Hooray! A clarion call for common sense. This is an important, timely, and fascinating book. Ron Brownstein describes how American politics became so polarized and partisan, explains why this is so damaging to our nation, and suggests ways we can reverse this trend. Every voter should read it right away, for the sake of our democracy.
archy, can you offer a back-of-the-napkin example of Brownstein's suggestions for reversing the current trend?
I'm mainly curious about whether the author has taken full measure of the Herculean task that "fixing things" will truly be (Congress alone is a damned good modern example of the Augean stables).
First, read his bio and columns. I'm not real certain that I'd consider adopting ANY of Brownstein's suggestions for reversing the current trend, or even that reversing the trend is desirable. But you can read some of his LA Times columns here, after considering a few tidbits from his bio:
Ronald Brownstein is the national affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times, writing a weekly column every Wendesday on politics and policy as well as regular pieces for the newspaper's Opinion pages. Previously he served as the Times' national political correspondent and the author of the weekly Washington Outlook column. He has been with the Los Angeles Times since January 1990, except for seven months in 1998 when he served as chief political correspondent and columnist for U.S. News and World Report.
Mr. Brownstein has twice been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, receiving that recognition for his coverage of both the 1996 and 2004 presidential campaigns. The Pulitzer Board, naming him a finalist in 2005, cited "the clarity, consistency and quality of his political reporting during a presidential election year." Mr. Brownstein has appeared as a political analyst for CNN since 1998. In addition he has appeared frequently on "Meet the Press," and "This Week with George Stephanopolous" and previously appeared regularly on "Face the Nation," "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer," and "Washington Week in Review." He has also been a repeat guest on Charlie Rose (where he has served as a substitute host), Nightline, the three network morning programs, MSNBC, CNBC, as well as C-Span. ... .
In 1997, he was named by National Journal as one of the "25 most influential journalists in Washington." In February 2001, Washingtonian Magazine named him as one of Washington's 20 "best and most influential" journalists, writing "Brownstein writes groundbreaking stories frequently. Taken together, they constitute a running chronicle of the political history of our era. His instincts are uncanny." When Brill's Content magazine asked President Clinton in 2000 to name the "one journalist who generally gets it right, explains to you what the issues are, and what's going on in the country," he cited Brownstein.
I'm mainly curious about whether the author has taken full measure of the Herculean task that "fixing things" will truly be (Congress alone is a damned good modern example of the Augean stables).
I think he's sufficiently grounded in history and experience to see what's coming. And if his political outlook is far different from that of Pat Buchanan, it's interesting that those who hold such divergent views note the same or similar eventual outcome.