Too Weak to Govern

Reviews / Votes

'Peter Hanson's experience in the Senate gives him substantial insight into the chamber. He explains the challenge of leading the Senate and how contention on the floor is linked to the breakdown of the appropriations process. This is a valuable book for policy makers, students and anyone interested in understanding today's Senate.' Tom Daschle, former Senator and Senate Majority Leader 'In an era when congressional parties are often described as all-powerful managers of legislative agendas, Peter Hanson's excellent study of budgetary politics in the modern Congress highlights the limits of party influence. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and thoughtful data analysis, Hanson highlights critical gaps between our theories of congressional parties and the real-world organizations these theories supposedly describe.' William T. Bianco, Indiana University 'In this important study, Peter Hanson demonstrates that the rise of massive omnibus spending bills reflects the often-desperate efforts of Senate majorities to defend their reputation for governance, rather than an effort to dictate policy. Contrary to prevailing models of party government, Hanson shows that majority leaders' aggressive actions actually reflect their party's weakness and divisions, rather than its strength.' Eric Schickler, Professor, Jeffrey and Ashley McDermott Endowed Chair and Department Chair, University of California, Berkeley 'In short, Too Weak to Govern is a worthy contribution to our understanding of the US Senate. It not only shows that majority parties in the chamber can exercise influence in the appropriations process but also shows the conditions under which they do. Those who maintain that Senate parties and their leaders are without power or, conversely, that they are effectively the same as their counterparts in the House will have to reckon with Hanson's fine tome.' Matthew N. Green, Perspectives on Politics