The best U.S.Congresses, Senates & Legislative books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Are any of these claims...wrong?

For example, take:

> Anti-conservative sentence of the oped: " the reality of American politics is asymmetric polarization: extremism on the right is a powerful political force, while extremism on the left isn’t." Hmm.

This isn't a hot take from Krugman. It's conventional wisdom in political science. See https://voteviewblog.com/2015/06/10/more-on-assymmetric-polarization-yes-the-republicans-did-it/ or https://www.amazon.com/Even-Worse-Than-Looks-Constitutional/dp/0465031331

A committed party that, you know, likes Democracy and upholds the values of Liberalism (that's large L not small l). This book does a good job of outlining the issues with the R party: https://www.amazon.com/Even-Worse-Than-Looks-Constitutional/dp/0465096204.

One can also do a thought experiment if instead of Trump this was a D President doing the actions. What would the R party be doing?

Please also know that what you see on Twitter or hear about happening on a college campus isn't also the D party's platform. There are lots of shades of grey when it comes to Free Speech and such a right is not absolute.

However, I do agree with Haidt that Speech does not also equal physical violence which is what the folks on College Campus seem to be equating: https://www.amazon.com/Coddling-American-Mind-Intentions-Generation/dp/0735224897.

With Due Process you need to be specific. Different actions have different Due Process steps. Some of which are in need of reform.

Don't want to make anyone feel old, but here's some quick math for the lazy: That's 1980s to the present

Anyway, It's Even Worse Than It Looks is a good primer on how the hyperpartisanship of today generally began with Newt's Republican Revolution

No it’s because he was never accused of these things before promising to end corruption in Washington. Almost as if it was attempted character assassination. Like when McCain ran against Obama https://www.amazon.com/Gook-John-McCains-Racism-Matters/dp/0967943345

Or when Romney ran against Obama https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/en/publications/mitt-romneys-racist-appeals-how-race-was-played-in-the-2012-presi

Seems to be a trend.

Here's a book (from 2011) about how congressmen get rich:

Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison

>One of the biggest scandals in American politics is waiting to explode: the full story of the inside game in Washington shows how the permanent political class enriches itself at the expense of the rest of us. Insider trading is illegal on Wall Street, yet it is routine among members of Congress. Normal individuals cannot get in on IPOs at the asking price, but politicians do so routinely. The Obama administration has been able to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to its supporters, ensuring yet more campaign donations. An entire class of investors now makes all of its profits based on influence and access in Washington. Peter Schweizer has doggedly researched through mountains of financial records, tracking complicated deals and stock trades back to the timing of briefings, votes on bills, and every other point of leverage for politicians in Washington. The result is a manifesto for revolution: the Permanent Political Class must go.

The Two Income Trap book is a fascinating read if anyone has an interest in diving deeper into the reasons for the growing trend of two income households. https://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-Still/dp/0465097707/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1XPLT3SNA52DH&keywords=two+income+trap&qid=1670874459&sprefix=two+income+%2Caps%2C270&sr=8-1

Cool, thanks for those, I'll check em out. Here a couple books I think you might enjoy aswell:

It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism

or

The Storm before the Storm: The beginning of the end of the roman republic

That second one is a much more fun read and while nothing in history matches one to one it is always interesting to see parallels. That same author, Mike Duncan, also has an incredible podcast series about revolutions simply tittles revolutions. probably 500+ hours of dissecting what went wrong in many different countries and the deep rooted societal issues that led to said revolutions.

Yeah, Elizabeth Warren wrote a book about it. That said, I like my career, and my wife likes her career. I imagine we'd both want to keep working rather than one of us becoming a homemaker.

I highly recommend reading "It's Worse Than It Looks" by Mann and Ornstein.. It was originally published in 2012, and of course things are even worse now. They describe in detail how Gingrich led the effort to poison the discourse in Congress.

But I have no idea why OP mentions the Clintons, as if they're nearly as bad as Republicans. I will downvote any false equivalency/both sides BS.

