The former senator and presidential candidate offers a provocative new assessment of the first "national security president"
James Monroe is remembered today primarily for two things: for being the last of the "Virginia Dynasty"--following George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison--and for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, his statement of principles in 1823 that the western hemisphere was to be considered closed to European intervention. But Gary Hart sees Monroe as a president ahead of his time, whose priorities and accomplishments in establishing America's "national security" have a great deal in common with chief executives of our own time.
Unlike his predecessors Jefferson and Madison, Monroe was at his core a military man. He joined the Continental Army at the age of seventeen and served with distinction in many pivotal battles. (He is prominently featured at Washington's side in the iconic painting Washington Crossing the Delaware.) And throughout his career as a senator, governor, ambassador, secretary of state, secretary of war, and president, he never lost sight of the fact that without secure borders and friendly relations with neighbors, the American people could never be truly safe in their independence. As president he embarked on an ambitious series of treaties, annexations, and military confrontations that would secure America's homeland against foreign attack for nearly two hundred years. Hart details the accomplishments and priorities of this forward-looking president, whose security concerns clearly echo those we face in our time.

Bringing to light a long-neglected aspect of Thomas Jefferson's political philosophy - the "ward republic" - Gary Hart here offers a wholly original blueprint for republican restoration in which every citizen can participate democratically in the governing of his or her own life. Of crucial relevance for contemporary society, including its startlingly prescient plan for homeland security, Restoration of the Republic provides original insights into issues of national urgency as well as the timeless questions that bedevil the American democratic experiment.

Rarely does scholarship anticipate the most dramatic events of the moment. In this timely work Gary Hart does just that, arguing for the restoration of republican virtues and for homeland security as an important first step. The American democratic republic has from its founding been a paradoxical success. Simultaneously attached to state and national power, citizens' rights and citizens' duties, American democracy has uniquely turned its reliance on consent from the governed into a powerful governing of the consenting. In a remarkable political feat, America's founders combined mixed government, the language of popular sovereignty and a self-conscious emphasis on checks and balances to forge a republic that has weathered the test of time. The complex realities of the twenty-first century, however, have fundamentally challenged the underpinnings of this enduring American experiment, repeatedly exposing the tensions at the heart of America's mixed system of government. What then is the nature of an American republic in an age of democracy? How can the democratic values of social justice and equality be balanced with republican values of civic duty and popular sovereignty? Bringing to light a long-neglected aspect of Thomas Jefferson's political philosophy--the "ward republic"--Gary Hart here offers a wholly original blueprint for republican restoration in which every citizen can participate democratically in the governing of his or her own life. Of crucial relevance for contemporary society, including its startlingly prescient plan for homeland security, Restoration of the Republic provides original insights into issues of national urgency as well as the timeless questions that bedevil the American democratic experiment.

Gary Hart has long been one of the nation's foremost experts on national security, combining a deep knowledge of national security policy with first-hand experience of the political realities that influence how America safeguards itself and its interests. In his new book, Hart outlines the fundamental changes with which America must grapple when confronting the current terrorist threat--a threat with no state and no geographic home-base and thus no real target for the world's largest and most sophisticated military force. Hart argues for a security of the commons, emphasizing that the new security will require a shield for the homeland as well as a cloak of non-military security, including security of income, community, environment, and energy.

Gary Hart has long been one of the nation's foremost experts on national security, combining a deep knowledge of national security policy with first-hand experience of the political realities that influence how America safeguards itself and its interests. In his new book, Hart outlines, in clear, simple prose, the fundamental changes with which America must grapple when confronting a terrorist threat that has no state and no geographic homebase and thus offers no genuine target for the world's largest and most sophisticated military force. Security can only be achieved, Hart argues, by applying new tactics, new players, and a nuanced understanding of the radical changes in the security environment. The old security required massive weapons in massive numbers. The new security requires special forces, individual warrior teams seeking out terrorists in the most remote corners of the world and in the heart of American cities, as well as cooperation among intelligence services. The old security required economic dominance. The new security requires economic integration in a world of international markets, trade, and finance. The new security will be both national and international, defensive and offensive, and will require a shield for the homeland as well as a cloak of non-military security.

