Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

John Dean has produced an exceptionally powerful book that discusses how the radical conservatives have attempted to reinvent all three branches of government in order to achieve their ultimate goal of reinventing the Untied States itself. Dean evidence is from a very wide, balanced array of sources, which are very clearly documented. Dean's thesis is sound and clearly those who do not agree with his contentions will condemn this book, probably without actually reading it. The timeliness of this publication is important. With the presidential primary campaigns under way, and as they are becoming heated, this book answers a lot of questions that people might have about how we got to this point, and who we might want to elect. Over the past decade John Dean has emerged as one of the preeminent intellectuals in the field of politics, and perhaps one of only a few that can communicate very complex ideas to the masses without having to dumb down what he says or writes. This book is great example of this uncanny ability that Dean possesses. Clearly some folks will recall his Watergate connection, but he is certainly more than that, and this book is evidence of that. If you are concerned with life and the future, then you should read this book.

The book is filled with well-documented examples of how the process of governing has indeed been put at peril.
Its style can be a bit turgid at times, and Dean doesn't pull his punches in being outspoken about what he likes - very little - and dislikes - a lot - in the "Republican form of government". It's also an over-all indictment of how the American people have had so little concern with the political machinery, and the price such ignorance of civics can extract. Whether or not Democratic control of Congress will lead to improvements is something time will tell. Likewise with the Executive, though as Dean states it is basically an ideology of government (the Neo-Conservatives) that define the excesses of the current situation. Whether a Democrat will conscientiously back off from the "unitary executive" gains and claims also remains to be seen. Dean pulls no punches against the current GOP, but is also open-minded about how difficult it might well be to reverse much of it.

Finally, about the one-star review here. This from someone whose other reviews include a one-star for an amazing book "A Legacy of Ashes, the History of the CIA", and a 5 star review for a laudatory book about Dick Cheney (whom our reviewer proclaims will be a national hero one day) kind of tells it all. And I'm sure a reviewer that hasn't read the Dean book.

John Dean's "Broken Government", the final book in a terrific trilogy, is typically hard-hitting and right on the money. In this latest offering, Dean looks at the three branches of the federal government....three, that for most of our history, have been more or less co-equal. Boy, how things have changed over the last dozen years!

Beginning with Congress, Dean points out that the Republican "revolution" that swept Gingrich and co. into power in 1994 was the most destructive to that institution in its history. The Republicans, he reminds us, are an "authoritarian" bunch who will do anything to suit their own needs. He's hopeful that the newly-elected Congress, now under Democratic control, will be able to put Congress back on a level playing field with a bipartisan approach to process.

Taking on the executive branch is a Dean specialty and he does so with aplomb. Bush believes in the "unitary executive", where rules and laws can be bypassed and all bets are off. This chilling chapter is enough to drive everyone with any common sense to the polls a year early, if we could. Picking up the pieces of the administration of "the worst president ever" will take years, no matter from which party the next president hails. Dean's assessment of the White House is so good I read that chapter twice.

The most discouraging aspect of "Broken Government" is the author's comments on the judicial branch, for here, we have a Supreme Court inching toward extremism. With about half of the current Court in a fundamentalist mode, Dean cautions in loud tones about what we can expect with an eye-opening portent he calls "Direct Impact of Judicial Fundamentalism on Individuals". These pages contain the most dramatic and important part of the book because most (if not all) members of the Court will outlast the current president and today's Congress.

Dean's narrative is always direct and serious. Although he often lapses into hyperbole and sometimes borrows from his two earlier books, "Broken Government" is nonetheless a powerful indictment of the governmental state of affairs in Washington at present. Fixing what has been broken will take creativity and decency on the parts of our elected officials and while this book is not necessarily a march toward Doomsday it is a reflectively good look at how we got to this situation and why. I highly recommend "Broken Government" and congratulate John Dean on another fine book.

"Broken Government" reminds me of another book, "Broken Branch." In "Broken Government" a sad picture is painted of the demise of America. Many times I have heard the Republicans state they are for the American way, and for preserving that which the "Founding Fathers" sought to create. As I listen to the words of a man in the White House, who was never supposed to be there in the first place, because the 2000 election was riddled with fraud, I hear a man trying to destroy our governmental structure, and this book makes that very, very clear.

