City of Rivals: Restoring the Glorious Mess of American Democracy

by Jason Grumet, Senator Bob Dole (Foreword by), Tom Senator Daschle (Foreword by)

Overview

Forty years ago the Watergate scandal deeply wounded Americans’ faith in government. Since then, good-government reformers and big-government opponents have been on a shared mission to make everything transparent. The problem is that too much light is scaring Congressmen away from making the tough choices necessary to govern in the national interest. It’s no secret that the backrooms are where things get done and where politicians can collaborate without reprisal. In City of Rivals, Grumet boldly argues that the answer lies in harnessing partisanship, not spinning in its mud.

America is once again gripped by fear that we are falling behind and fast. Unlike the Soviet threat that shook our nation a half century ago, the menace today is homegrown. On issues of national importance, the two parties in Congress appear incapable of working together. Whether the threat is competition from China, crumbling infrastructure, or rising debt, Washington’s legitimacy to govern and capacity to solve problems are in doubt.

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s president, Jason Grumet, tackles this issue head-on by challenging the conventional diagnosis of the current gridlock. Rather than lamenting our differences, Grumet offers practical steps to govern a polarized nation, and he explores the unintended consequences of past reform movements. It’sa must-read for all who care about our country’s future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762791583
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jason Grumet, founder and president of the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), has worked at the intersection of policy and politics throughout his career. In 2007, with the leadership of former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, he founded the BPC to develop and promote bipartisan solutions to the country’s most difficult public policy challenges. From 2001 to 2011 Grumet directed the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), which is now a former BPC project. Prior to leading the Energy Commission, Grumet was the Executive Director of NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management), a nonprofit association of air quality agencies in the Northeast.

Grumet has worked at the intersection of policy and politics throughout his career. A frequent witness at Congressional hearings, he has written about the challenge of bipartisan collaboration in The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Hill, Roll Call and many other publications. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard University. He lives with his wife, Stephanie, and their three children in Washington, D.C

Editorial Reviews

In this valuable and judicious book, Jason Grumet explores the root cause of our political dysfunction, which is that the culture of collaboration that was once the foundation for American democracy has been denigrated and eroded. Fortunately, he’s an optimist, and his book describes a virtuous cycle that could restore, step by step, our government’s ability to solve problems.”
—Walter Isaacson, award-winning author and president and CEO of the Aspen Institute

 “This is one book that was so hot that it had to be held until after Labor Day. You need to pick up the fun and insightful read of Jason Grumet’s City of Rivals. As one half of a bipartisan couple, I know partisan politics pretty well and Grumet’s skillful handling and master of the subject matter in City of Rivals highlights the hope for bipartisan solutions.”
—James Carville
 
“Kudos to City of Rivals for embracing constructive partisanship. Jason Grumet understands that the secret of American politics is the ability to advocate with passion and grace. This book captures the essence of America Strength. Let the best ideas win.”
—Mary Matalin
 
“When it comes to exploring potential solutions for today’s historic levels of congressional dysfunction, Jason Grumet brings a unique and compelling vantage point as founder and leader of the only Washington ‘think tank’ that actively promotes bipartisanship to address America’s most monumental challenges. City of Rivals offers a fascinating perspective on the origins of the current, crippling hyper-partisanship, and provocative recommendations for fostering the kind of cross-party collaboration that is essential to enabling Congress to produce results once again.”
—Senator Olympia Snowe

“Jason Grumet’s provocative book shows how conventional wisdom can steer us in the wrong direction and how reformers acting with the best of intentions have unintentionally paved the way to our present dysfunction. But his timely, important, and refreshingly optimistic book also maps a way forward with a compelling defense of ‘principled compromise’ among party leaders who regard each other as worthy rivals rather than bitter enemies.”
—Larry Kramer, president of William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and former dean of Stanford Law School

"City of Rivals traces how the elements that make the BPC so effective are being driven out of the federal government. America’s leaders today don’t know each other well enough and they don’t trust one another deeply enough to harness the sort of collaboration we need to succeed as a nation…City of Rivals boldly explores how many well intentioned and popular efforts to make government work better are doing just the opposite." -Senator Tom Daschle, from the Foreword

"The unconventional insights offered...provide a practical and optimistic vision of how to get America back on track. It is good reading for anyone who wants to understand what's gone wrong in the nation's capital—and required reading for anyone who wants to do something about it." -Senator Bob Dole, from the Foreword

From the Publisher

2014-07-08
The founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center bemoans political gridlock in Washington, D.C., and suggests common-sense changes. Grumet started the center in 2007 after lining up two Republican senators and two Democratic senators as his big-name supporters. Two of those senators, Bob Dole and Tom Daschle, wrote forewords for the book. Grumet, the former director of the National Commission on Energy Policy, fervently believes that the massive divide between the two major political parties in the United States can be bridged, and he has been able to marshal effective reform in the areas of immigration law, health insurance and budgetary debates. The author notes that there never really was a golden age of party politics, but as late as the 1990s, philosophically divergent politicians tended to agree that they desired greatness for the country and so eventually compromised enough on the details of legislation. Much of the compromising occurred, Grumet writes, because members of Congress took time to become acquainted personally. Individuals who know each other well, even when acting as sincere policymaking enemies, will gather informally to discuss legislation compromises. Many of today's policymakers have become so driven to constantly raise campaign money that socializing becomes expendable. As a result, members of Congress meeting in committees or debating in the chambers tend not to know each other well, making it simpler to demonize the opponent and dampening the spirit of compromise—sometimes permanently. Grumet suggests, for example, that members of Congress travel together on fact-finding missions, rather than just political junkets meant primarily to impress constituents back home. A superficial devotion to Congressional ethics has gone too far, Grumet writes, replacing useful fact-finding groups with stay-at-home members who do not reach across political party boundaries to piece together a coherent legislative agenda. An optimistic yet realistic call for reform in the interest of repairing what is broken in Washington.

Kirkus Reviews