The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How To Get It Back On Track

The Broken Branch gives a comprehensive analysis on the necessary importance of the US Congress in the pursuit of the goals and objectives of American democracy while presenting a historical chronology of the institutional decline of the US House of Representatives during contemporary times The book does not speak about the present US Congress where the Democratic Party has once again wrested control on both Houses of Congress generally as a result of the American people 's repudiation of Republican policy on the continued deployment of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

and their disenchantment on a prolonged US War on Terror where America 's allies are leaving its side one by one . Broken Brach analyzes Congresses past , where the Republican Party has seemingly employed strong-arm tactics to push their opponents to the wall especially on controversial legislations such as the Medicare Bill stem-cell research , gay marriages , among others , most of which strike at the heart of the conservative base of the Republican Party

Prior to a discussion on the institutional faults of the US Congress in recent times , it is utterly essential for our purposes to understand why the book has referred to the US Congress as the first branch of government . Rightfully so , it is the only branch of government where actual representatives of the American people sit in session , discuss debate and problematize different issues and concerns which shall be made into legislation to address problems and provide statutory solutions to it . Moreover , it is the major counterpoint to a sitting President who may not necessarily have in mind the best interests of the American people in implementing state policies , especially trade and foreign policies . Lest it be forgotten , it is Congress the checks the disbursement of the people 's money , especially if Executive branch seemingly prioritizes military concerns over domestic problems such as education and healthcare . The Congress is US democracy in practice where All of these and many other powers the Congress do , in pursuit of the goals of the American Constitution and the contemporary exigencies of our people

As such , when the US Congress relentlessly engaged in utterly polarized debates , coupled with the utilization of strong-arm tactics to isolate all Democratic opposition , the ultimate goals of the US Congress are defeated . One flagship example of this would be the introductory anecdote in the book where the Republican leadership held up the voting on the Medicare bill beyond regular the House procedure of limiting the voting for only fifteen minutes . This measure by the Republican leadership all have led to the outrage of many political pundits especially those in the Democratic minority because actions like such are pure exhibitions of political cunning which is anathema to the democratic ideal as enshrined in the US Constitution . Actually , such a move has even alienated a lot of their colleagues in the Republican majority , some of whom have independent views on certain issues while nominally retain membership in the Republican Party

On the other hand , an important point also...