Customer Reviews

My Declaration of Independence

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This was a very enjoyable account of what went on in Senator Jeffords mind as he struggled with what was a very difficult decision. It was very enlightening too about how things really work in congress and how people reacted to his decision (both positively and negatively). I consider what he did to be a heroic act, even though I may not agree with all of his goals, I respect him for doing what he believed despite the great personal cost (both to himself and those he cared about). I would say this to anyone considering this book and reading thru the various reviews - be careful about those reviewers who can only view this in terms of how it affected them or their beliefs. Senator Jeffords makes his decision beyond party politics, if you want to know why - here it is.

Speaking may not be Sen. Jeffords' forte, but he has managed to lay out a compelling story of a decision which changed the American political landscape as much as any election could. Political figures come to life in his account. His generosity of spirit also shines through the text. He's very different from those who ultimately drove him away from a party which has become quite strident in its conservatism and lacking in its compassion in recent years.

Kudos to the Senator (and to his aide Mark Powden, who doubtless had a big role in bringing this project to completion) for his courage and for sharing the inside scoop so completely. A must-read for those who care about the future of American politics.

Like many Americans I quickly formed an opinion when Senator Jeffries from Vermont suddenly switched parties from the Republican Party to an Independent. This switch from this one Senator shifted the balance of power away from the Republican Party until the elections in 2002. At the time I thought it was a very selfish act on the part of Jeffries, and should have been against regulations to switch from the party you were voted in on. I picked up this book to see if my conclusions were wrong.

The book is well written in first person, and the events unfold at a dizzying pace. If you ever really wanted to know what happens in the governments leadership of our country, this book provides some insights. As much as I have a distaste for "office politics", I now know a life of public service as a Senator is out of the question. Jeffries seems to spend all his time walking from office to office, from meeting to meeting, trying to cut deals and get agreements on a tax allocation. Other than the occasional dinner and trip, this is all that he seems to do. It is a good look at how our political body operates. He details the slow and inevitable conclusion he comes to when he cannot convince his fellow Republicans to fund education.

The slow and gradual widening of the ideological gap between Jeffries and his Party seems to be led by no less than a desire to stand up for his beliefs. This is certainly an honorable stance, and I found myself agreeing with his conclusions. To be blunt, if I consider the position he was trying to fight for, I would have to agree with him! In this regard I found the book to be most enlightening.

However, when reading through his thought process I came to the following conclusion: the shift was about Jeffries, not about the issue of education. He admits that the education spending he was trying to push through wasn't going to get through anyway. So does he work inside his party to help bridge the gap between the two political parties struggling to find common ground? No, he simply does what he wants to do personally by becoming an independent, in the process in fact widening the very gap he was trying to close.

This is a very good book, and a quick and interesting read. At first glance his position is honorable, and his ideas are sound. In the end though, despite the initial pain of his choice, he took the easier way out. I would have had more respect for an approach to hang in there and try and to change and influence his party, considering he was only there in the first place because the voters of Vermont allowed him in as a Republican. That fact alone makes his decision a decision of self and not for the people. The book is a great read though, and a good look behind the scenes at the politics of government.

This book isn't particularly well written, and it does not give great insights into Jefford's soul. This book tells the story of how and why James Jeffords, my beloved senator, left the Republican party. This book should be read because it is honest, something that we don't hear much anymore. It is an interesting story, and worth your time, whether you believe that he did what was right or not.

And remeber to ask for integrity in your own representitives.

While this book is not a very colorful account of what led up to the political shift that Jim Jeffords created, it seems to be a very honest and accurate historical account of the events leading to his leaving the Republican Party. It is a very quick read and answers many questions that all the political pundits hypothesised on for months. It also includes his "Declaration of Independence" speech which was the best of his political career. And some interesting historical information about the legacy of Vermont politics. He brings to light some faults and virtues on both sides of the aisle. I would not consider this a Republican bashing account nor an endorsement of the Democratic agenda. The book very much reflects the Senators passion for moderates on both sides, and addresses the effect of personal relationships on politics.

I once ran for a local office as a Republican and voted that way for years. Now I am an Independent/Democrat. Like Mr. Jeffords I have found the modern Repbulican party out of touch with the needs of Vermont. This book by Mr. Jeffords provides us with a close look at one of the most important political decisions this year. Though not a suberb book it was worth reading. Thank you
Senator, I am glad I worked for your election in 1988 and hope you will run again.

James Jeffords is a man I admired for standing up for what he believes is the right thing to do. We know what the media told us about him. We know how his own party branded him. I don't blame the man for leaving the party he helped for over a couple of decades.

Jeffords describes the bills and ideology he worked for since the late 70's and how it all came to an abrupt end when it meant bowing to political pressure from his own party. He wanted to stand firm, but was given the cold shoulder. When he needed his party most, he was made to labeled a traitor.

Though I admire him for his convictions and experiences, the book itself doesn't do the man justice. Though it describes his emotional roller coaster, I think it was frivilous and detracts from his declaration of independence. I feel as though the writing was designed to make the reader feel sorry for him. Though I sympathize with him and his frustrations, I was looking for more substance. It simply wasn't there. The book is too short and falls short in achieving what I believe he set out to do.

