The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government in America

This is not an easy read, but it is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it to everyone running for Congress or who is currently in Congress. The beginning chapters take some time to digest because the history of our US Constitution (as the author presents it) isn't taught in basic U.S. History classes. Buckley's thoroughness, when comparing presidential regimes to parliamentary ones, is also remarkable, and as you delve deep into the book you'll understand why his comparisons are important. I do enjoy history, but this book was a challenge for me. It's a new look at our three branches of government and our political system. Sorry, no "Cliff Notes," but if you make it to the end, you'll feel like you've earned a PhD in Political Science. Reading about the struggles and fears that went into the design of our US Constitution by our Founding Fathers, allowed me to appreciate their genius. They seemed to know what could actually happen centuries later. In one early passage author Buckley writes, "George Mason, who complained at the Philadelphia Convention that a popularly elected president would `degenerate' into an `elective monarchy,' which would be worse than the real thing." This sets the tone for the entire book. The erosion of Congressional powers, the increase of Presidential powers, and the Supreme Court's failure to police the balance of power has placed too much authority in the office of the President. Buckley, a professor at George Mason University School of Law, refers to this as Crown Government, and then he walks the reader through the gradual increase of presidential dominance. Today our president has granted himself the power to enforce or not enforce any law or to delay its implementation. And by issuing an executive order, President Obama essential makes law, even though our Constitution specifically says ALL laws must come from the Congress. What a mess, I thought while reading this book. Buckley also points out that government's data mining, eavesdropping abilities, and control over the criminal justice and regulatory enforcement processes have created an open invitation for the president to exploit his power. The author reminds us that it was Obama's justice department that seized the records of the Associated Press, and it was Obama's treasury department that allowed the IRS to interfere with Tea Party and other conservative groups' ability to obtain 501(c) (4) status. Using government agencies to punish behaviors contrary to the administration's views is exactly what's happening in our country, and this book will open readers' eyes to our nation's dire situation. Aha! The author offers solutions to give the people back their voice in Washington, D.C. The first is a National Referenda. This would allow citizens to declare, by popular vote, a nationwide mandate on a particular issue. The second is Congressional Reform. The fact that Congressional power is in decline has much to do with Congress allowing it to happen. (Shall I dare mention the names of Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner among others?) And, of course, the third solution is Impeachment. Buckley decries the fact that Congress has not used its power to impeach with any regularity, which was the original intent of the power. There is so much more to this masterful book than a simple review can explain. The serious condition of our Constitutional Republic makes it worthy of purchasing, especially if you care about the deterioration of our nation.

This book provides an interesting view of the evolution of u.s. government, not all of it complimentary. Much that we have didn't necessarily have to happen. Some of that which we accept in our government came about indirectly or perhaps accidentally. I found the book interesting though not that easy to read.

Buckley makes a solid case for the British type parliamentary system vs. the US type three houses of government headed by an all powerful chief executive. All the arguments are clear and backed up by various readings of historical events in England, Canada and the USA. I have long wondered why our congress has abdicated so much power to the executive and the administrative departments, and Buckley here answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. Here in the US today we suffer from deadlock in congress and an executive who ignores the presently understood constitution. Buckley develops the historical background for this state of affairs, and draws parallels with the UK and Canada, with touches here and there of the other commonwealth nations. Buckley develops his case for the US currently using a third version of our constitution, showing clearly how the needs and solutions evolved from the days of our founding fathers to the present. This is a very good read, never dull or pedantic, and I highly recommend it to those who, like me, wonder what the heck is going on in Washington these days.

It ranks with a like volume in its boldness and in the VOLUME of its supporting material. The like volume which readers of this book would enjoy immensely is THE ROYALIST REVOLUTION, by Eric Nelson of Harvard. The depth and breadth of his historical backgrounding and supporting lengthy footnotes is stunning, Last but not least, Nelson's writing style is bracing and free of academic jargon.

I enjoyed the book but it wasn't what I expected. That's my fault and not the fault of the author. I really thought this would be more heavily weighted on how forces in American government have subverted the original intent of the founding fathers. Instead, it seemed to me to be more of a treatise on crown government and the parliamentary rule in Canada and England. Still an enjoyable book to read.

The editorial reviews are spot on. While reading the first four chapters of this book I was not quite sure where the author was going with this line of thought. Chapter five does a masterful job of linking the thrust of the book together pointing out that Britain, Canada and the United States current political systems come from the same root but took three different paths of political organization. Each has ended up in the same place with centralization of real power in one person. While he offers some solutions, it is mentioned that throughout history, once power is grated to a certain position it is difficult for that position to give, or share that power. There is a brief mention of the influence of social media and changes in technology. I feel there was a missed opportunity to expound on the influence of global communications with the instant sharing of data AND identification of ‘enemies’ to the incumbent retaining that power.

This book outlines the very clear and present danger to liberty of presidential regimes like our own. It is exceedingly well-written, but will leave you very disheartened about the prospects for freedom in our land. All Liberty-loving Americans should read this book.

This book is a very good overview of the history of how American, British and Canadian governments evolved. The author also outlines a way Americans can roll back crown government and restore the constitution.

To read this book you need to like or be interested in Government and how it works. It has a lot of interesting and detailed comments on how Crown and Republican style government works, in the USA and in Canada with Britain as a third example. It is almost a course in Civics but not quite. Though the concepts presented should be known by all Citizens interested in how their political system works and evolves.