Unlock Congress: Reform the Rules - Restore the System

by Michael Golden

The American people are disgusted with the U.S. Congress. In 2014, public approval of the "first branch" of government reached a forty-year low, its popularity ranking well below Nixon during the Watergate years and BP during the oil spill. Congress has been producing legislation at a historically anemic rate, while many of the nation's most immediate problems fester. Those are the facts. The fiction? The notion that we can't do anything about it.


Two-and-a-quarter centuries ago, the U.S. Constitution assigned various powers and obligations to our legislative branch -- a written warranty calling on our elected representatives to "promote the general welfare." But failures in recent years reveal a profound truth: Congress is in breach of contract. More than ineffective, the legislative process has become defective. And to a great degree, it is the congressional system that is driving the problem, not just the people and parties who are stymied by it. It is time to stop labeling them all "fools." Instead, we the people must push to reform the rules.


In UNLOCK CONGRESS, veteran journalist and former political strategist Michael Golden examines the ways in which congressional failure generates a harmful PRODUCT. Rather than narrowly affixing blame to individual politicians or even to the partisan divide, Golden methodically diagnoses underlying causes behind the breakdown. He identifies the PROBLEM -- obsolete rules that lead to major defects within the system. Finally, Unlock Congress lays out a PLATFORM of solutions designed to reinvigorate both the process and its players.

Genres: Politics

328 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2015

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this is a very important book and I hope it can gain enough traction to really make it out there, in order to give a practical tone to all the various discussions people are having across the county about our government. Michael Golden has compiled not only a great roadmap to change (in the second half of the book) but also a readable history and analysis of Congress as an institution (in the first half). He's conversational and funny, and after reading this book I found myself more equipped to have a discussion about some of the serious issues we face as a country.

[Dan Cotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a book that does an exceptionally good job of identifying the history of what Congress was to do, explaining the problems that have been percolating for decades, and offers sound, doable fixes to "unlock Congress" that would provide a huge boost in quality of what we are receiving from Congress. Every person on Capitol Hill or with aspirations should be required to read this book and pledge working toward implementing it's recommendations.

[Michael Manzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Golden has taken a group of complex issues and boiled them down to simple terms in his easy to read book. It is a clarion call to the American people to awaken, see the problems, and take back control of the government that is supposed to work for them. It is a must read.

[Emanuel Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional read and a must read for those who want to understand how Congress impacts America and why!