Americans are required to make a Bald Eagle sound and then scream FREEDOM every day in unison at noon. We are back to back World War champions and we do what we want. Metric system? F that. Maternal mortality rates - we’re working on it. 😂 dude, I don’t have enough time to write the novel trying to explain why we do what we do and why everything involving dramatic change terrifies people and as a result - our democracy (which was structured to move at the pace of the elected officials that campaign on priorities that their voters choose) can move at a glacial pace sometimes. That’s super oversimplifying it - if you ACTUALLY are interested I’d recommend this book, which isn’t a painful read like many “academic” books on political history, philosophy,theory and bla bla bla.. Plus we have 50 states who all have their own laws, which the federal laws are written to either a) if there’s lack of state law, a federal law will serve as a placeholder until the state chooses they are fine with it or want to go further/lessen the effect b) add to archaic or outdated current state law while leaving some parts in place, which states can then sometimes change c) or sometimes supersede state law making it erroneous. It’s complicated - 50 states plus Federal Government. Example, and imagine how it impacts things like what a medical provider’s scope of practice is in the hundreds of specialties…so if I’m driving from…Arizona to an adjacent state…in Arizona, I am able to stroll into any grocery store (or anywhere) carrying an automatic weapon (or 10, it doesn’t matter) just because it’s my right to - but as soon as I drive into the next state to the west (California) it’s SUPER illegal and there is a decent chance it’s gonna result in a gigantic SWAT response. And my untimely demise if I’m stupid.

Yes! I learned of that memo when it was highlighted in a book called It’s Even Worse Than it Looks, which provides an excellent history of the rise of polarization in modern America. Basically starts with an ambitious Newt Gingrich and goes from there. Highly recommended.

The coauthors are prominent political historians, and also authors of this extremely prescient 2012 op-ed, which got quite a bit of press upon release because it was the first publication by mainstream nonpartisans in a mainstream news outlet pointing the finger at one side for the then-fresh insanity.

You don't imprison people, you just make it a nominal fee like $20 if they don't have an excuse for not voting (this is along with making it very easy to vote like more polling locations and no-excuse absentee ballots). There's people who've studied it in more depth (it's talked about at length in It's Even Worse Than It Looks), but compulsory voting seems to have some nice benefits.

The two chief benefits are when people must vote, they actually take more time to research policies and candidates. Also, it makes candidates become more moderate because they have to have stances that are palatable to the majority of people instead of just relying on revving up their base and getting them to turn out in higher numbers than their opponents' supporters.

Being a super wealthy CEO, I have benefitted from feminism because my pool of potential wage slaves has doubled, driving the cost of labor down despite inflation. I'm also able to over work these people with long hours and stressful conditions, ensuring that they will remain loyal to me (out of fear of not earning money) instead of loyal to their family.

Those wage slaves that do end up married benefit me as well (you think I wouldn't cover all my bases?) because their kids will need to be cared for by private programs (which I own) or public alternatives (that I influence) guaranteeing another generation of weak willed wage slaves.

Oh yeah, and while everyone is fighting about men being bad, or women going too far, no one pays atention to the fact that I've done all this intentionally.

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-Still/dp/0465097707

> It has been very clear that starting in the 90s, and escalating in the 2010s, that partisan politiking is escalating and compounding off of each side's actions

You were going strong right up until this both-sides-ism horseshit pile of an assertion.

Nah, it's not four months. The guy who, literally, wrote the book on Mitch McConnell (Mitch, Please) talked about this on the Press Box pod.

His basic plan is to try to win back the Senate in 2022. If he doesn't he'll retire so that the Governor of Kentucky can appoint a Republican to sit on his seat until 2026.

Matt Jones wrote a book call Mitch, Please and probably knows more about the guy than 99.9% of the population.

All Mitch wants is power to the point where he literally has no friends. There are guys who have worked with him for 30 years and they say not once has he asked about their families or if they want to grab dinner. Every single thing Mitch has ever done is to accumulate more power so you pretty much have to view every move he makes through that lens.

Oh, and he fucking hates Trump.

Recommend people who are actually interested in the answer to that question to read “Mitch, please!” by Matt Jones. It’s a kind of political travelogue by a popular local radio host who went to each county in Kentucky and asked them about what’s important to them, how they vote, and why. There are many stories about how Mitch screwed over each local community, but why so many vote for him anyway.

As a Kentuckian, I particularly enjoyed the audiobook read by the author, who’s got a pleasant Eastern Kentucky accent, lol.

https://smile.amazon.com/Mitch-Please-McConnell-Kentucky-America/dp/1982142049

There’s a book written by a prominent Kentucky ‘liberal’ named Matt Jones called ‘Mitch Please’. It details every county in Kentucky and how it has been affected by McConnell’s time in office. As a Kentuckian it’s infuriating and depressing.

https://www.amazon.com/Mitch-Please-McConnell-Kentucky-America/dp/1982142049

We aren’t that stupid as a whole, people just will not vote for Democrats under any circumstances here because of brain washing by the media. The system is flawed as fuck obviously.

