



Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy
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4.5 • 59 Ratings
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
THE CASE FOR ENDING THE FILIBUSTER
"A truly excellent book… blistering and persuasive.” —Ezra Klein, New York Times
An insider’s account of how politicians representing a radical white minority of Americans have used “the world’s greatest deliberative body” to hijack our democracy.
Every major decision governing our diverse, majority-female, and increasingly liberal country bears the stamp of the United States Senate, an institution controlled by people who are almost exclusively white, overwhelmingly male, and disproportionately conservative. Although they do not represent a majority of Americans—and will not for the foreseeable future—today’s Republican senators possess the power to block most legislation. Once known as “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” the Senate has become one of the greatest threats to our democracy. How did this happen?
In Kill Switch, Senate insider Adam Jentleson contends that far from reflecting the Framers’ vision, the Senate has been transformed over the decades by a tenacious minority of white conservatives. From John Calhoun in the mid-1800s to Mitch McConnell in the 2010s, their primary weapon has been the filibuster, or the requirement that most legislation secure the support of a supermajority of senators. Yet, as Jentleson reveals, the filibuster was not a feature of the original Senate and, in allowing a determined minority to gridlock the federal government, runs utterly counter to the Framers’ intent.
For much of its history, the filibuster was used primarily to prevent civil rights legislation from becoming law. But more recently, Republicans have refined it into a tool for imposing their will on all issues, wielding it to thwart an increasingly progressive American majority represented by Barack Obama’s agenda and appointees. Under Donald Trump, McConnell merged the filibuster with rigid leadership structures initially forged by Lyndon Johnson, in the process surrendering the Senate’s independence and centrality, as infamously shown by its acquiescence in Trump’s impeachment trial. The result is a failed institution and a crippled democracy.
Taking us into the Capitol Hill backrooms where the institution’s decline is most evident, Jentleson shows that many of the greatest challenges of our era—partisan polarization, dark money, a media culture built on manufactured outrage—converge within the Senate. Even as he charts the larger forces that have shaped the institution where he served, Jentleson offers incisive portraits of the powerful senators who laid the foundation for the modern Senate, from Calhoun to McConnell to LBJ’s mentor, Richard Russell, to the unapologetic racist Jesse Helms.
An essential, revelatory investigation, Kill Switch ultimately makes clear that unless we immediately and drastically reform the Senate’s rules and practices—starting with reforming the filibuster—we face the prospect of permanent minority rule in America.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jentleson, who served as deputy chief of staff to former Senate majority leader Harry Reid, debuts with an engrossing primer on modern-day congressional gridlock. Frustrated by Republicans who had been using the filibuster at an unprecedented rate to obstruct President Obama's Cabinet-level and judicial nominees, Reid invoked the so-called "nuclear option" in 2013 and changed Senate rules so that only a simple majority, rather than a three-fifths supermajority, was necessary to end debate on presidential nominees. (Legislation still requires a supermajority.) Citing Merrick Garland's thwarted Supreme Court nomination and a gun control bill that failed to pass despite the support of 55 senators and 90% of the public, Jentleson argues that Senate rules empower "a minority of predominantly white conservatives to override our democratic system." His suggestions for reform include doing away with supermajority requirements except where they're mandated by the Constitution, fixing filibuster rules to revive "real debate," and democratizing how Senate majority leaders are chosen. Jentleson skillfully clarifies many arcane legislative procedures and brings a wide range of historical episodes to vivid life. Readers will be galvanized to make the issue of Senate reform a priority.
Customer Reviews
An argument in defense of democracy!
Fantastic. So glad I made time to read this. I finally feel some clarity on the topic after years of confusion.
Kill Switch
Bright author with thoughtful understanding, but he is masquerading as intellectually honest. Unfortunately, as is so often the case these days, he cleverly posits as facts what are most assuredly opinions. Thesis is right, but politics are wrong. Shame. Waste of a good chance.
Exceptionally informative and eye opening
Well written and exceptionally informative book on the origins, use and misuse of the filibuster. The lust for power is what motivates the senate, at the great expense of governing and carrying out the will of the people. Absent changes to the filibuster, the American people will continue to be held hostage by a minority of self-interested senators.