Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American 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.
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With a grasp of history combined with his insider experience and knowledge, Adam Jentleson has written a clear, concise, and compelling book on the history and evolution of the filibuster, and the rise of its abuse and misuse by Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans. Our system cannot operate without a functional Senate. Jentleson gives us the reasons why and a path forward.--Norman J. Ornstein, coauthor of It's Even Worse Than It Looks and One Nation After Trump
Informative and timely... A startling read that will provoke tough questions about governance, this is highly recommended to all interested in government reform.--Library Journal, starred review
Engrossing... 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.--Publishers Weekly, starred review
Adam Jentleson is a creature of the Senate and no one understands it better than he does. This iconic American institution has been severely damaged by feckless Republican senators who kowtow to every erratic action of Donald Trump. Jentleson understands restoring the Senate to the Framer's vision as an exceptionally strong deliberative body is essential to restoring our democracy.--Harry Reid, former U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader
Kill Switch is a damning account of how a tool honed to maintain white supremacy has come to cost us all. After reading Jentleson's book, you'll understand why President Obama called the filibuster a Jim Crow relic, and you'll want to join the movement to end it, for the sake of our economy, our democracy, and our planet.--Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
The Senate is now profoundly rigged, with rules that make it easy to pass tax cuts for the rich and to pack the courts for the powerful, but allow the minority party to block bills to assist ordinary families. The Senate is now the graveyard for bills to improve health care, housing, education, worker rights, or to tackle issues like criminal justice, immigration, gun safety, or climate chaos. The biggest culprit of this corrupted, paralyzed Senate is the filibuster, which was born out of the determination of white, wealthy, privileged interests to block civil rights for minority Americans. If you want to understand the Senate's descent, and its potential path back to relevance, and how vital that path is to restoring a government 'of, by, and for the people, ' then this book is essential reading.--Senator Jeff Merkley
The Senate is the epicenter of American political dysfunction: the place where ideas with broad support are sent to die while those backed by plutocrats and extremists are set into law. In this analytically rich yet highly readable insider account, Adam Jentleson shows why today's undemocratic Senate is an affront to the Framers' vision--and how we can fix it.--Jacob Hacker, best-selling coauthor of Let Them Eat Tweets and Winner-Take-All Politics
Kill Switch is a damning account of how a tool honed to maintain white supremacy has come to cost us all. After reading Jentleson's book, you'll understand why President Obama called the filibuster a Jim Crow relic, and you'll want to join the movement to end it, for the sake of our economy, our democracy, and our planet.--Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
