Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives

Juliet Eilperin

Rowman & Littlefield, 2007 - Political Science - 174 pages

The House of Representatives the "people's House" is supposed to be the body of government closest to ordinary citizens, reflecting their needs and desires. But it has drifted from its roots in recent years, as lawmakers have become deaf to voters and fixated on maintaining their power inside the Beltway. Just over a decade ago Republicans wrested control of the chamber from Democrats, who had ruled uninterrupted for four decades. They promised to make the House more open and responsive to voters, and these GOP revolutionaries instituted several reforms that did make the House less corrupt. But over time they have lost this heady spirit of reform, as they ve punished members who buck the party line and relegated Democrats to the legislative sidelines. Even as Republicans were revamping the House in Washington, party operatives across the country were changing it by redrawing the political maps that decide who gets elected to Congress and who doesn t. Redistricting - the traditional decennial rite in which the country divvies up citizens into voting blocs and maps out new congressional seats in all 50 states - is an inside game that gets little attention outside academia and a tight circle of political pundits. But it 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, which means 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 are now facing a national divide, in which lawmakers are less accountable to the public and more beholden to party leaders. Fight Club Politics will show how our current political system has silenced the average American voter, and how ordinary citizens can reclaim the institution that claims to represent them. Published in coo

What people are saying

Review: Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship Is Poisoning the House of Representatives

User Review  - Rock - Goodreads

Interesting viewpoint, she raises a lot eye raising questions.

Review: Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship Is Poisoning the House of Representatives

User Review  - Jasmine - Goodreads

people should know about gerrymandering!

Contents

• Revamping the House of Representatives: 9
• Tearing Washingtons Social Fabric Apart: 29
• Legislating without a Partnership: 47
• House Centrists Disappear: 71
• Reshaping Americas Political Map: 89
• The Road to Redistricting Reform: 115
• How to Restore Civility to the House: 127
• AFTERWORD: 139
• Key Congressional Players: 145
• House Minority Leader Richard A Gephardts DMo Remarks regarding the Impeachment of President Clinton: 151
• Statement by House Speaker J Dennis Hastert RIII regarding the House Chaplain: 153
• Address by House Speaker J Dennis Hastert Reflections on the Role of the Speaker in the Modern Day House of Representatives: 159
• INDEX: 165

About the author

Juliet Eilperin has been a Washington Post reporter since 1998. She was a contributor to Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election (2001) about the 2000 presidential election. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she was born and raised.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives; Hoover studies in politics, economics, and society
• Author: Juliet Eilperin
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
• ISBN: 0742551199, 9780742551190
• Length: 174 pages
• Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Legislative Branch; Political Science / Political Process / Political Parties