James Madison Rules America

The Constitutional Origins of Congressional Partisanship

By (author) William F. Connelly Jr.

Not available to order

Publication date:

16 June 2010

Length of book:

350 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742599673

James Madison Rules America examines congressional party legislative and electoral strategy in the context of our constitutional separation of powers. In a departure from recent books that have described Congress as 'the broken branch' or the 'Second Civil War,' William Connelly argues that partisanship, polarization and the permanent campaign are an inevitable part of congressional politics. The strategic conundrum confronting both parties in the House of Representatives, whether to be part of the government or part of the opposition provides evidence of how concretely James Madison's Constitution governs the behavior of politicians to this day. Drawing on a two-hundred year debate within American political thought among the Federalists, Anti-Federalists, Alexis de Tocqueville and Woodrow Wilson, James Madison Rules America is as topical as current debates over partisan polarization and the permanent campaign, while being grounded in two enduring and important schools of thought within political science: pluralism and party government.
In this outstanding book, William F. Connelly, Jr. reminds us that the Constitution continues to shape national politics. Drawing on his deep knowledge of the theory and practice of American government, he cogently explains that compromise and conflict are both part of our country's genetic code.James Madison Rules America is a timely treatment of a timeless topic. Full of unexpected insights and subtle wisdom, it asks us to look beyond Internet headlines and intellectual fads to the things that really matter: the structures that the Founders put in place more than two centuries ago. This book is a remarkable intellectual achievement, handling profound issues with clarity and erudition. It would be a valuable addition to courses on Congress and American national politics.