A rallying cry "for Democrats who dream about governing and are eager to get their party back on track."--"CBS News""" In this powerful and provocative manifesto, former senator Gary Hart offers a call to action for Democrats to embrace moral principles and progressive leadership and not to fall back into a pattern of caution and calculation. He urges a return to the principles bequeathed to the party by its great twentieth-century presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to a single national community; Harry S. Truman's security through internationalism; John F. Kennedy's ideal of civic duty and service to the nation; and Lyndon B. Johnson's insistence on equality for all citizens. With the Democrats now in control of Congress, Hart speaks directly and passionately to those who seek to transform this political opportunity into a robust progressive program. As the 2008 presidential election approaches, it is the wake-up call so many Americans have been waiting for. Gary Hart represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 1975 to 1987. He is currently a professor at the University of Colorado, a distinguished fellow at the New America Foundation, and chairman of the American Security Project. He resides with his family in Kittredge, Colorado. In this provocative manifesto, a cri de coeur for Democrats who have grown increasingly frustrated with their party's leaders, former senator Gary Hart takes the Democrats to task for choosing caution and calculation in place of moral principles. That path, Hart says, will lead only to sorrow--for the party and for the country. "The Courage of Our Convictions" is Hart's call to action--a clear-eyed and plainspoken manifesto that urges a return to the principles bequeathed to the party by its great twentieth-century presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to a single national community, where no American would be left behind; Harry S. Truman's internationalism, which preserved democracy after World War II and led eventually to the defeat of communism; John F. Kennedy's ideal of civic duty and service to the nation; and Lyndon B. Johnson's insistence on equality for all our citizens. With the 2008 presidential election just over the horizon, Hart speaks directly and passionately to the many Democrats who seek a principled change of leadership in Washington. It is the wake-up call that many Americans have been waiting for. "Hart outlines a unified approach to the reconstruction of domestic politics and international relations . . . [He gives] penetrating insights, particularly regarding the tension between libertarianism and civic duty."--"Kirkus Reviews" "Hart remains a strong voice in the Democratic Party and has proven himself an effective writer. Both his voice and his writerly talent are exercised in his latest book . . . Not empty words, not shallow ideas."--Brad Hooper, "Booklist""" "The former Democratic senator from Colorado, Hart captures the frustration of many grassroots Democrats with their party's timid and rudderless response to the Bush administration. Hart pointedly mentions the advice that former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield gave him when he first entered the Senate: 'Draw a line. Fix a point beyond which you will not go and stick to it.' In Hart's view, far too many Democratic politicians have no such line of principle. He advises them to return to the four guiding ideas that were the foundation of the party's success in the 20th century: FDR's sense that all Americans are one community, Truman's internationalism, JFK's call to service, and LBJ's dedication to social equality. Hart believes that Democrats must counter right-wing social Darwinism, imperial isolation, corruption, and the veneration of the super-rich at the expense of all others. To regain power, he writes, Democrats need to offer policies that will provide healthcare, a cleaner environment, and opportunity for all. This book will find a ready audience of those seeking an alternative to contemporary policies."--Duncan Stewart, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, "Library Journal " "A former senator exhorts the Democratic Party to lead the recovery from the catastrophic Bush years by returning to its core principles . . . Hart outlines a unified approach to the reconstruction of domestic politics and international relations. He begins with a declaration of defeat in Iraq and the excoriation of the Democratic leadership that supported or condoned the invasion: if only they had listened to the few brave souls, such as himself, who in 2002 were opposing intervention. The Iraq war today is the precise analogue of the final years of the Vietnam War, just as the Bush administration's outrages against civil liberties, the author says, are akin to those of the Nixon Administration . . . The four great Democratic presidents of the 20th century epitomized the party's core principles: Franklin Roosevelt, for his defense of community; Harry S. Truman, for his belief in alliance-based internationalism; JFK's call to civic duty; and Lyndon Johnson's push for equal rights. In the 1980s, however, the Democratic Leadership Council induced the party to abandon principle in favor of centrist positions and electoral success. Hart acknowledges that the party has suffered in part because it sought to realize its tenets in outmoded ways. 'Security, ' he suggests, is the umbrella concept that can cover all those principles in the future: security of livelihood, community, the environment, energy supplies and borders. These goals cannot be achieved on just the domestic level, he says--they require the re-integration of the United States into the international community."--"Kirkus Reviews""" "Former Senator Gary Hart's role as a lifelong Democratic reformer comes to the fore in this thought-provoking manifesto, part housekeeping and part call to action, taking on the Democratic party's current identity crisis. Dismissing Democrats' hunt for a 'an exciting new candidate who will lead the Democratic party out of the wilderness, ' Hart observes that 'this search has become a substitute for thought, for purpose, for conviction . . . No politician can save a political party that does not know what it stands for.' For Hart, it's the principles and convictions of leaders past--such as FDR and JFK--that will lead the Democrats forward. In addition to putting to work 'Twentieth-Century Principles in a Twenty-First Century World, ' Hart focuses on thoughtful approaches to U.S. obligations--as opposed to detailed policy proposals--including redefining security, safeguarding liberty and protecting the environment. Hart saves some of his harshest criticism for Democratic leaders who stood silent as the country went to war. Pressing for damage control and repair--rather than 'election by default'--Hart asserts that 'in 2008, the American people will look for a leader who was willing to say, "I made a mistake . . . and I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."' Though it may prove no more than a pipe dream, Hart's stand may prove just what many confused and foundering Democrats need to read."--"Publishers Weekly"

