Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day: The Real Deal on How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and Other Washington Barbarians Are Bankrupting America

This is an excellent expose` of the inner workings of our federal government written by one who had six years to observe first-hand. As many of us have long known or suspected, the author confirms that there is not a dimes worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans in many ways. He maintains that there is a fraternity consisting of both Democratic and Republican leaders and their staffs, which runs the government regardless of which party is in power. He is especially concerned with the runaway expenditures as votes are traded so that each representative or senator obtains funding for his own pet projects, many of them in support of his or her own constituency. As a result the federal budget is not under control and thus is rarely balanced. He highlights the fact that there is built in control over any individual's ability to initiate reform. As he says to reform you have to get on the government reform committee, and to get on a committee of your choice, you have to be a "team" player for those in control.The author was a member of the so-called "class of 94." The Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives that year running on their "contract with America" calling for some big changes. In actuality, Joe Scarborough found that after much effort by many of these committed freshmen congressmen, it was to be business as usual in Washington D.C.Scarborough has some good words for Newt Gingrich, the Speaker of the House, but he also blames Gingrich for his failure to stand up to President Clinton. He conveys that the failure of Gingrich to outlast Clinton in the 1996 budget impasse, which resulted in a shutdown of the government, was the death of the Republican revolution brought on by the class of 94 and the contract with America, and became the initial step in the spending spree which continues today even under President Bush. Even though President Bush has evidently made little effort to control spending, the author still believes that he is the best choice for President at this time.

Mr. Scarborough was elected to Congress in the 1994 election that saw the Republicans take control of both houses for the first time in many years. Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Republicans who had signed a "Contract with America" were riding high, but their revolution wouldn't last long. It's one thing to promise term limits, it's another to observe them when your time to step down arrives.Financial discipline is a worthy goal, but enforcing it is unpopular because government spending is a source of power and most of our political leaders and their staffs would rather spend more than less. Consider some of the questionable programs that get funded, such as these items from the 1998 Highway Bill: $3 million spent on a film extolling the virtues of highways; $20 million directed at building roads overseas; $1.5 million to study the parking habits of truckers at their favorite truck stops; $500,000 to study sidewalks at the Kennedy Center; $2.75 million to build a smoother access road to a baseball park in Dayton, Ohio.2005 Update: There were 6,371 earmarked amendments in the Federal highway bill enacted in 2005. One infamous example was a $230 million bridge to the Ketchikan, Alaska airport (on an island) that became known as "the bridge to nowhere." This particular earmark was ultimately eliminated, but only on the understanding that the State of Alaska could retain the funds for use as it saw fit.The author uses his own experiences to relate how "the party of Reagan" morphed within a few years into a party bent on launching new spending programs at the same time that it was cutting taxes.To "change the way Washington works," Scarborough advocates process-related changes such as a Congressional pay freeze until the federal budget is balanced and statutory term limits (6 years) for members of the House of Representatives. His suggestions might not prove a panacea, but they are certainly worth considering.