LEADER 04149cam 2200541 a 4500001 ocn798617180 003 OCoLC 005 20141212050946.0 008 120716s2013 nyua b 001 0 eng 010 2012028783 016 7 016256251 |2Uk 020 9780199931989 (hardback) 020 0199931984 (hardback) 029 1 AU@ |b000049636542 035 (Sirsi) o798617180 035 (OCoLC)798617180 040 DLC |beng |cDLC |dIG# |dBTCTA |dYDXCP |dBDX |dOCLCO |dCDX |dBWX |dZGH |dUKMGB |dOCLCO |dERE |dUtOrBLW 042 pcc 043 n-us--- 049 EREE 050 00 JK275 |b.A55 2013 082 00 328.73 |223 084 POL006000 |2bisacsh 100 1 Allen, Thomas H. |q(Thomas Hodge), |d1945- |=^A1144378 245 10 Dangerous convictions : |bwhat's really wrong with the U.S. Congress / |cTom Allen. 260 New York : |bOxford University Press, USA, |c2013. 300 xi, 236 pages : |billustrations ; |c25 cm 336 text |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |2rdamedia 338 volume |2rdacarrier 504 Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-223) and index. 505 0 Early lessons in Congress -- The federal budget: faith-based economics -- Iraq: evidence doesn't matter -- Health care: principle before people -- Climate change: denial as public policy -- The sources of polarization -- Finding a path to recovery. 520 "The debt-ceiling debacle of 2011 was clear evidence of the dangerous polarization of American politics. Heedless of the warnings of economists, a majority of Republicans in the House refused to allow the Treasury to borrow enough money to pay for spending already ordered by Congress. The government avoided a catastrophic default only by unprecedented legislative contortions. The debt ceiling fight also showed that the two parties simply don't understand each other. In Dangerous Convictions, former Democratic Congressman Tom Allen, explains how beneath the surface of our political debates, the incompatible world views of the two parties have turned Congress into a dysfunctional body. "Years of listening to what seemed to me to be preposterous arguments in committee, on the House floor, or in private conversations," he writes, "changed my mind about our capacity to find bipartisan agreement on the most fundamental topics." Likewise, most Republican Members of Congress gave no credence to Democratic arguments on budget and tax issues, health care, and climate change. Allen argues that "smaller government, lower taxes" in all times and circumstances is not an economic policy, but an ideological barrier to meaningful debate and the simplest compromises. In the last thirty years, he suggests, Republicans and Democrats have been speaking different languages; GOP Members increasingly see government as a threat to personal liberty, while Democrats continue to believe it can be a vehicle to expand opportunity and serve the common good. Combining personal experience with the insights of George Lakoff, Norman Ornstein, Robert Bellah, Isaiah Berlin, and many others, Allen explains why we need to understand the ideological conflict and escape its grip--and allow Congress to work productively on our 21st century challenges"-- |cProvided by publisher. 651 0 United States |xPolitics and government |y2009-2017 |=^A1000545 651 0 United States |xEconomic policy |y2009- |=^A1000566 610 10 United States. |bCongress |xHistory |y21st century. |=^A117040 650 7 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / Legislative Branch. |2bisacsh 949 JK275 .A55 2013 |hJOYNER48 |ojmpl |i30372016328749 938 Ingram |bINGR |n9780199931989 938 Baker and Taylor |bBTCP |nBK0011578298 938 YBP Library Services |bYANK |n9008881 938 Brodart |bBROD |n103555323 938 Coutts Information Services |bCOUT |n22958527 938 Blackwell Book Service |bBBUS |n9008881 994 C0 |bERE 596 1 998 3257504