His squeal of "Executive Priviledge" each and every time some one questions even the smallest of situations. Such as to whom did the Vice President speak, when planning a national energy strategy. Who has the power to make war, the President, or Congress. Even the selection of those who serve the party when it comes to the Justice Department.

Then the secret wiretaps on otherwise law abidding citizens, and the snatching of Americans citizens taking them over seas for interagation, and torture, because they are suspected of being involved with terrorists.

This book lays it all out in great detail, because what we have heard via the news media, is but a tip of the iceberg. Then there are the lies that say we are not snooping on you. This is a Democracy, and the American people are free. We snoop to keep you safe. Safe from whom?

The destruction of our government, and the dissolving of our freedoms mean the terrorist have won. You think?

Some readers will be shocked, others will think this is a complete frabrication. Truth is our freedoms because of this President, more so than any we have had in recent memory has trampled our freedoms, and we as Americans were for the most part asleep while this destruction took place right under our noses. We were too busy listening for the next bashing of Britney Spears, or to hear what star will enter rehab this week.

"Broken Government," is a good book, but only if you read it and cast an informed vote. Read America.

As others have already noted, Dean is not offering new information or an insider's view on what the Bush Administration is up to. However, his framework (that all of the federal government is broken) is a useful framework to consider the state of affairs in our national government into. This isn't just a case of some bad things that have happened. It's a case of pervasive corruption of government. And his conclusion that it's not something that's easily correctable is important. There is also the matter of Dean's perspective. He's not just an academic or editorial writer. He's been on the inside of another bad government and knows whereof he speaks. He's also a good writer so this is an easy book to read.

John Dean does not believe the Republican Party can be trusted with control of the national government because of their past abuse of the process. Dean makes this statement despite agreeing with many so-called Republican principals.

The bulk of "Broken Government" consists of Dean's review each of the three branches, detailing how the Republicans have twisted normal processes to gain unfair advantage. Much of the abuse began back with Nixon, and continued on with Ford, Reagan, and especially Bush II - Dick Cheney being the common thread. Republican legislative branch abuse includes condoning excessive secrecy and poor performance by the Bush administration, a ballooning of pork-barrel spending, extorting money and loyalty from lobbyists before they even get into a Congressional office, and shutting Democrats almost entirely out of the process.

As for the Courts, Dean states that not only have Republicans worked to stack the judiciary with supporters, but some candidates have even lied. Dean points to Rehnquist's denial of having challenged Phoenix minority voters during the 1960s, as well as his denial of authorship of a memo supporting separate minority schools while clerking for Justice Jackson; then there is O'Connor's denial that she supported a woman's right to choose - despite a contrary legislative history.

Bush's "signing statements" raise considerable concern with Dean - not just that they were done (began with Reagan), but the sheer volume - 20X Reagan's number, and 10X that of Clinton. Dean asserts that Bush should be immediately impeached if he has worked to undermine enforcement of those laws he has so commented on.

The Bush administration has certainly given Dean much to work with - in fact, this book undoubtedly would not have been written without Bush-Cheney in office. However, the "bad news" is that Dean's writing style here is much more laborious reading (aka "academic discourse") than his prior books, acerbated by large amounts of referencing/quoting others, and at this point the material has already been covered by other books - including his own.

Why "Broken Government" at this time? Dean hopes that the topic of government process will rise to discussion level in the '08 presidential campaign. Readers are also informed that he sees Rudy Giuliani as the most authoritarian of the Republican candidates, Fred Thompson as the least, with the rest in the middle.

Is there hope? Dean claims to be an optimist, but that is tempered by his also reminding us that some 57-58% of voters link Saddam with 9/11, and fail to see any strong link between increased domestic spending and our increased budget deficit. Meanwhile, don't look for Justice Alito to vote against Bush's signing statements - he wrote a 1986 memo suggesting fuller use of presidential signing statements to strengthen the office.