There are a number of variables at play, but most important might be access to ballots, "first past the post" voting, and the internal structure and practices in the House and Senate. A good general read that sums up the first two is here. For a super accessible read on the third, you might enjoy this.

This is not really an opinion so much as an observation. It is well documented. For example, this book describes how the GOP is no longer a normal political party.

If you're interested in the origins of the hyperpartisanship present in today's America, check out It's Even Worse Than It Looks

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465096204/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_09BxFbG20GBYG

I have a book recommendation for you.

> Best trick of capitalits pulled was feminism.

It would explain why Elizabeth Warren wasn’t so well liked by the Herd when she published the Two-Income Trap

Matt Jones could have beat dirty moscow mitch as well, actually anyone but McGrath. If anyone hasn't read Mitch Please you should. https://www.amazon.com/Mitch-Please-McConnell-Kentucky-America/dp/1982142049

No, this Republican behavior, this erosion of comity and functional norms, has been well documented. Both sides are not the same.

>In this revised edition, the authors bring their seminal book up-to-date in a political environment that is more divided than ever. The underlying dynamics of the situation—extremist Republicans holding government hostage to their own ideological, anti-government beliefs—have only gotten worse, further bolstering their argument that Republicans are not merely ideologically different from Democrats, but engaged in a unique form of politics that undermines the system itself. Without a fundamental change in the character and course of the Republican Party, we may have a long way to go before we hit rock bottom.

>My impression is that Trump is not the ideal president, and may not be a good person. But I also think that if he would cut most of the golf days and stop postings inflammatory nonsense on Twitter, the conversation would shift away from Trump specifically, and back to the actual politics of the Republican party.

no they wouldn't. The things that they are accusing trump of are the same thing that they have accused every prominent republican of in recent years. He's a racist, sexist warmonger who wants to destroy America. Just like Mitt Romney, and John Mccain, and both Bushes, and Reagan, and so on. The litany never changes, every single republican is going to end the republic, is the worst president in history, and so on. If trump stopped tweeting, they'd just go after him for something else.

>So why did you vote for him

I didn't. I campaigned for Bernie, then voted Stein. Trump got elected on Bernie's platforms. Sadly, Trump was lying while Bernie was not. And yes, Hillary is just as corrupt and dishonest as Trump if not more so. Plus she's a real war monger. Look at Libya, her slave selling jihadi run baby. Just think if she had not attempted a rigged, crooked self-coronation, Bernie would be our President not Trump. Hillary cares nothing for the We the People and thinks even less of allowing registered Dems a real choice in their own primary. Hillary is responsible for Trump not the Rooskis. And remember her stamping her foot and saying "never,ever,ever" to universal heathcare during her campaign? She even lacks foresight and vision.

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Chaos-Misadventures-Hillary-Clinton/dp/0989763765

So let's all downvote that our most popular politician, Bernie Sanders, has no answers on the Russia question.

Or at least an answer he won't share.

And in the end, he threw in with the <em>Queen of Chaos</em>

>Conservative politics has been for thirty years about tearing down order

I don't mean to turn this into a political debate, which would get increasingly off-topic for this thread and subreddit. But I'd just suggest that one of the issues in dispute is whether the Republican party is genuinely conservative in the sense above.

Something like this book, for example, makes the case that the Republican party might be more accurately described as radical than conservative—which is even more remarkable given that one of its coauthors still works at the American Enterprise Institute.

Perhaps, but the average person also the sort of idiot who watches reality TV. That's the problem.

And it's frankly ridiculous to cast Democrats and Republicans as equally crazy. False equivalence. California is run by competent people who live in the real world, even if you disagree with their specific policy priorities. States like Kansas are run by people who think the Earth is 6,000 years old and the way to stop teenage pregnancy is to not tell them how to avoid it.

Even if you think the deregulation of licensing organizations should be prioritized, for example, you can't possible see the Republicans as a rationally equivalent organization. They've gone off the deep end.

Don't take my word for it. Ask actual conservatives. https://www.amazon.com/Even-Worse-Than-Looks-Constitutional/dp/0465031331