A Critical Analysis of the Mann & Ornstein - Book Report/Review Example

A Critical Analysis of the Mann & Ornstein Book A Critical Analysis of the Mann & Ornstein Book Introduction Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein authored the book titled, Its Even Worse Than it Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism in which they tried to highlight some of the critical problems in the American political system that are not considered as serious as they really are. In their argument, they highlight that the media has portrayed the Democratic Party and the Republic party as equally partisan. However, the two authors reveal the extremism exhibited by the Republican Party since the post war period until the Obama reign. Without doubt, the extremism exhibited by the Republican Party has created a system that resembles parliamentary systems in other countries. Notably, they United States relies on a constitutional system, which is completely different from the parliamentary system. Using numerous examples, the authors depict the efforts made by the Republican Party to debilitate the functions of the democratic government. This paper will offer a critical analysis of the arguments presented in the book. Both Mann and Ornstein have vast experience in political analysis. Thomas Mann works for the Brookings institution while Norman Ornstein is a political analyst and commentator, and authors the weekly article on “Congress Inside Out”, which appears in the Roll Call. From a close analysis of the American political system and the moves made by both the democratic and the republican parties, these authors have the conviction that there are two outstanding sources of dysfunction. One of the outstanding sources is the increased polarization of the political parties taking the form of parliamentary parties that prove to be highly adversarial. In a parliamentary system, the adversarial parties are allowed, but that does not minimize the powers of the majority. However, in the constitutional system followed by the United States, there is a distinct separation of powers and the majority has limitations of power. Therefore, a constitutional system requires both compromise and negotiation between the majority and the minority if any agenda is to be passed. However, Mann and Ornstein highlight that the polarization that has emerged only serves to limit any effective compromise or negotiation. This has caused an apparent mismatch of the types of parties in place and the constitutional system supposed to be followed (Mann & Ornstein, 2012). The other problem identified is the increasing insurgency and ideologies of the Republican Party. The authors highlight that the Republican Party has become unwilling to compromise and fail to be convinced to support any agenda irrespective of the available evidence. There are many examples presented to support this view. Individuals such as Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy are some of the republicans who have initiated certain moves in the Republican Party in an effort to ensure that no compromise is reached and that laws are not passed. For example, Eric Cantor was the individual, responsible as the majority leader to ensure that the government registered a default on its debt. According to the authors, the Republican Party has used different strategies in an effort to ensure that the democratic government does not have a way out in many issues. The book mentions that the most critical problem in American politics is that of polarization. According to Mann and Ornstein, there is evidence suggesting that democrats considered highly conservative proof to be more liberal than republicans who are considered most liberal (p. 34). Mann and Ornstein believe that strategies by the Republican Party began in 1978 after Democrats had been the majority in the congress for over 24 years. Newt Gingrinch exhibited efforts of changing that fact. He developed strategies for ensuring that Republicans were not willing to cooperate in any committee or in the house. Moreover, he discouraged the republicans from living in Washington DC so that they would not become acquainted to the democrats. These strategies served to initiate the efforts of the republican parties to block the passage of any agenda (p. 60). The authors assert that the extremism of the Republican Party has only increased during the Obama presidency. At the congress, many republicans are unwilling to show their cooperation. Some of them make demands that are unreasonable during critical times in an effort to paint the democrat government negatively. For example, during the Hurricane Irene, Eric Cantor made demands compelling the government to limit the funding of some programs so that he would allow any relief funding to the suffering citizens (p. 89). This was an inconsiderate move by the republicans. They only served to exhibit their real personal interests, but depicted that they had no concern for the American nation. Notably, this is the opinion of Mann and Ornstein, which seems true after a critical consideration. An individual with the national interest at heart would not place the preconditions for funding relief programs during a disaster such as Hurricane Irene. In addition, the book highlights that republicans have developed strategies for ensuring that nominees to different departments do not assume their responsibilities until after so long. The lengthening of the period of appointments and the blocking of nominations serves to exhibit that the Republicans only care about the party interests. According to Mann and Ornstein, the republicans do this to ensure that there is no implementation of the established laws. This gives them a loophole to criticize the democrat government. It is fair enough that the authors mention that the democrats have their blames as well (p. 92). However, they are more willing to compromise and promote national interests instead of party interests. In addition, the authors accuse the republican party of developing filibusters that render the majority vote useless. This involves creating obstructions in a bid to ensure that a bill does not pass. In one instance, two Republican members are recorded to have voted against a resolution they had suggested and co-sponsored. Their change of mind came after the realization that president Obama was for the idea. This served to prove that the Republican party uses numerous strategies to ensure that it can obstruct bills from passage (p. 82). Evidently, the accusations made against the Republican Party seem to have a basis in accordance with the evidence provided by the authors. There is no doubt that the American politics are facing serious challenges. Ornstein and Mann authored this book with the purpose of revealing how party polarization has contributed to numerous problems in the political system. It is justified to say that the Republican Party has been applying extremism ideology. Their unwillingness to cooperate and compromise in the house has been evident in the recent past. Although the Democratic Party has its downfalls and weaknesses, strategies used by the Republican Party have only served to increase the level of polarization (p. 19). In the second part of the book, the authors focus on describing potential solutions to the evident problems. Although they acknowledge that some of the strategies used by the Republican Party have contributed to increased insecurities in the economic sector, they highlight that, the American government should avoid some strategies. In chapter four, the authors call them the “Bromides to avoid”. They highlight this as the introduction of a third party, constitutional amendments, term limits, and full public funding of elections. All of these have been suggested as potential solutions to the problems. However, each of them has outstanding disadvantages and should not be considered as solutions in the opinion of Mann and Ornstein. For example, the issue of third parties and their potential salvation is unrealistic because 90% of the voter population exhibits support for either of the two main parties. In addition, a constitutional amendment would prove inefficient as well, while the limitation of terms would only move leaders to focus on the time left, but increases in efficiency. Other potential solutions such as full public funding of elections would not serve to eliminate the mismatch of a constitutional system and parliamentary-like parties (p. 109). In the opinion of Mann and Ornstein, the expansion of the vote is one of the potential solutions, which can present positive effects. This would involve automating the registration process of voters, and the involvement of private entities in ensuring that registered voters are eligible. Moreover, the existing strategies of restricting voting should be eliminated while the voting day should be a weekend such as Saturday. The authors opine that voting should be mandatory. In addition, the authors present strategies that can be adapted to ensure reforms in the political institutions. Such reforms can eliminate the possibilities of obstruction by any of the parties. The final chapter of the book is dedicated to describing how the current system can be navigated. One of the suggestions is for the media to present facts as they are, and shame republican members who participate in strategies of obstruction. An interesting suggestion is that placing republicans in power can present some solutions, as they will be pressured to perform by criticism from the democrats. The president has a role in exposing the extremist strategies exhibited by the republicans (p. 167). Conclusion Without doubt, this book presents intriguing ideas concerning the existing problems in the American political systems and the potential solutions. Notably, the Republican Party has been placed in the limelight for promoting extremist ideologies and participating in obstruction. Based on the evidence presented by the authors, it is true that the Republican Party is to blame for some of the problems facing American politics. However, the potential solutions presented can only be tested by time in an effort to prove their efficiency. Reference Mann, T. E., & Ornstein, N. J. (2012). Its even worse than it looks: How the American constitutional system collided with the new politics of extremism. New York: Basic Books. 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