Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century by John A. Farrell

But in 1876, you had a Senate filibuster of a presidential election.

But there are are huge periods of stability and quiet in between so that we tend to forget the extreme moments.

There's all this talk about how unusual this is, but it sounds to me like you're saying we've been here before.įARRELL: Well, Thomas Jefferson got elected after 36 ballots in the House of Representatives. SUMMERS: So are we overstating it then? I mean, I've said it on this program, guests who we've had on have said it, if I look up at cable news screens, they've said it. Once we were freed of that common enemy, there was no reason anymore to stop fighting amongst ourselves. Aside from that, I think it's part of a continuing deterioration of order on Capitol Hill that really dates back to the Berlin Wall coming down and the end of the Cold War. And we don't have this very strict rule that C-SPAN has to operate on focusing on the rostrum. We've seen Congress in all its glory because the rules are suspended. We've seen little head-to-head conferences. Can you just give me your reaction as you've been watching the stalemate continue this week as hardline conservative members are working to sink or derail or contort Republican Kevin McCarthy's chance at the speakership?įARRELL: Well, I think it's a great argument to allow C-SPAN to roam the chambers of Congress with their cameras. SUMMERS: So before I start to pick your brain about the institution's past, I just want to start here and talk about Congress at the present. He's an author and historian who's covered Congress as a journalist but also written biographies of former House Speaker Tip O'Neill and Senator Ted Kennedy. But is this a new level of dysfunction for Congress? That's one of the questions we're going to put to John Farrell. You've likely heard lots this week about how unprecedented this all is, or at least that it hasn't happened in about a century. Four days into the 118th Congress, House Republicans still haven't elected a speaker, and no governing, none at all can happen until they do.

Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century by John A. Farrell