Back to Gridlock?

James L. Sundquist

doi:10.5771/9780815705529

Summary

As a result of the 1994 midterm election, the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress and divided government returned to Washington. Now, as the budget battles of 1995 clearly demonstrate, conflict between the parties is sending the government back to gridlock.

In this sequel to Beyond Gridlock?a study published at the beginning of the Clinton administration, when government was in the hands of one political partythe contributors address this dilemma.

They begin by evaluating the effectiveness of the U.S. governmental system during the first two years of the Clinton administration, when both branches were controlled by a single party. They then move to a wider debate about the state of affairs in the American political system: what are the consequences of the Republican takeover of Congress, and will fundamental changes be required to make our system work effectively? Looking to the future, they outline the prospects for governance in the months and years to come.

In addition to the editor, the contributors are Howard H. Baker, Jr., Harold R. Bruno, Jr., Becky Cain, Lloyd N. Cutler, Thomas J. Downey, Kenneth M. Duberstein, Bill Frenzel, Charles O. Jones, Thomas E. Mann, Patricia McGinnis, Milton D. Morris, Kevin P. Phillips, Robert D. Reischauer, Donald L. Robinson, Robin Toner, and Vin Weber.

Copublished with the Committee on the Constitutional System

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2010
ISBN-Print: 978-0-8157-8233-9
ISBN-Online: 978-0-8157-0552-9
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 115
Product type: Edited Book

1. Contents No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 6
1. President Clinton and the Democratic Congress: Promise and Performance No access
2. A Political Observer's View No access
3. Budget Policy Under United Government: A Case Study No access
4. Health Care Reform: A Case Study No access
1. The Voters' Perspective No access
2. The Capitol Hill Perspective: A Democratic View No access
3. The Capitol Hill Perspective: A Republican View No access
4. A White House Perspective No access
1. . . . Between the President and Congress No access
2. . . . Of the People Toward Their Government No access
1. "It Ain't Broke . . ." No access
2. The 1990s' Political Upheaval and the Pressures for Reform No access
3. A Rationale No access
1. What the People Want from Government No access
2. Four Challenges to the Political System No access
3. The System Is Self-Correcting No access
4. Let's Eliminate the Midterm Election No access