In Worse Than Watergate (2004), John Dean asserted that George W. Bush's abuses of power were actually worse than those of his former boss, Richard Nixon. In Conservatives Without Conscience (2006), he contended that the Republican party has become dominated by mean-spirited authoritarian leaders and followers, who pursue an antidemocratic vision in both politics and government. In this, the last volume of the trilogy, he focuses on how subversion of appropriate "process" by both President Bush and the last Republican Congress has critically endangered the Constitutional scheme bequeathed us by the Founders.

Dean overstates his case in the subtitle: the Republicans have not "destroyed" the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Dean makes a good case, though, that a clique of hard-right Republicans who do not represent the majority of the American people have largely succeeded in transforming what was once a republican democracy or democratic oligarchy into something resembling an elective monarchy. Dean persuasively contends that Bush, Dick Cheney, and the Federalist Society alumni that now populate much of the Federal bench are implementing a theory of virtually unlimited Presidential power (remember the "unitary executive" theory in Justice Alito's confirmation hearing?), using the President's plenary powers to conduct war and protect national security, that transcends even the imperial presidency of Nixon, and threatens to destroy the scheme of coordinate branches created by the Founders. He argues that rank-and-file Republicans have largely bought into the contempt for Congress, and for the parameters of the law, espoused by national Republicans, who in the last Congress essentially abandoned the traditional Congressional oversight role.

Moreover, national Republicans, though still calling themselves "conservatives," have largely abandoned the conservatism of Goldwater for which Dean still stands: a federal government of limited powers, limited Presidential power, traditional checks and balances, responsibility in managing the public fisc, avoidance of nation-building and foreign adventures abroad, etc.

National Republicans have co-opted the honorable term of "conservatives," and have turned the once-honorable word "liberal" into a form of verbal abuse, but they have done the opposite of what traditional conservatives stand for. Instead, national Republicans have embraced an authoritarian form of cultural and social "conservatism" that, while helping them win elections, has led to wholesale subversion of Constitutional process.

In my view, Dean makes a good case that the current Administration, and the last Republican Congress, has shown a pervasive disregard for the law. In admitting that he engaged in surveillance of Americans without obtaining warrants, Bush became the first President to admit to an impeachable offense. In authorizing what amounted to torture, the Administration violated the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions. In suspending habeas corpus without the existence of a rebellion or foreign invasion, Congress clearly violated the Constitution. The firing of U.S. Attorneys General outside their terms without cause was unlawful and unethical, and AG Gonzales, in my view, committed perjury in testifying about it. Dean convincingly asserts that several U.S. Supreme Court nominees of Republican presidents committed perjury in their confirmation hearings. The list goes on and on, and since there have been no consequences for any of these unlawful acts, they are indeed indicative of "broken government."

However, Dean's solution (don't vote Republican) is too simplistic. The current situation would be less troubling if it were simply the malady of one party. Besides, there are many Republicans at state and local levels who also find the excesses of the Bush II Administration disturbing. Our government is broken for reasons that go beyond the corruption of one political party.

Dean has done a good job of identifying much of what is wrong with our government today. However, his analysis is incomplete because he doesn't adequately examine the degree to which our government has become politicized: elected officials spend an inordinate amount of time campaigning for reelection, and indeed time in office has become one long political campaign. Dean doesn't, in turn, look at the domination of political discourse by media, the ownership of most mass media by a few corporate conglomerates, and the corruption of the political process by politicians' constant need to raise large amounts of money. Media networks shaping the narrative around political candidates often have an agenda that leads news outlets to spin the news to the point of falsehood. Television and radio networks today neglect to report important stories, engage in disingenuous or misleading news analysis that essentially amounts to rehashing talking points of the major parties, or misreport or distort stories. The most egregious example of such a news outlet is Fox News. Unfortunately, Fox is not the only one.

One of the many ill effects of this witches' brew is that poor and middle-class people, increasingly, have no voice in Washington. Large scale business interests -- "malefactors of great wealth," to borrow the phrase of the great populist Republican Theodore Roosevelt -- have disproportionate political power.

Since our Constitution was designed to prevent any one person or faction from amassing excessive power, it should be no surprise that those who have accumulated enormous power have little interest in preserving Constitutional processes.

