The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track(Institutions of American Democracy)

In this book, the third of the five trade books for the Institutions of Democracy project, Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein argue that congress faces a crisis of self-identity and role in the American Constitutional System. Congress is supposed to be the driving force behind policy in the nation and a vital check and balance against the executive, but it is neither, particularly under the current administration. As with other books in this series Mann and Ornstein will examine the first principles of the intended role of the legislative branch, look throughout history at how congress has fulfilled this role, and consider what can be done to improve it and bring it back to its original purpose.

Table of Contents:
Preface ; 1. Introduction ; 2. The First Branch of Government: Theory and Practice ; 3. The Seeds of the Contemporary Problem, 1969-1994 ; 4. A Decade of Republican Control ; 5. Institutional Decline ; 6. The Case of Continuity ; 7. Conclusion ; 8. Epilogue: Is the Broken Branch on the Mend? ; Notes ; Acknowledgments ; Index

About the Author :
Thomas E. Mann is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. The author of numerous books on American government, and a contributor to major magazines and newspapers like Washington Post and New York Times , he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mann has served as co-director (with Ornstein) of the Transition to Governing Project and senior counselor (with Ornstein) to the Continuity of Government Commission. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Norman J. Ornstein is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. An election analyst for CBS News, he writes a weekly column called "Congress Inside Out" for Roll Call . His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal , and Foreign Affairs , and he appears regularly on television programs like The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline , and Charlie Rose . He serves on the board of the Public Broadcasting Service and several other nonprofit groups. Like Mann, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Review :
...The Broken Branch...reveals their relationship with the national legislature to be much more profound than mere observation. Frankly, its love. And they are deeply distressed by Congresss current low esteem. Urging reform at every opportunity, they seem like the loyal spouse of an alcoholic or drug addict, desperately pushing their beloved into rehab.