Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives (Hoover Studies in Politics, Economics, and Society) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this lucidly written and thoroughly researched first book, Washington Post reporter and D.C. native Eilperin posits that, beginning with Newt Gingrich's nomination as House Speaker in 1994, warlike tactics, manipulation and strategic takeovers have replaced compromise within the House of Representatives, consequently polarizing America's two major parties and leaving the views of its ordinary citizens underrepresented. Eilperin portrays Gingrich as an intimidating, conflicted and sometimes disturbing figure who consolidated Republican power early in his tenure, strong-arming committee chairmen and even soliciting political advice from friend Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach. To maintain control, the Republican leadership uses loopholes in the system, such as introducing bills so late that representatives don't have time to review them before voting. And the Democrats are shown responding in kind, sticking with their own and ranting bitterly about the Republican House majority. Eilperin's years of experience as a House reporter show in her well-chosen and insightful quotations from lawmakers and commentators, her buoyant prose and the wide scope of her argument. Her portrayal of the fallen House is utterly convincing, but Eilperin ends hopefully, with a look toward what's necessary to restore balance. This exemplary volume is a good bet for anyone wanting an insider's view of America's corridors of power. (Apr.)
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Product Description

ABOUT THE BOOK

The House of Representatives—the body of government closest to ordinary citizens, reflecting their needs and desires—has drifted from its roots in recent years, as lawmakers have fixated on maintaining their power inside the Beltway.

A decade ago Republicans wrested control of the chamber from Democrats, who had ruled uninterrupted for four decades These GOP revolutionaries promised to make the House more responsive to voters and institute several reforms that made the House less corrupt. But over time they've lost this heady spirit of reform, punishing members who buck the party line and relegating Democrats to the legislative sidelines.

While Republicans were revamping the House in Washington, party operatives across the country were redrawing the political maps that decide who gets elected to Congress and who doesn't. Redistricting—the decennial rite in which citizens are divided into voting blocs and new congressional seats are mapped out in all 50 states—is key in understanding why men and women on the far right and far left now control the levers of power in Washington.

House members now hail from overwhelmingly Democratic or Republican districts, meaning that they spend most of their time catering to their party's base. And once they win their first race, they are virtually assured of reelection for as long as they wish, giving them little incentive to focus on what their constituents want or need.

We now face a national divide, in which lawmakers are less accountable to the public and more beholden to party leaders. Fight Club Politics shows how our current political system has silenced the average American voter and how ordinary citizens can reclaim the institution that claims to represent them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juliet Eilperin A born-and-bred Washington, Juliet Eilperin graduated in 1992 magna cum laude from Princeton University, where she received a bachelor's in Politics with a certificate in Latin American Studies. In the fall of 1992 she went to Seoul, South Korea on a Luce Scholarship, which allowed her to cover politics and economics for an English-language magazine. Returning to Washington, Ms. Eilperin wrote for Louisiana and Florida papers at States News Service and then joined Roll Call newspaper after the Republicans seized Congress in 1994. In March 1998 she joined The Washington Post as its House of Representatives reporter, where she covered the impeachment of Bill Clinton, lobbying, legislation, and four national congressional campaigns.

Since April of 2004 she has covered the environment for the national desk, reporting on science, policy and politics in areas including climate change, oceans, and air quality. In pursuit of these stories she has gone scuba diving with sharks in the Bahamas, trekking on the Arctic tundra, and searching on her hands and knees for rare insects in the caves of Tennessee.

During her first year at the Post Ms. Eilperin was the most prolific writer on the news staff, writing more than 200 stories. In the spring of 2005 she served as the McGraw Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, teaching political reporting to a group of undergraduate and graduate students. This spring Rowman & Littlefield will publish her first book, "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives."

REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly—February 23, 2006 "In this lucidly written and thoroughly researched first book, Washington Post reporter and D.C. native Eilperin posits that, beginning with Newt Gingrich's nomination as House Speaker in 1994, war-like tactics, manipulation and strategic takeovers have replaced compromise within the House of Representatives, consequently polarizing America's two major parties and leaving the views of its ordinary citizens underrepresented.

Eilperin portrays Gingrich as an intimidating, conflicted and sometimes disturbing figure who consolidated Republican power early in his tenure, strong-arming committee chairmen and even soliciting political advice from friend Joe Paterno, the Penn State football coach. To maintain control, the Republican leadership uses loopholes in the system, such as introducing bills so late that representatives don't have time to review them before voting. And the Democrats are shown responding in kind, sticking with their own and ranting bitterly about the Republican House majority.

Eilperin's years of experience as a House reporter show in her well-chosen and insightful quotations from lawmakers and commentators, her buoyant prose and the wide scope of her argument. Her portrayal of the fallen House is utterly convincing, but Eilperin ends hopefully, with a look toward what's necessary to restore balance. This exemplary volume is a good bet for anyone wanting an insider’s view of America’s corridors of power."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (April 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742551180
• ISBN-13: 978-0742551183
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #830,426 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars insightful and enjoyable, May 4, 2006

By	Karen F. (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews

This book is a pleasure to read, offering insightful and amusing anecdotes and quotes gathered personally by the author. For veterans of Capitol Hill, Fight Club offers fresh analysis of what ails Congress. For those less familiar with the inner workings of Congress, this book is a fun and educational read that helps explain why the two parties are unable to find common solutions to some of the country's most pressing issues.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Knock Out, April 26, 2006

By	Alex P. G. Sittenfeld "pol man" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow! This book is a can't-miss for all political junkies - or for anyone else who just wants to understand how D.C. politics became so bitter. Eilperin also offers some thoughtful ideas about what can be done to remedy all the partisanship. The author narrates episodes of House incivility in an exciting way that makes the book a fast read - and it's a good thing because you'll probably want to read it again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explains Why the House is so Extreme, June 25, 2006

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The creation of politically safe, more ideologically tilted congressional seats through redistricting has cemented the Republican hold on power and made the House of Representatives unrepresentative - so charges Eilperin in "Fight Club Politics." Republicans take about two-thirds of committee seats, even though they had only 52.9% of the vote in '94. Another "innovation" was having leadership PACs dole out money, instead of challengers, junior lawmakers, and possibly more independent lawmakers.

Thirty years ago new members were more likely to move their families to D.C., eager to become part of the social scene. Families often socialized with each other, regardless of party. This lifestyle disappeared in the late '80's and early '90s - especially after Armey and Gingrich warned the Class of '94 to keep their families away from the D.C. The intent was to focus on one's district, and members became "Tuesday to Thursday" legislators.

Rather than seeking a comfortable bipartisan majority for their initiatives, GOP leaders now focus on securing 218 votes on their side so they can craft bills as conservative as possible. Thus, the Democrats have become irrelevant. Given the Republicans' slight majority, floor amendments are banned 78% of the time. Sixty percent of all bills are exempted from the requirement of at least 48 hours to review bills, and nearly 40% come off the printer after 8 P.M. (Result: Democrats had one hour before the vote on a 3,000 page $1 trillion budget bill.)

House tradition dictated that the minority party got to send delegates of its choice to conference committees - no longer. Term-limiting committee chairs, and filling those positions via leadership decision (vs. seniority) has further augmented leadership power. Members now are also required to donate campaign funds to retain choice assignments.

Bottom Line: Gerrymandering + closed primaries creates much more extreme politics with a focus on primaries. Fixing the problem will require an end to gerrymandering. Several states have done this, Iowa being the most obvious, but there is a long way to go.