It's time for another Progressive Era. Karl Rove saw himself as Mark Hanna to Bush's McKinley. Where is the new Teddy Roosevelt who will roll back the Trusts?

This audio book was amazing and a little scary. John Dean is dead on about this administration and the MASSIVE mess they've created. His amazing research and facts are proof positive that, at this moment in time, our government is definitely broken. John Dean knows how to state the facts like no other author I've ever read. He's tremendous and so are his books.

This is the third in a series of books that John W. Dean has written about the failures of the Republican party to govern over the past 40 years. He has a platform from which to speak. A self-professed "card-carrying Republican" for most of his life, he has also seen at first-hand how government can go badly wrong, having been White House Counsel during the "imperial" presidency of Richard Nixon. In the intervening years, Dean has become thoroughly disillusioned with the Republican Party, as reflected in his previous book titles: Conservatives Without Conscience and Worse Than Watergate.

This is a powerful book, which should be read by every Democrat. In it, Dean's strong disagreement (to put a polite spin on it) with Republican rule is obvious, but in only a few places does he predict doomsday outcomes that surely will not happen anytime soon (e.g., the ability of the federal government to electronically monitor American citizens without a court order...hmm, it seems that that has already happened--apologies, Mr. Dean). Mostly, he brings an insider's knowledge of Washington and decades of participation in and study and observation of the workings of government to bear in a scathing indictment of the past and current Republican administrations (along with many other experts he cites and quotes, he labels the current one as probably "the worst Presidential administration in U.S. history." Sorry, James Buchanan--records are made to be broken.)

Dean makes it abundantly clear, with extensive commentary from political and economic experts and authors, that Republican administrations since Nixon have progressively and severely damaged all three branches of our federal government (which of course flows down to state and local jurisdictions). As he describes in detail, the Republicans have consistently tried to destroy the Congress to create an all-powerful, "unitary" executive branch (although, he admits, Congress is now recovering under Democratic leadership--for example, under the Republicans, the congress worked only two days a week (!), which is now back to five under Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate), to expand presidential authority (extension of powers beyond those expressed in the Constitution, in addition to lawbreaking, based on flawed "war powers" theory), and to politicize the federal judiciary by repeated appointments of fundamentalist conservative jurists.

It's a long tale of woe. Perhaps the worst news is the failure, as Dean says, of Republicans to exercise the main function of Congress--oversight of the executive branch. He finds little evidence--and much contrary evidence--of such failure during Democratic-controlled Congresses over the past half century, whatever the party of the President. For example, he recalls for us such figures as Democratic Senator William Fulbright, who gave fits to Democratic presidents in the 1960s. He concludes that Democratic politicians are, in general, more inclined to serve the public interest than Republicans--who don't seem to know or remember what that means.

Dean posits some answers, particularly that Americans do understand when "process" is being abused (at least when it is reported in the media, which is not often enough). As citizens and voters, we do not have the time or the energy to understand the complexities of proposing and passing legislation, nor do most of us have an understanding of the proper roles of the three branches of government (we probably should--the basic definitions are in the U.S. Constitution, which can be purchased online for $10.00, including shipping, and read in a hour). Instead, like Al Gore, Dean relies on the electorate to distinguish between the candidates who are abandoning reason and who are out to serve themselves and their party (i.e., through the Republican agenda) and those who have a semblance of concern for the common welfare--which Dean has become convinced are the Democrats today. His core conclusion: "Don't vote for any Republican until they can show that they have the ability to govern."

This is the third book in John W. Dean's series and it finalizes his strong statements about how the American people must sit up and pay attention to what is happening to our country based on the ultra conservative, mean spirited and ultra secretive workings of the Republican party. He explains what has happened and what will happen if the American people simple put our heads in the sand and not pay attention. He explains how important it is for the Democrats to fight back instead of turning the other cheek. He expresses so clearly what a growing number of involved American citizens are thinking, saying and writing.

If you know a legislator or judge personally, I would recommend this as a gift for them. If more of our Democratic leaders read this and were encouraged to turn and take a stand, we would be able to stop a lot of the discouraging trauma that our nation is facing in war, economic and judicial decisions.

Please read it and pass it on!