Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority - Softcover

Sherrod Brown

3.89

37 ratings by Goodreads

9780873386760: Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and the Minority

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0873386760 ISBN 13: 9780873386760

Publisher: Kent State Univ Pr, 2000

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Four decades of Democratic control of Congress abruptly came to an end with the 1994 elections, which propelled the Republican party to an unfamiliar role as the majority party in both houses of Congress. In his second term as a congressman from Ohio, Sherrod Brown was thrust into the frenetic, very partisan first 100 days of the Republicans Contract with America. This account of the transition from political majority status to minority status discloses the trauma felt by one party and the exhilaration experienced by the other as one era ended and a new one began.

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Review:

Congress From the Inside is just what the name suggests: a member's-eye view of Congress by Sherrod Brown, a fourth-term, liberal Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Ohio. Brown writes about campaigning in his home district, serving on committees, voting on the floor, and answering constituent mail, as well as presenting his perspective on NAFTA, Bill Clinton's first budget and tax increase, and the effects of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1994 congressional elections. Brown's inside description of the Democratic Party's struggle to deal with their loss of a congressional majority is one of the most vivid and candid sections in the book. Also of note is his reaction to President Bill Clinton's subsequent "snuggling up to (then-Speaker of the House Newt) Gingrich," as the "triangulation" theory espoused by controversial presidential advisor Dick Morris moved Clinton further to the right, creating a rift between the president and congressional Democrats. (It was Brown who quipped at the time, in a remark made in a closed Democratic meeting but reported nationally, that maybe the street in front of the White House, which had been closed to traffic for security purposes, should be reopened.)

While there are no bombshells in Congress from the Inside, Brown's book is reasonably candid for a sitting member of Congress, and he wisely resists the temptation to puff himself up too heavily. But it is a strongly partisan story told from a liberal's perspective, in which the Democrats are always right on the issues. The only time Republicans are right, according to Brown, is when they act like Democrats (as in passing a minimum wage increase or enacting health insurance reform in 1996). Democratic readers will appreciate this book, along with the tantalizing possibility on which it closes--that the congressional elections in 2000 will see the Democrats take back the House, making Brown an influential subcommittee chairman.

About the Author:

Sherrod Brown is serving his sixth term as Democratic congressman from Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

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