Today, even as America asserts itself globally, it lacks a grand strategy to replace "containment of communism." In this short, sharp book, Gary Hart outlines a new grand strategy, one directing America's powers to the achievement of its large purposes. Central to this strategy is the power of American ideals, what Hart calls "the fourth power." Constitutional liberties, representative government, press freedom--these and other democratic principles, attractive to peoples worldwide, constitute a resource that may prove as important to national security and the national interest in this dangerous new century as traditional military, economic and political might.
A bracing vision of an America responsive to a full spectrum of global challenges, The Fourth Power calls for a deeper understanding both of the threats we face and the profound strengths at our disposal to fight them.

This is the freshman published collection by Chicago author and musician Gari Hart

A nation defines itself by the kind of army it creates for its protection. By that standard, America at the close of the twentieth century is large, powerful, and technologically sophisticated. But it is also muscle-bound, confused, wasteful, and desperately in search of a mission. In "The Minuteman, " former Senator Gary Hart proposes a provocative and radical restructuring of America's armed forces, asking the questions that have gone unanswered for too long: Why do we have 1.5 million men and women under arms with no major threat to our security? Why is our military budget at the same level as during the Cold War? Why are we spending more money for fewer weapons? Why are the best service personnel taking early retirement? Why is it taboo even to question the structure of our bloated military establishment?
Drawing on his long experience as a leader in the field of military reform (including twelve years on the Senate Armed Services Committee), Hart proposes a return to the oldest principles of the republic, making an impassioned case for replacing the present Cold War military with a smaller standing army and a much larger, well-trained citizen reserve -- an "army of the people." The professional nucleus would be a rapid-response force responsible for dealing with immediate crises and low-intensity conflicts, while the larger army of citizen-soldiers would be called up when national interests required a larger, sustained military presence.
From ancient times to the present, the heroes of democracy have consistently upheld two principles: that it is dangerous to maintain a large standing army in peacetime; and that free people have a civic duty to participate in their own defense. Contemporary America, by contrast, has sunk into "Eisenhower's Nightmare," beholden to a powerful military-industrial complex embracing the armed forces, military contractors, unions, Congress, and military communities economically dependent on military spending. The only way to break this cycle of dependence, Hart argues, is to restore a citizen military -- a true militia, like the one that defended Lexington and Concord. If we reject this path, he warns, we risk being truly ill-prepared for the challenges facing our nation in the century about to dawn.

Reflecting the experience and wisdom Gary Hart has accumulated during a lifetime of public service, The Patriot addresses the fundamental challenges to democratic leadership posed by a new century and a new millennium. Written as a handbook of advice to an aspiring younger politician in the tradition of Machiavelli's The Prince, Hart's compact and incisive book identifies the primary challenge facing American leaders today as the restoration of trust between the people and their government. The healthy skepticism Americans have historically held toward politics has been replaced by enervating cynicism, which breeds suspicion, anger, systematic alienation, and ultimately cultural dis-integration. Hart lays the blame for this problem squarely at the feet of today's political leaders, whose mistrust of the people themselves has inspired a like mistrust of the people for their government. Such an atmosphere, Hart argues, is conductive to the flourishing success of new "barbarians" - found today on both left and right - who denigrate our culture and heritage, divide our society, and utilize the political process to bludgeon and destroy their opponents at any price. Speaking the language of revolution and violence, these new barbarians coarsen political discourse and cheapen the moral capital required to maintain our democratic republic - a healthy sense of public spirit and a patriotic pride in our accomplishments and history. The tools of leadership espoused by Machiavelli - mystery, force, and fraud - gave us four centuries of realpolitik. But the conditions of modern governance in a media-saturated society require openness and candor from our leaders, Hart maintains, and in a powerful and persuasive collection of short, interconnected essays, he sets forth new principles for leadership and counsels citizens and politicians alike in the art of democratic renewal. Unlike other politicians whose youthful idealism has been corrupted by actual political experience, Hart remains an optimist. Believing that our politics can still be ennobled by great leadership, he looks to the rising generation to create a political culture that is both idealistic and practical. Hart has witnessed the brutality of politics up close. Yet he has risen above the bitterness of his own reversals to light the way to a new kind of political probity for the next generation.