Combat:: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate - Hardcover

Rudman, Warren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679441352 ISBN 13: 9780679441359

Publisher: Random House, 1996

Synopsis

In Combat: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate Warren Rudman focuses on four historic Senate actions in which he played a central role: the Gramm-Rudman act--the audacious 1985 attempt to force a balanced budget on an unwilling Congress and President; the Keating Five ethics committee hearings, which revealed the thin line between campaign finance and corruption; the Iran-Contra investigation, Rudman's no-holds-barred account of the Reagan administration's biggest scandal; and the appointment of his colleague and close friend David Souter to the Supreme Court.

Rudman offers vivid portraits of the men he worked with: Dole, Packwood, Baker, Helms, Gramm, and the two presidents he served under--Reagan and Bush.  He writes unflinchingly about his colleagues and about the legislative process.  Here is the inner world of the Senate club, revealed by the man who was often called "the conscience of the Senate." Combat is one of the most important books on American politics to be published in years.

About this title

About the Author

As a young man, Warren Rudman saw combat as a platoon leader and company commander during the Korean War.  A Republican, Rudman was elected to two terms in the U.S. Senate, where he fought for a balanced budget, campaign finance reform, and an end to Pentagon waste.  He played a leading role in the Iran-Contra and Keating Five investigations and in the nomination of his friend David Souter to the Supreme Court.  After retiring from the Senate in 1992, Rudman co-founded the Concord Coalition, which works nationally for a balanced budget.  He now practices law with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison and serves as vice chairman of President Clinton's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He divides his time between New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.

From the Back Cover

bat: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate Warren Rudman focuses on four historic Senate actions in which he played a central role: the Gramm-Rudman act--the audacious 1985 attempt to force a balanced budget on an unwilling Congress and President; the Keating Five ethics committee hearings, which revealed the thin line between campaign finance and corruption; the Iran-Contra investigation, Rudman's no-holds-barred account of the Reagan administration's biggest scandal; and the appointment of his colleague and close friend David Souter to the Supreme Court.

Rudman offers vivid portraits of the men he worked with: Dole, Packwood, Baker, Helms, Gramm, and the two presidents he served under--Reagan and Bush.  He writes unflinchingly about his colleagues and about the legislative process.  Here is the inner world of the Senate club, revealed by the man who was often called "the conscience of the Senate." Combat is one of the most important books on

From the Inside Flap

bat: Twelve Years in the U.S. Senate </b> Warren Rudman focuses on four historic Senate actions in which he played a central role: the Gramm-Rudman act--the audacious 1985 attempt to force a balanced budget on an unwilling Congress and President; the Keating Five ethics committee hearings, which revealed the thin line between campaign finance and corruption; the Iran-Contra investigation, Rudman's no-holds-barred account of the Reagan administration's biggest scandal; and the appointment of his colleague and close friend David Souter to the Supreme Court.<br><br>Rudman offers vivid portraits of the men he worked with: Dole, Packwood, Baker, Helms, Gramm, and the two presidents he served under--Reagan and Bush. He writes unflinchingly about his colleagues and about the legislative process. Here is the inner world of the Senate club, revealed by the man who was often called "the conscience of the Senate." <b>Combat </b> is one of the most important books on

Reviews

A former two-term Republican senator from New Hampshire, Rudman, who decided not to run again in 1993, characterizes the Senate as a frustrating arena dominated by partisan politics and logrolling and badly in need of campaign-finance reform. In this feisty political memoir, he defends the 1985 Gramm-Rudman deficit-reduction act, which he co-sponsored, arguing that it held down federal spending for three years even though Congress used various tricks to avoid full compliance with its stipulations for automatic cuts. Rudman, who was vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee investigating the Iran-contra scandal, opines that the exposure of the covert operations of Oliver North and his cronies will discourage future presidents and their aides from attempting another such adventure. He staunchly defends the nomination of his friend David Souter to the Supreme Court ("I didn't know how David felt about abortion, nor did I want to know"). Former chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, Rudman blames the Democrats for blocking the committee from censuring three Democratic senators?Alan Cranston, Don Riegle, Dennis DeConcini?who allegedly swapped favors with savings-and-loan tycoon Charles Keating, who was convicted of securities fraud. Lastly, Rudman discusses his work as co-chair of the Concord Coalition, which builds grassroots support for a balanced budget. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Carrying his reputation for candor into this memoir, Rudman recalls the folkways of the Senate as exhibited in several political battles in the 1980s. These battles are namely the now-defunct Gramm-Rudman mechanism to automatically cut spending; the inquiry into Iran-Contra; Rudman's shepherding of New Hampshire friend David Souter onto the Supreme Court; and the investigation of the Keating Five, the funds-for-favors scandal that sank three Democrats. On the biographical side, we see his Jewish immigrant family's realization of the American dream and his youthful pugilism and survival of DMZ warfare in Korea. These experiences lend his reflections a combative self-assuredness about political right and wrong, be it Oliver North's secretary arguing the necessity to go above the written law or Cranston of California claiming all senators did what he did--offer political access for campaign cash. Rudman's irritation at the latter calumny illustrates the function of personal relations in the ego-bulging Senate; indeed, his departure may have started the recent exodus of so many from the Senate. Gilbert Taylor

Former U.S. Senator Rudman's (R-N.H.) chronicle of his life as a politician serves as a definitive statement of American politics during the 1980s. Rudman focuses on the four major issues facing the nation during this period: the Gramm-Rudman Act of 1985, in which he attempted to trim the federal budget deficit after admitting that supply-side economics did not work; the Iran-contra scandal during which he, as vice chair of the Senate committee investigating the affair, raised significant constitutional questions about separation of powers and the role of Congress in foreign policy; the nomination of his best friend, David Souter, to the. Supreme Court and the difficulties in winning approval owing to the "litmus-test" politics of pro-life and pro-choice groups; and the Keating Five hearings, which demonstrated the impact of the savings and loan debacle and the need for Congress to look at itself and follow the same laws as everyone else. Rudman shows no signs of partisanship, which makes the work even more credible and, because of the significant role he played in all of these events, more important to the reader. With all the battles that Rudman has fought throughout his life, Combat is an apropos title. Highly recommended for all collections.?Patricia Hatch, Emmanuel Coll. Lib, Boston
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679441352
• ISBN 13: 9780679441359
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 287