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

Overview

Congress’ approval ratings are at record lows, and both Democrats and Republicans are disgusted by the government’s inability to get anything done. In their New York Times bestseller, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein present a grim picture of how personal pettiness has led the United States to the brink of institutional failure. The legislative process has been stuck in a grinding gridlock since 2006 because artificial barriers to compromise are exacerbating pre-existing structural ...

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

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Overview

Congress’ approval ratings are at record lows, and both Democrats and Republicans are disgusted by the government’s inability to get anything done. In their New York Times bestseller, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks, Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein present a grim picture of how personal pettiness has led the United States to the brink of institutional failure. The legislative process has been stuck in a grinding gridlock since 2006 because artificial barriers to compromise are exacerbating pre-existing structural deficiencies in all branches of government. While no “silver bullet” reform can solve everything, the authors argue for specific guidelines to fix Congress’ functionality and rescue American democracy from the bickering and gridlock of recent decades.

With substantial new material that addresses the overwhelming media and public response to the book’s arguments, explores how President Obama and the new Congress might work together more efficiently in the crucial years to come, and previews the fundamental issues that they will confront over the next four years, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks is essential reading for everyone concerned with the precarious state of our country.

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Editorial Reviews

Robert G. Kaiser
Reading this book is a little like quaffing a double espresso on an empty stomach—it's a jolt. For this reader it was a welcome jolt. Others will find it less palatable.
—The Washington Post
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780465074730
  • Publisher: Basic Books
  • Publication date: 9/3/2013
  • Edition description: First Trade Paper Edition
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 424,394

Meet the Author

Thomas E. Mann is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. He is a former executive director of the American Political Science Association. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of a weekly column for Roll Call, called “Congress Inside Out.” He lives in Washington, D.C. Both are fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

They are coauthors of The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track.

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