The System: (UK ONLY): The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point - Hardcover

Johnson, Haynes; Broder, David S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316469696 ISBN 13: 9780316469692

Publisher: Import US, 1996

Synopsis

This text shows in detail how "The System" has corrupted America's political institutions. It takes as an example the Clinton health care initiative - the most ambitious call for US government action since the 1960s. Granted access to closed-door meetings by Bill and Hillary Clinton, Senators Bob Dole, Edward Kennedy and Newt Gingrich amongst others, and using these meetings and the health care plan, the authors give a blow-by-blow destruction of a policy that aimed to please everyone and ended by satisfying no-one due to special interest pressure groups, party political bickering, political gamesmanship and the sheer inertia of the American "system".

About this title

Book Description:

Using a behind-the-scenes account of 1994's most bruising legislative battle as a case in point, two of America's political observers show how 'The System' invariably works against real and necessary change.

From the Back Cover:

In this remarkable book, two of America's best-known journalists use their unparalleled access to the major players to examine The System, specifically as it operated during the ferocious battle over the Clinton effort to provide universal health insurance for Americans - and they come to some startling conclusions about America's future. From the beginning of the struggle, Johnson and Broder gained the confidence of more than one hundred of the participants, including the President and the First Lady; key congressional leaders like Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Ted Kennedy, and George Mitchell; the many competing special interests; and, outside the Beltway, ordinary citizens and workers on the battlefront of medical care. The authors have written a brilliant chronicle of the battle - of lost opportunities in the White House and of the savage determination and cunning tactics of the Gingrich forces, who plotted secretly for more than a year in advance to kill health care reform in an attempt to regain control of Congress and lead a conservative Republican Revolution that would fundamentally alter American government, privatize public function, and dismantle progressive programs and policies established over the last sixty years. Filled with stunning disclosures about the President and his supporters and adversaries, The System is an extraordinary portrait of democracy under siege, providing one of the most candid looks at American politics and government ever written. It is a book of vital importance to every American and is certain to become a classic in years to come.

About this edition

• Publisher: Import US
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316469696
• ISBN 13: 9780316469692
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400