WHY CONGRESS

The story of Congress’ slow degeneration and possible path to recovery.

Congress has been the subject of jeers since the early days of the republic, but the past 20 years have seen the scoffing turn into outright contempt. Wallach, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, agrees that Congress has become dysfunctional and wants to know why. In this authoritative book, he begins with the period after World War II and the civil rights era, when Congress worked effectively. Much of the essential policy work was done through bipartisan committees, and even when there was acrimony, there was a sense that the opinions of the minority would still be valued. This began to change in the post-Watergate era, when the flood of young Democrats took the view that the other side were not respected opponents. Understandably, the Republicans reciprocated when the pendulum eventually swung their way. Power became increasingly concentrated in the hands of leadership cliques, who saw themselves as battlefield commanders rather than builders of coalitions. In this view, you won not by having the better argument but by preventing the other side from being heard. There were a few cases of cooperative action, but these were exceptions. Wallach makes useful proposals for reform, noting that a crucial element is that the majority party has to be willing to give the minority a genuine avenue to speak and pay some respect to their position. However, the author does not sound hopeful. One area he does not discuss is the media, which rewards snarky sound bites and bloody combat rather than nuanced policy discussions. Overall, this is a comprehensive account of how we got here and how the course might be changed. The author concludes with “An Open Letter to America’s Legislators.”

An incisive, worrying examination of how Congress reached its current dire state, written with a fair mind and a steady hand.