acts very differently.
In The Semi-Sovereign Presidency, Capitol Hill insider Charles
Tiefer shows how George Bush used the executive office to
circumvent Congress, thwart official Washington, and confound the
public will. Even Bush partisans may be surprised to discover the
president's unprecedented use of executive signing statements to
modify or, in effect, abrogate acts of Congress-even popular,
bipartisan efforts like the 1991 Civil Rights Act; his
commissioning of the "Quayle Council" to derail regulatory
legislation such as the Clean Air Act of 1990; and his catapulting
of the National Security Council into foreign policy prominence
outstripping that of the Departments of Defense and State. As
Tiefer details for the first time here, "Iraqgate," the hidden
courtship of Saddam Hussein prior to the Gulf War, is perhaps the
most dramatic example of Bush's executive fiat-a relationship
conducted by way of Bush National Security Directives and similarly
obscured from the public eye. Bush chose an essentially negative
approach to governing partly because he was unwilling to engage
Congress on matters of principle head to head and was equally
unwilling to make his principles public-addressing himself to the
nation as his predecessor had so effectively done. But, as Tiefer
persuasively argues, it was Bush's belief in the sovereignty of
executive power-an almost monarchical conception of the
presidency-that was his primary modus operandi and ultimately his
downfall. Bush and his approach to power are interesting not just
to students and scholars of the presidency but to all citizens
concerned about the country and its leadership.
In this searing indictment of current administration policy,
Charles Tiefer, a distinguished scholar of national legal affairs
and former solicitor of the House of Representatives, argues that
President George W. Bush methodically manipulates the law to
promote right-wing causes. The beneficiaries of these machinations
range from frontline pro-weapon and anti-women's rights groups to
major industries that profit from lax environmental standards and
military intervention in resource-rich regions. Accessibly written,
legally rigorous, and meticulously documented, "Veering Right"
demonstrates how the administration's already-ample arsenal for
accomplishing ideological goals was expanded with weapons such as
Attorney General John Ashcroft's social crusades and the polarizing
2004 election campaign. Tiefer lays out a compelling case for how
the administration consistently erects barriers to media and
congressional oversight that might expose covert motivations to
public scrutiny.With an eye on the future, the White House is
building a durable and potentially dominant machine for pursuing
ideological goals by awarding lifetime judgeships and by exchanging
favors for campaign funding. This book presents eye-opening
evidence that ultra-conservatives could achieve previously
unimaginable successes during a second Bush term. As a former
Solicitor of the House of Representatives, Tiefer possesses a
wealth of insight gleaned from decades of no-holds-barred
investigations and judicial struggles. His wide-ranging perspective
takes into account cultural changes, constitutional issues,
partisan and electoral developments, and political personalities.
The most exhaustive analysis to date of the Bush administration's
real agenda, this book provides a rare insider's view of the
strategic, devious, and potentially overpowering ways that
presidents make ideological use of the law."Veering Right"
documents how President Bush's secrecy and deception undermined the
democratic process by misleading Congress and the public about
international and domestic matters ranging from doctored Iraq
weapons intelligence to covered-up drugmaker subsidies paid for by
seniors. Bush's first term lays the groundwork for even more
extreme right wing policies if he is re-elected. This agenda
includes tilting the nation's tax structure against the middle
class in Democratic states, weakening traditional Medicare by
concentrating rising costs on poorer and sicker seniors, and
exporting jobs via the trade fast track. John Ashcroft used
religiosity and race-baiting to build his political career and,
after 9/11, blocked questioning of his abuses - ranging from
concealed undermining of the Bill of Rights to promoting the
intolerance of the religious right - by labeling it as suspicious
and even treasonous.Bush turned the public's reaction after 9/11
away from the logical Saudi suspects and against Iraq in a
spectacular double-play to push his agenda in the world's oil
patch. Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton and her crew of
lawyer-lobbyists ran the public's resources and its pollution
controls like a candy store for pariah industries. Bush's domestic
legal gambits around big money paid off in 2004 with a historical
gross campaign war chest as a quid pro quo for favors rendered. The
Bush Administration dismantled international legal regimes ranging
from arms control and women's rights to global climate control and
international tobacco regulation. Bush's unilateralist alienation
of potential support abroad hobbled both the Iraq occupation and
the effort against terrorism.
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