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Thomas H. Allen
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Dangerous Convictions: What's Really Wrong with the U.S. Congress 1st Edition

by Tom Allen (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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The rhetoric of the 2012 presidential campaign exposed the deeply rooted sources of political polarization in American. One side celebrated individualism and divided the public into "makers and takers;" the other preached "better together" as the path forward. Both focused their efforts on the "base" not the middle.

In Dangerous Convictions, former Democratic Congressman Tom Allen argues that what's really wrong with Congress is the widening, hardening conflict in worldviews that leaves the two parties unable to understand how the other thinks about what people should do on their own and what we should do together. Members of Congress don't just disagree, they think the other side makes no sense. Why are conservatives preoccupied with cutting taxes, uninterested in expanding health care coverage and in denial about climate change? What will it take for Congress to recover a capacity for pragmatic compromise on these issues?

Allen writes that we should treat self-reliance (the quintessential American virtue) and community (our characteristic instinct to cooperate) as essential balancing components of American culture and politics, instead of setting them at war with each other. Combining his personal insights from 12 years In Congress with recent studies of how human beings form their political and religious views, Allen explains why we must escape the grip of our competing worldviews to enable Congress to work productively on our 21st century challenges.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0199931984
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199931989
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 17, 2013
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.4 x 0.9 x 6.4 inches
  8. Print length
    248 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"With historically low ratings, Congress is regarded as 'dysfunctional' by Americans of all political persuasions. Why that is so, and what can be done to reduce excessive partisanship, is the subject of Tom Allen's well-informed and provocative book." -Former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell

"This is an extraordinarily valuable examination of the most troubling concern of our time: the inability of our leaders in Washington to find consensus and forge compromise in the public interest. Readers will discover here a deeply penetrating analysis by an author who had unique opportunities to observe from the inside the causes and consequences of our current polarization. Anyone who wants to understand why contemporary politics so often results in failure cannot afford to miss this essential book." -G. Calvin Mackenzie, Goldfarb Family Distinguished Professor of Government, Colby College

"Allen, a former Democratic congressman from Maine and current president and CEO of the American Association of Publishers, offers a panoramic critique of Congress based on his 12 years in office (1997-2009), covering policy areas from the budget to health care....Allen's pragmatism and reason help frame major issues for Americans hungering for some legislative wisdom after the election." --Publishers Weekly

Book Description

A six-term member of the House of Representatives offers an inside look at how ideological rigidity and polarization threaten American democracy

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (January 17, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 248 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199931984
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199931989
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.4 x 0.9 x 6.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

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Thomas H. Allen

Thomas H. Allen

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JPM
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for your continued service to our country!
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
As a former congressional staff member, I can personally attest to the veracity of the observations made by the author, the former Mayor of Portland, Maine, Congressman Tom Allen.

Congressman Allen was well ahead of the curve on numerous issues, such as prescription drug prices, veterans care, and too many other issues to adequately do justice to here.

I have met a lot of people in public office over the years. Sadly, in my opinion, many of them, on both sides, are in politics for personal profit, not public service. AstroTurf Wannabes, in it for all the wrong reasons.

Fortunately, I have also been blessed to know and work with some of the finest human beings and public servants the world has ever seen. Tom Allen, is a member of this group.
A true Grass Roots public servant.

Congressman Allen is one of the most intelligent and honorable men, I have ever had the honor to know. He is honest, hard working, leads by example and is completely without pretense.

He always honestly sought out contrary opinions in order to deliberate on issues from any angle. He also had the courage to honestly, calmly state his opinions, without equivocation in the face of vitriolic opponents, and he never sand bagged anyone. The Real McCoy.

As recent headlines demonstrate, Tom Allen was prescient about partisan rancor, from extremists on both sides of the political spectrum, and its adverse impact on the legislative progress.

In my personal, and professional opinion, anyone who is interested in pursuing a life of public service needs to read this book for the view it affords.

You will be standing on the shoulders of a giant.
2 people found this helpful
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Frank C. Strasburger
5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Book
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
With inside experience, former Congressman Tom Allen knows whereof he speaks, and as an intelligent and thoughtful participant in and observer of the political process, he sets the great divide in Congress in a broader context than is usually presented. Dangerous Convictions exposes the gulf between world views of the left and right. How can two sides, one wedded to collaborative solutions and the other, fearful that any collaboration at all undermines individual freedom, reach any compromise at all? Allen provides no solutions, but in uncovering the true nature of the split and revealing that the far right is, finally, opposed to any government at all, he at least lets us know the magnitude of the challenge. Ultimately, hope for the future rests on the realization that there is no such thing as radical individualism; we are all dependent, to one degree or another, on one another. The most complex problems that face us--climate change, terrorism, economic inequality, to name a few--are not ones that individuals can solve alone but require corporate action. That's what government is about, and we can only hope that even the most rabid individualists will come to see that before it's too late.
2 people found this helpful
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Null
2.0 out of 5 stars Micro-Economics is hardly "no coherent theory"
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2013
In some cases the author is fair but on page 157 his own limited understanding of economics is clearly spelled out. "On economic issues, most Democrats accept mainstream Keynesian analysis about the federal government's capacity to reduce the adverse effects of recessions by stimulating aggregate demand (private and public) by a combination of spending increases and tax cuts. Republicans, on the other hand, are drifting with no coherent theory."

Adam Smith's ideas about the importance of free markets and individual freedom date to the period of the founding of the United States whereas Keynes came much later. Republican's motivations would be considerably less opaque if Democrats, particularly those in congress, would themselves partake of education rather than merely espouse how more of it would be good for the rest of us.

If Keynesian analysis were restated to depend on increased borrowing and the (future) tax increases thus made necessary his arguments would be less convincing, perhaps even to Democrats.

This book is a decidedly partisan statement in my opinion, and no, I am not a republican.
3 people found this helpful
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Charles
4.0 out of 5 stars Insiders insight on Problems preventing Progress
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2013
Verified Purchase
Liked all his insider insight. An educational read for sure. I did not emerge optimistic however. Read it anyway. You may get more from it.
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Phillip Bashara Shamas
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
A peek inside the inner workings of our Legislative Branches written by an "insider." Truly thought provoking and inspiring with the biggest theme to be " unity."
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GA Patti
5.0 out of 5 stars A look from the inside
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book is written with a view from the inside of Congress and verifies a lot of what people feel is happening.
4 people found this helpful
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Maura Kelley
5.0 out of 5 stars about the congress
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013
Verified Purchase
terrific read, well written and easy to follow. lots of interesting inside information and it's a can't put it down book
4 people found this helpful
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C. M. Wood
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing. From the title, I thought it would ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014
Disappointing. From the title, I thought it would be an impartial analysis of the problems in Washington...who donates how much for what, how both parties refuse to appoint anyone to a committee unless they have raised their quota of money, etc. It turned out to be a rant about how the ignorant ideologues in the Republican party prevent Congress from solving the problems of the world.
One person found this helpful
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