About the Author
Image credit: Ralph Alswang
Works by Thomas E. Mann
It's Even Worse than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism (2012) 555 copies, 14 reviews
One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported (2017) 162 copies, 5 reviews
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (2006) 128 copies, 3 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1944-09-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Florida (B.A.|political science|1966)
University of Michigan (PhD ∙ 1977) - Occupations
- political scientist
writer - Organizations
- Brookings Institute
American Political Science Association
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Council on Foreign Relations - Awards and honors
- Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy)
Frank J. Goodnow (American Political Science Association)
Charles E. Merriam Award (American Political Science Association) - Short biography
- Thomas E. Mann (born September 10, 1944) is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. He primarily studies and speaks on elections in the United States, campaign finance reform, Senate and filibuster reform, Congress, redistricting, and political polarization.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Wisconsin, USA
Members
Reviews
It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism by Thomas E. Mann
This is a scary book.
First, it needs to be said that Ornstein and Mann are not "liberals" in any sense. They are, at most, center-right conservatives. They are respected and popular pundits "inside the Beltway" and frequent guests on the Sunday political talk shows.
At least, before they published this book.
We're all aware that our politics in recent years have been unusually broken, with gridlock and partisan obstructionism preventing even basic government functions from being carried out show more properly. Conventional, mainstream media wisdom says that this is equally the fault of both sides, that Democrats and Republicans both have become more extreme in recent years.
Mann and Ornstein say that's not correct, that the Democrats have moved a little to the left, while the Republicans have become an extreme ideological outlier, unwilling to compromise on anything, and not accepting even a shared understanding of facts and evidence with the rest of the world.
Furthermore, they document this: the slight shift in the Democratic ideological tilt, as they lost the Dixiecrats, with very little movement in the rest of the Democratic caucus, while Republicans moved much further to the right. This happened in part because they welcomed the Dixiecrats who no longer felt welcome in the Democratic party, but also as a result of deliberate strategy and tactics used to break the longstanding Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. One of the key players in this was the relatively pragmatic Newt Gingrich, who deliberately developed parliamentary-like party discipline and unity, in order to obstruct the Democrats, make Congress less functional, therefore less popular, and induce the voters to "throw the bums out."
The authors lay out clearly the ways in which parliamentary parties, the Republicans especially but the Democrats, in response, developing similar if not quite as strong discipline, are incompatible with the governmental structure we have, which requires a high degree of consensus and cooperation in order to work. They beautifully explain how the GOP has driven the system closer and closer to the edge, driving out the liberals, the moderates, the center right, the merely "very conservative" members of their own party, in pursuit of ever-greater ideological purity.
They also, thankfully, lay out suggestions for how to make the situation better. These suggestions include changes to the government (extraordinarily hard to achieve), changes to how the parties behave (very hard to achieve), and changes to voter behavior (dependent on voters recognizing the seriousness of the situation.) They propose open primaries as one way to lessen the power of the extremes, and encourage voters and candidates more ready for cooperation and compromise in order to get the practical business of government accomplished.
This is an important book, one that everyone who cares about our political system ought to read. Unfortunately, it's getting very little attention because the mainstream media that normally love Ornstein and Mann haven't been interested in having them on since this book came out. Why? Maybe because they place a lot of blame on the mainstream media for buying into the false equivalency of "both sides do it" and not reporting on the genuinely extreme and destructive behavior of the current Republican party.
Highly recommended.
I bought this book. show less
First, it needs to be said that Ornstein and Mann are not "liberals" in any sense. They are, at most, center-right conservatives. They are respected and popular pundits "inside the Beltway" and frequent guests on the Sunday political talk shows.
At least, before they published this book.
We're all aware that our politics in recent years have been unusually broken, with gridlock and partisan obstructionism preventing even basic government functions from being carried out show more properly. Conventional, mainstream media wisdom says that this is equally the fault of both sides, that Democrats and Republicans both have become more extreme in recent years.
Mann and Ornstein say that's not correct, that the Democrats have moved a little to the left, while the Republicans have become an extreme ideological outlier, unwilling to compromise on anything, and not accepting even a shared understanding of facts and evidence with the rest of the world.
Furthermore, they document this: the slight shift in the Democratic ideological tilt, as they lost the Dixiecrats, with very little movement in the rest of the Democratic caucus, while Republicans moved much further to the right. This happened in part because they welcomed the Dixiecrats who no longer felt welcome in the Democratic party, but also as a result of deliberate strategy and tactics used to break the longstanding Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. One of the key players in this was the relatively pragmatic Newt Gingrich, who deliberately developed parliamentary-like party discipline and unity, in order to obstruct the Democrats, make Congress less functional, therefore less popular, and induce the voters to "throw the bums out."
The authors lay out clearly the ways in which parliamentary parties, the Republicans especially but the Democrats, in response, developing similar if not quite as strong discipline, are incompatible with the governmental structure we have, which requires a high degree of consensus and cooperation in order to work. They beautifully explain how the GOP has driven the system closer and closer to the edge, driving out the liberals, the moderates, the center right, the merely "very conservative" members of their own party, in pursuit of ever-greater ideological purity.
