{"product_id":"kill-switch-adam-jentleson-9781631497773","title":"Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy","description":"\u003cp\u003eEvery 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eKill Switch\u003c\/em\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaking 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn essential, revelatory investigation, \u003cem\u003eKill Switch\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Adam Jentleson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1631497774\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781631497773\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/12\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.19lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2020 pg. 47\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/23\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/04\/2020 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2021","brand":"Adam Jentleson","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44055340089599,"sku":"9781631497773","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0b36b9de-418b-4ca3-99a9-8381049da9d6.jpg?v=1685035192","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/kill-switch-adam-jentleson-9781631497773","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}