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

Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches | John W. Dean | Broken Government - A Wakeup Call

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Broken Government:...

	Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches John W. Dean Viking Adult, 2007 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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.

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Informative and solidly written

John W. Dean has worked in government at the highest levels, has stellar credentials and credibility, and is definitely qualified to discuss this Republican administration's actions. Being Republican himself, I consider his views even more objective and valuable than those rants I hear from established contrarians -- on both sides. Dean is a republican who dares to speak the truth to power, even if it means being criticized by his own party. Dean's assessments are sober and fair, and not overly emotional... I was thankful for the detailed analysis provided here (again, because I value facts more than emotion), and was captivated in this reading from beginning to end.

Given the rhetoric and propoganda flying about these days, the seeming increasing notion that party affiliation also requires absolute, unquestioning support, it's refreshing to me whenever someone like Dean speaks up. I don't know what kind of civics education the party fervent received, but I was taught never to give absolute trust or power to any politician for any reason, under no circumstance, ever. Period.

I'm so disappointed by my fellow Americans who would say that questioning the leadership of a political party is akin to treason. I'm saddened by those who blindy follow, and who actually consider it simply unthinkable that their leaders - politicians - could ever abuse their power.

In the end, even the best of us is still human, and imperfect. Anyone in power is susceptible to abusing that power, failing by their own human weakness, taking advantage of the weak or powerless... It is simply part of our human condition...

John Dean rightly reminds us, Americans, that our government exists to serve us, and that no one in power should ever have more power than can be controlled by the people. That is the form we have chosen in our American democratic republic, and that is the ideal which we must defend - even from ourselves.

And so, here we are. Dean provides facts and insight on an alarming trend in American politics, where party support and pursuit of power seems to be destroying the very core and ideals of our system.

I'm a bit more an optimist than he, and can see the metaphorical political pendulum always has, and will continue to swing back-and-forth, going wrong sometimes, but eventually being righted again. But nonetheless, Dean's research and analysis are solid.

He is right to be concerned at this administration's efforts, their marketing and manipulation - all pushing us towards a potential future where one branch of American government has unlimited authority, free of any restriction or checks from the other branches.

I was taught about checks-and-balances in school. My family taught me about fairness and equity. I was taught about right-and-wrong by them, and my church. At what point in my lifetime, did the leadership of the Republican party decide that the pursuit of their narrow interests were more important than the founding principles of our American democracy, fairness and respect to other political views, and that right-and-wrong is nothing more than a "quaint" concept?

When an American president gives himself unlimited war-powers, and then declares a war which literally has no end (there will always be terrorists), that should strikes a fear and concern that goes straight to the core of American political ideals: No branch of government should ever have more authority than can be controlled or limited by the others, or the people.

Thank you, John W. Dean, for speaking truth to power, and providing a sober, excellent - and essential - analysis of our present condition.

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Broken Government - A Wakeup Call

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.

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EXCELLENT:DEAN DOES IT AGAIN

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.

Insightful but Cannot Stand on its Own

John W. Dean does the reader an immeasurable service clearly articulating his biases at the very beginning of "Broken Government" by saying (1) that he was a Nixon administration insider; (2) that Republicans cannot be trusted with the levers of government; and (3) that "Broken Government" is really part of a trilogy (including Conservatives Without Conscience and Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush) which is meant to be read together as one whole. The thesis of Dean's book is that the Republican regime has in the period from 2001-2007 subverted the processes of the three branches of government. Dean's daignosis: government is broken but under repair.

The most illustrative example of this "Broken Government" was the decision to go to war in Iraq. Dean contends that the deliberative process of the Legislative branch failed and it was due to that failure that the Country was led to war. I agree with that assessment but contend that the explanation was incomplete. The deliberative failure extends not only to Congress but to the so-called "Fourth Branch" of Government: the Press. While there has been no end in the Press of the post-mortem of the War in Iraq, there was very little debate and thoughtful reflection prior to war. And while many may claim that the Bush Administration's run-up to war with Iraq was rapid, it became abundantly clear in September 20, 2001 in Bush's speech to the Joint Session of Congress that Bush contemplated invading Iraq.

But perhaps the most note-worthy breakdown with our government may have come when "We the People" became "They the People," when "our" government of "our" representatives became "those" people in Washington. Our society has become more escapist and disenfranchised that perhaps at any other time in its history. Al Gore touches on this subject in The Assault on Reason. It is at this point that I part ways with Dean's contention that "Republicans can't be trusted." Accountability in a democracy is (allegedly) with THE PEOPLE. If government is broken, it is OUR fault. If the Republican regime "broke" government, they did so on OUR watch. Indeed, it is difficult to say that government is "broken" without saying that OUR democracy is "broken." And while it can be both useful and edifying that WE watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Indecision 2004, if all we do is laugh at the foibles of the government we do nothing.

"Broken Government" wisely addresses an extremely powerful issue: Process. Without Process, you cannot have democracy and those who pervert Process pervert democracy. Process is what separates democracy from the arbitrary and capricious dictatorship. By focusing on Process and its failings during the Republican administration, Dean cuts to the heart of the issue and, therefore, makes an invaluable contribution. "Broken Government" cannot stand on its own however because too many times in the text, Dean refers the reader to his other books.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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