Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 320 EAN: 9780143114215 ISBN: 0143114212 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 352 Publication Date: 2008-10-07 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editorial Reviews: The concluding volume of The New York Times bestselling trilogy One of today’s most outspoken and respected political commentators asks: How can our democracy function when the key institutions of government no longer operate as intended by the Constitution? Stepping back to assess three decades of nearly continuous Republican rule, John W. Dean surveys the damage done to the three branches of government and traces their decline through the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I , and Bush II. Speaking to what the average moderate citizen can do to combat extremism, authoritarianism, incompetence, and the Republicans’ deliberate focus on polarizing social issues, Broken Government is a must-have book for voters this election year.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Broken Government by John Dean Comment: John Dean does an excellent job of analyzing not just the Bush Administration, but other administrations started to destroy the intent of our government -- a must read for anyone interested in government or politics. Customer Rating: Summary: Emotionally charged and one-sided diatribe against conservative Constitutional abuses Comment: Sadly, Dean has wasted his notable experience and writing skill in a predictably transparent partisan attack on, ironically, bi-partisan conservative attacks on the Constitution and balance of powers. For young people unfamilar with history -- note the irony that Dean knew about criminal activity in the highest postions of the executive branch in the early 70's and did not act to defend the USA and the constitution -- yet when his own skin was at risk he sang like a canary to force his friends and associates in jail. Trustworthy? Credibility? You judge. Note that Dean cites exactly ZERO incidents of indiscretions/abuses committed by democrat/liberal pols while focusing his rant on lesser republican indiscretions. Oftentimes he boldly quotes prominent arch-liberals who themselves have been or are under investigation -- Conyers, Kennedy, Wright, Clinton, et al. In summation, Dean asserts that democrats/liberals are predominantly bi-partisan defenders of the Constitution and the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches -- in contrast, it is republicans/conservatives that are the only self-serving, partisan, power hungry pols in Washington since Nixon. Contridiction abound almost within paragraphs. For example, Dean condemns republicans under Gingrich for undermining the Clinton, while democrats who conducted investigations ad nauseam against Bush and Reagan are commended for balancing Federal power. Incredibly and confusingly Dean contridicts himself on virtually the same page in a rant in the appendix when he states that the US will likely be hit with a terrorist nuclear device and a few sentences later quotes a "respected" source that claims the global war on terror is a overblown myth In addition, Dean's book is filled with emotional invective and personal attacks and lies (he incorrectly cites Libby as the source of the Plame leak) -- he continually resorts to personal smears against conservative pols, including one passage in which he calls a former conservative pol as a "beast". Note that history has shown how seriously wrong Dean's biased view of cooperative and sound democrat/liberal governance since the recent Pelosi/Reid has been the least productive, least convened, and most derilict in recent history (the politically motivated recent shutdown in the wake of the oil crisis as an example) Unfortunately another potentially beneficial and informative work on the real threat of future executive branch abuses by a learned and articulate formerly well-connected bureaucrat has been tarnished and wasted by the fog of ideological blindness. Customer Rating: Summary: Broken Logic... Dean Cherry Picks and Ignores History Comment: This book was disappointing, especially after reading Dean's previous book, "Conservatives Without Conscience," which was much more on point and accurate. The main problem with Dean's analysis is that he blames almost every government malfunction on the GOP, with the most emphasis on the last 8 years, but also on Reagan. While Bush and his party lap-dogs have done a lot of damage and deserve to be criticized, it is irresponsible to blame them entirely for all the deception, crony-ism, and corruption in D.C. And that's what Dean does - He deducts that everything will get back to "normal" when democrats regain control of congress. Dean must have a short-term memory, because the practice of hiring party hacks and cronies to run government agencies for political expediency and power goes back to Woodrow Wilson, Hoover, and exploded under FDR. And the trend has continued ever since. Has Dean ever heard of the Bay of Pigs or the Branch Davidians at Waco? And the Clinton's... I guess Dean believes that everything with that Administration was on the up-and-up without any conflict of interest. Dean is constantly asserting that he's a "Goldwater Republican," but he continually belies this by questioning the very foundations of Goldwater conservatism, and accusing the basic philosophy of conservatism to be counter-effective to efficient and civil government. That opinion is fine if you believe in more liberal approaches, but to say you're a Goldwater Conservative and then espouse liberal talking points is talking out of both sides of your mouth. (Especially in the last chapter where he gives hypothetical scenarios where conservative principles are played out in policies leading to the demise of what he believes is holy. God forbid the supreme court defend the 2nd amendment!!). Dean is clearly confused if he thinks he's anywhere near conservative. This doesn't mean that some of his points aren't well taken - his criticism of the Bush administration is on target, citing abuse after abuse from things such as general White House procedures in communicating with the opposition party in Congress, to by-passing Constitutional protocol and the system of checks and balances. But Dean missed badly with his blasting of Republicans stacking the Supreme Court. He seems to think that it's okay for Democrats to nominate liberal judges, but it's some sort of crime against the people for Republicans to nominate conservative judges. To call it a double standard is a gross understatement. According to Dean, liberal politicians are always fair and civil, never resort to crony-ism, never make back-room deals, and always, always have America's best interest in mind - they are lily-white and without sin. Of course, history says otherwise. For a more interesting and accurate take on the current GOP debacle, I would recommend "Impostor" by Bruce Bartlett, and "Conservatives Betrayed," by Richard Viguerie. Also worth mentioning is "The Elephant in the Room," by Ryan Sager. The GOP deserves to be lambasted, but honestly so. Customer Rating: Summary: EXCELLENT:DEAN DOES IT AGAIN Comment: I've read all three of John Dean's recent book trilogy, and this one is great, too. Being a former "Raypooblican" as some call it, he can put his finger on the basic flaw in Republican thinking, and then demonstrate how it works/doesn't work "on" the American people. Authoritative fear-thinking is demonstrated once again. Customer Rating: Summary: Broken Government - A Wakeup Call Comment: I just finished reading John Dean's latest book, "Broken Government, How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches". It is not light reading, but it is enlightening. Dean carefully details the long slow demolition of our government by the Republican Party. He starts with Regan and works carefully up to the current administration and the evidence is very startling. Though they may have moved at a glacial pace, the GOP has systematically dismantled the three branches of our government and molded them into something our founding fathers would scarcely recognize. At least one quarter of the book is notes and appendices chocked full of facts that support Dean's premise. Starting with the legislative branch, which he calls "broken but on the mend", he shows how political rancor and ham handed politics has replaced the collegial attitudes that the legislature once had. The Republicans, once in control, shut out the democrats and any opposition to an extent that is shocking. Only now, with the Democrats back in the seat of power has some of the bipartisanship returned. In the Executive branch, one that Dean lists as completely broken, the powers of the President have expanded enormously. The "unitary executive" theory has governed the GOP's ideology for many years and steadily the executive branch has become primary in the governmental process. This is extra-constitutional and not at all the role you might have learned in school. The president, through use of signing statements and raw power grabs resembles more of a dictator than the second branch of our government. Finally the Supreme Court and the judicial branch is in sore need of repair. The shift of judges especially on the Supreme Court toward a judicial fundamentalism has and will change the freedoms of our country. The next president will most likely be appointing one of two justices and their ideology, which was once not supposed to be an issue, could change everything. This alone is a strong argument against John McCain. Dean's book is not an easy read, but for anyone who has been following the process of our government, it is a must. He is scholarly yet readable. Unlike his previous books, this one has an earnestness of a man on a mission. His mission is to pull our country back from the brink of something very different from the democracy we grew up with. That alone should make you nervous and willing to devote a few days to reading his book. More Reviews