As a Pennsylvania state legislative leader, I have suffered a demotion from Majority Whip to Minority Caucus Chairman for the past twelve years because several Democrats switched to the Republican Party in 1993 and 1994 and turned the Pennsylvania House over to the Republicans. Two of those converts were then defeated by Democratic nominees, but two others were not, and having the majority helped the Pennsylvania Republicans gain other seats.

So I read the story of Jeffords' abandonment of the party that elected him, and his turning control of the U.S. Senate over to the Democrats, with a sense of having seen this before. Policy differences lead to personal confrontations and personal slights which, in turn, raise new questions about partisan commitments. The chance to play a starring role in the new party seems preferable to being an outcast in the old party. The change is made, and old alliances and friendships are sundered, while new ones are made.

Running for re-election after a party switch can be tricky, but Jeffords, with four years left on his Senate term, "doubted" that he would be running again in 2006. In fact, he did not run again this year. With re-election clearly not a top priority for him--"it was the furthest thing from my thoughts at that point," he says--a major obstacle to swictching parties was removed.

The Jeffords switch came in May, 200l. George Bush had been elected President in key respects by a 5 to 4 U.S. Supreme Court decision stopping the counting of votes in Florida where Bush held a lead of only a little more than 500 votes. The Democrats had gained four seats in the U.S. Senate in the 2000 elections, and the parties were now evenly divided in the Senate. It seemed quite possible that the Democrats had a future of surging ahead.

Further, although he does not mention it, his home state clearly was trending Democratic, with Howard Dean as Governor, Patrick Leahy as the other U.S. Senator, and Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed socialist who often sided with the Democrats, repeatedly elected with Democratic support as an Independent. For some reason, Sanders' name is never mentioned in this book; in 2006, he was the winning Democratic-backed candidate to succeed Jefords.

Jeffords had leverage in the budget negotiations, and was determined to use it. He decided his top priority, as chair of the Senate committee dealing with education, was giving new life to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by increasing special education funding by removing $200 billion a year from President Bush's tax cut and paying "40 percent of the national average per public expenditure for each disabled child's education."

This formulation comes out to about 20% of total national special education expenses.

Jeffords was motivated by personal values and constituent accountability in pushing his educational program. He did not share the belief that tax cuts for the wealthy were the highest Republican priority.

"But how our children lag behind their international peers strikes me as a bigger long-term threat to our national security and stability than the rate of taxation paid on multimillion dollar estates," he writes. "In my mind, the education we give to all our children is far more important than the size of the fortunes left to a fortunate few...."

"But tax cuts had not been what animated the people of Vermont I talked to on the campaign trail in the fall," he says. "They seemed to be far more concerned with meeeting human needs."

Ultimately, the Senate Republicans were able to regain the Senate control in the 2002 and 2004 elections, returning Jeffords to minority status and reducing the significance of his action. This book makes clear Jefford's enjoyment of being in the limelight, even though he was somewhat uncomfortable at times there. I cannot help but believe that the "Who Lost Jeffords?" question was likely a contributing factor in Trent Lott's being removed as Senate majority leader after the 2004 elections.

This is a good short book for anyone interested in the differences between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate, the history of Vermont Senators, or the personal dynamics of the U.S. Senate, to read carefully. Jeffords clearly identifies with the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Vermont Senators George Aiken and Ralph Flanders, critics of the War in Vietnam and Sen. Joseph McCarthy repsectively. It is the modern Republicans he has difficulty with.

"There was an admixture of religion, a sense of stewardship, and plain common sense," he writes. "....(T)he issues that gave birth to the Republican Party are still among our most important challenges. Will we strenghten public education and the ladder of opportunity it provides? Or will be decide through our funding decisions that this is not a very high federal priority? Will we leave the land better than we found it for our descendants a hundred and fifty years hence? Or will we be blinded by the ensuing crises and leave it despoiled? Will we accord full rights to all Americans? Or will we continue to condone the denial of the protections of our laws to those who are gay?

"It is clear what I hope for. This is the kind of Washington I hope to forge with what little influence is available to me. We have crying needs in our society that we must tackle rather than ignore. And we can never even begin if we are consumed by trying to take petty partisan advantage at every opportunity. The American people will not stand for it."

When the Republican Party lost Jeffords, they lost a lot. He is typical of some voters. And I believe listening intently to his views would add a great deal to the Bush Administration and any successor administration. The negative, petty, and personal attacks on Jeffords that helped motivate him to leave the Republican Party are a case of a the quest for power overwhelming more lasting and important factors.

First, many of the poor reviews here are by those on the right who were disappointed by the Senator's switch of parties. I'd point out that conservatives were delighted when others switched to the GOP - none of them used the words "betrayal" then. Watch for the next defection from D to R - and see if they are upset, and thus consistent.

That said, this book tends to stay closely to the education bill that the Senator says was at the heart of his decision. As such, it drags down an otherwise fine book. I'd rather have read more of his biography, myself. Still, it does point out the toll that constant whipping of a party member can take (from either party, mind you). Conservative publications regularly lambasted him over the years, and then were surprised when he walked.

Now, other Northeastern moderates are treated better by the GOP leadership. This turn of events may be have avoided had that occurred sooner.

For anyone interested in contemporary politics, My Declaration of Independence is a candid--and fast-reading--account of the defection from the Republican Party of Senator Jim Jeffords last May.

Regardless of your opinion of Jeffords' move, his memory is sharp and the events that led to the "switch" become real and his motives become clear.

A great book!