The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy
Recommended by: Steve Saltwick
Purchase →Premise of the book = Washington is NOT broken. It is working exactly as designed – to keep those in power in power.
Promise of the book = Insightful analysis of current situation and clear recommendations on how to address with practical solutions: 1) rank choice voting, 2) changed primary system, and 3) reform of Congressional processes.
Outstanding read by the guru of competitive analysis (Porter) and a business leader (Gehl). This book offers a realistic way to reform politics so that never again are we faced with a vote between a Joe Biden and a Donald Trump. We can, and must, do better. This book is an authentic attempt to show a way to reform the system.
The authors are a Democrat (Gehl) and a Republican (Porter) making common cause to make our government more responsive to the people. The main problem they point to is the power of the 2-party duopoly, as they call it, which promotes polarization and gridlock. With gerrymandering increasing, many elections are decided in the primaries, because the winner of the general election is a forgone conclusion. This results in more extreme candidates being elected. The authors propose final-5 voting, open primaries, and ranked-choice voting to weaken the hold of the parties on voter choice.
Gehl and Porter also discuss how changes in congressional rules have given the party leadership stronger control over their members, thus impeding compromise between the parties. They are less specific on the solutions to that problem.
In addition, the authors present a fascinating history of the problems. While I have read many accounts of the abuses in the Guilded Age and the subsequent reforms in the Progressive era, I haven’t read this history described with reference to voting (other than Jim Crow laws) or congressional rules, as these authors do.
Finally, the authors concentrate on reforms that they feel are attainable, and in fact are currently being tested in some places in America, and they discuss how regular people can contribute to making these changes happen. The book gave me hope.
Not exactly a review, but I had sort of a red/blue share coffee with my Republican State Representative today. When he asked me what I would like to see in Salem, I did not hesitate to say, “Have all the representatives of both stripes read and heed this book.” It is a very good and very original book.