Deadlock or Decision: The U.S. Senate and the Rise of National PoliticsA Twentieth Century Fund Book - Softcover

Harris, Fred R.

9780195080261: Deadlock or Decision: The U.S. Senate and the Rise of National PoliticsA Twentieth Century Fund Book

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195080262 ISBN 13: 9780195080261

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1993

In this lively and compelling text, political scientist and former U.S. Senator Fred R. Harris offers a penetrating examination of the development of the U.S. Senate from its earliest days, with particular emphasis on its post-war transformation from a close-knit, deliberative body revered as the "Citadel of Democracy" under the firm leadership of Lyndon Baines Johnson, to its current status as an institution whose members are so independent and outward-looking, so "nationalized," that efficient collective action is often impossible. Harris shows how the efficiency of the Senate in Johnson's heyday stemmed from its undemocratic emphasis on seniority and tradition. Today, he writes, power has become fragmented, with greater partisanship and less cooperation, as important developments--including rapid communications, the increasing influence of powerful national interest groups, changes in the seniority system, and the dramatic expansion of senatorial staff--have transformed the political landscape, making senators more individualistic and less inclined to defer to senior members. Harris argues that, ironically, as the Senate has become more responsive, it has also become less responsible--and more prone to inaction as it has become more democratic in its own procedures. He draws on recent events such as the John Tower and Clarence Thomas nominations to illustrate his thesis, and lays out an agenda for change that includes campaign finance reform, changes in Senate rules, and a reshaped budget process to restore efficiency while preserving the trend towards responsiveness and democracy in the Senate. Engaging as well as enlightening, _Deadlock or Decision_ gives students of political science, government, and law invaluable insight into the U.S. political system.

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About the Author:

Fred R. Harris, Professor of Political Science, University of New Mexico.

From Kirkus Reviews:

An important, if ponderous, inquiry into the Senate's evolution, its periods of influence and decline, and its urgent need for self-reform. Harris (Political Science/University of New Mexico; Potomac Fever, 1977, etc.) knows whereof he speaks: He's a former Democratic senator from Oklahoma. The author's concept of the ``nationalization'' of US politics--in which TV, rapid travel, and fast transmission of news have made the country a single community--is useful. Today's sometimes dysfunctional Senate, he explains, has been shaped in part by positive developments--a better-educated electorate with more interest in government, and greater media scrutiny of Senate activities. But despite Harris's reverence for what he continually calls the ``world's greatest deliberative body,'' he admits that the Senate is in bad need of reform. Legislation is held up endlessly in committees, in procedural wrangles, and by grandstanding lawmakers; the budget-making process is highly inefficient; lobbyists have a lock on senators, whose pay, Harris says, is insufficient to live on; extremism slows formation of consensus; campaign strategists pander to the worst in the electorate; and campaign finance laws are widely abused or evaded. Certain Senate powers--the ratification of treaties and confirmation of judges--have grown with time, but the Senate, Harris says, desperately needs to be restored to its place as party with the President to all military decisions before many more Koreas or Vietnams pass. Harris's analysis of the deficit crisis shows that the Senate has actually made strides in reducing the debt--if not the public-relations monster the issue has become. Descriptions of the Senate's early history are fascinating, but the text as a whole is in want of color and illustrative anecdotes; summary remarks at each section's end are highly repetitive. A effective overview of the Senate's history and development, making clear how reform of this once-august institution could profit the country immensely. -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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