They also, thankfully, lay out suggestions for how to make the situation better. These suggestions include changes to the government (extraordinarily hard to achieve), changes to how the parties behave (very hard to achieve), and changes to voter behavior (dependent on voters recognizing the seriousness of the situation.) They propose open primaries as one way to lessen the power of the extremes, and encourage voters and candidates more ready for cooperation and compromise in order to get the practical business of government accomplished.
This is an important book, one that everyone who cares about our political system ought to read. Unfortunately, it's getting very little attention because the mainstream media that normally love Ornstein and Mann haven't been interested in having them on since this book came out. Why? Maybe because they place a lot of blame on the mainstream media for buying into the false equivalency of "both sides do it" and not reporting on the genuinely extreme and destructive behavior of the current Republican party.
Highly recommended.
I bought this book. show less
One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported by Jr. E. J. Dionne
I hesitated in buying this book because I assumed the topic would be out of date soon after reading it. I was wrong, and am so glad I read it when I did. The authors are correct in naming it a guide, as it covers the causes of the improbable ascendancy of Trump to the White House, and a well-written and thoughtful way forward. The first section discusses what led to Trump, covering topics such as our new view of 'truth,' the rising acceptance of authoritarianism among some of our population, show more how Trump's message resonated with the working class, and the roles of race, immigration, culture and economics. The second half of the book is the prescription for the situation we find ourselves in, mainly based on policy and individual and group initiatives. The book concludes optimistically, borrowing a quote from President Obama: "Show Up, Dive In, Stay at It."
I don't believe this book will ever feel dated - there will always be lessons to be learned, and the words of these three wise men can show us the way forward. show less
I don't believe this book will ever feel dated - there will always be lessons to be learned, and the words of these three wise men can show us the way forward. show less
It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the Politics of Extremism by Thomas E. Mann
I am interested in how we came to be in a state of what appears to be permanent partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill. From the vantage point of Obama's first term, this book offers insightful, intelligent analysis on the recent history of deep, party divisiveness.
While calling out impractical such possible solutions as a third party, final chapters suggests as workable solutions including:
* Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) This is a topic I am interested in and have done interviews to cover.
* Universal voting through such carrots as freely available IDs, weekend voting, or a lottery and such sticks as a mandate or fine.
* Open primaries to reduce focus on ideologically extreme candidates. (I have over the last few years developed my own opinion that party primaries promote extremism, so I am glad to see this here.)
* Reducing the corrupting influence of monied lobbying with special attention to the crimes and confessions of Jack Abramoff show less
McConnell’s statement indicating a desire to cut a deal and avoid default changed the dynamic, but as he said, it was not because he feared the economic consequences for the country,show more
but because the failure to do so would damage the
Republican brand. The clear implication was that if default brought economic hardship and the president and Democrats got blamed, that would be just fine. That kind of calculus—putting partisan advantage ahead of problem-solving, with the stakes for the country being sky-high—was not politics as usual, at least not as we have seen it practiced through several generations of party leaders.
From his perspective, the president had put himself out on a limb to reach a deal, accepting painful changes in Medicare and other entitlements that his party stalwarts passionately opposed, and in return had been openly disrespected by Boehner. He faced the real possibility of a major jolt to an already weak economy; experts predicted that default might send the economy into a deeper tailspin. So he went on national television to offer his own version of what had happened, underscoring his support for the $4 trillion plan he had come close to securing with Boehner. He
placed blame not on Boehner but on the other Republicans in Congress who had insisted on a cuts-only approach that Obama chastised as unfair because it spared the wealthy alone any sacrifice.
He expressed alarm at the dire consequences, including the first time in history that the nation’s AAA credit rating would be downgraded, and decried a six-month extension of the debt limit
as irresponsible. He called for compromise and said, “The American people may have voted for divided government but they didn’t vote for dysfunctional government.”
While calling out impractical such possible solutions as a third party, final chapters suggests as workable solutions including:
* Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) This is a topic I am interested in and have done interviews to cover.
* Universal voting through such carrots as freely available IDs, weekend voting, or a lottery and such sticks as a mandate or fine.
* Open primaries to reduce focus on ideologically extreme candidates. (I have over the last few years developed my own opinion that party primaries promote extremism, so I am glad to see this here.)
* Reducing the corrupting influence of monied lobbying with special attention to the crimes and confessions of Jack Abramoff show less
It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism by Thomas E. Mann
A wonderful book that takes a hard look at today's politics. No doubt staunch conservatives would call the book a liberal propaganda piece, but it don't think so. It simply examines today's politics and notices that the GOP is doing more obstructing than governing and calls the party out on it. It gave me a lot to think about, and I've been quoting its ideas to everyone I've been speaking with. Powerful stuff.
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Statistics
- Works
- 23
- Members
- 951
- Popularity
- #27,066
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 23
- ISBNs
- 73
- Languages
- 2