The Land of Flickering Lights
Page 29
Anderer, James, 137
Angle, Sharon, 139
Anschutz, Philip, 11, 12, 13, 128, 180
Arctic Wildlife Refuge, 105
Armey, Dick, 138
Baker, James, 79
Baldwin, James, x, 265
Belcaster, John, 16, 17
Bennet, Doug, 6, 7
Bennet, Michael (author)
experience in politics, 21
family, 5–6
Gang of Eight, 206
Garfield Park meeting, 260–262
Iran nuclear deal and, 178–179, 180, 184, 185–186
as superintendent, 4, 13, 17–18, 127–128, 206, 211, 264
Walden meeting, 260, 262
Bennett, Bob, 138
Berlin Wall, 194, 195
“bicoastal bias,” 10
bin Laden, Osama, 196
bin Salman, Mohammed, 199
bipartisan agreements
border security and, 256
campaign finance and, 256
on climate change, 78–79
deficit and, 255
energy economy and, 255
lame, 259
Reagan and, 8, 9
Supreme Court nominations and, 66, 255
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, 86
bipartisanship, viii, 38–39
Blasey Ford, Christine, 68
Blessing of Liberty, 27
Boehner, John
conciliatory tone, 140
Hastert Rule and, 219, 220
immigration legislation and, 218, 220, 229–230
Netanyahu invitation and, 168
Tea Party challenges to, 144–145
border security. See also immigration; immigration legislation
bipartisan agreement and, 256
human, 214–215
immigration legislation and, 216
pathway to citizenship balance, 223
strengthened provisions for, 225
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. See also Gang of Eight
amendment process, 228
balancing act of writing, 224
bipartisan commitment, 224–225
drafting process, 225–226
introduction of, 226
killing of bill in the House, 229–230
legislative process, 228
passage of, 228–229
principles brought to national audience, 224
provisional status and, 225
strangled with Hastert Rule, 235
supporters, 226
voting on, 227–228
Bork, Robert, 36
Boskin, Michael, 215
Boucher, Rick, 97
Bowles, Chester, 6, 7
Boxer, Barbara, 45
Brennan, Michael B., 70
bridge rehabilitation, 153
Bridgewater, Tim, 138
Brown, Hank, 212
“brown cloud,” 77
Buck, Ken, 96, 98, 139
Buckley v. Valeo, 82–83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 107
Bunning, Jim, 139
Burr, Aaron, 240
Bush, George H. W., 8, 10, 79, 80, 215, 216
Bush, George W.
circuit court nominees, 37
deficit under, 151
environment and, 80
invasion of Iraq, 162
judicial nominations, 34
military buildup, 196
tax cuts, 132, 133, 143–144, 145
Bush, John K., 70
Bush v. Gore, 36
campaign finance
bipartisan agreement and, 256
in disabling Congress, 106–107
existing system, 107
as priority in elections, 108
rules, 85
states actions and, 108–109
campaigns, never-ending, 2, 259
Cantor, Eric, 230
carbon emissions, 72–73, 75, 98
Cardozo, Benjamin, 33–34
Carr, Ralph, 21, 252, 253, 264
Carson, Rachel, 77
Castle, Mike, 139
Celeste, Dick, 158
Celeste, Richard, 10
charts
Fewer Have More, 274
Game Changer - for a Few, 279
Getting It Wrong, 280
Lost Opportunity, 281
Not Far from the Tree, 277
Opposite Directions, 276
A Parent’s Paycheck—and Yours, 278
Winners and Losers, 275
Cheney, Dick, 35, 162
Chetty, Raj, 124
children, 264–265, 267
China trade policies, 157
Chinese Exclusion Act, 232
Chmielewski, Anna K., 126
citizens, 272
Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, 175
Citizens for a Sound Economy, 85, 94
citizenship
allure, doubt of, 248–249
balance, 254
as bond of trust, 20–21
framers on, 245
as generous invitation, 248
as a gift, 238
give-and-take of, 21, 254
immigration and, 238
occurrence in the present, 255
ties of, 254
Whitman and, 246–248
Citizens United v. FEC
case, 87–89
constitutional traditions and, 114
damage of, 92, 93, 106
defined, 82
depth charge released by, 87
devastating effect of, 107
in disabling Congress, 108
explosion of expenditures since, 109
increasing dangers from, 89
Kochs in wake of, 110
real world results of, 90
spending after, 93, 103
Supreme Court hearing of, 92
Tea Party and, 96
Clapper, James, 188
Clean Air Act, 77, 79
clean energy, 112–113
Clean Power Plan, 101, 102, 105
Climate Action Plan, 102
climate change
bipartisan concern about climate change, 78–79
Colorado and, 74–76
denial as political orthodoxy, 73
evidence of, 75
first hearing on, 78
as “hoax,” 81
ironies to address, 111
Keystone XL pipeline and, 103
Kochs and, 95
Macron address on, 72–73
Obama and, 94
renewable energy and, 75
Republicans and, 74, 76–77, 79–80, 98, 111, 113
Trump and, 76–77, 81, 112
as voting issue, 111
wildfires and, 76
Climate Hustle, 80
Clinton, Bill
budget surplus, 129, 131–132, 151
district court nominees, 36–37
medical products liability limits and, 85
Clinton, Hilary, 56–57, 86
Club for Growth, 139
Cohn, Gary, 115, 116, 117
Cold War, 7, 194, 195, 196, 201
Collins, Chris, 149
Collins, Susan, 73, 170
Colorado
climate change and, 74–76
electorate, 19, 74
flooding in, 147–148
immigration and, 212–213
Iran nuclear deal and, 185–187
shutdown effects in, 147–148
vote for Iran nuclear deal and, 177–179
wind-energy jobs, 112
Colorado Compact, 212–214
Common Sense (Paine), 263–264
Congress. See also House of Representatives; Senate
campaign finance and, 106–107, 108
dysfunction of, 141–142
Iran nuclear deal review, 172
lame-duck, 236
power around leaders, 154
quiet intimidation, 94
conservative, being, 267
Constitution<
br />
Bill of Rights inclusion and, 260
central concern, 1–2
framers of, 23, 24, 35, 244
freedoms of first ten amendments, 269
politics and, 1, 2
ratification of, 245
on Supreme Court nominee confirmation, 31–32
willful ignoring of, 34
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, 205–206, 208–210
Coons, Chris, 68
Corcyrean civil war, 64–65
Cornyn, John, 44
corruption
of action, 107
appearance of, 83, 84
campaign donors and, 93
of inaction, 93
quid pro quo, 83–84, 87, 93
Cotton, Tom, 26, 169, 170–171, 177
Coulter, Ann, 236
“Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (Whitman), 246–247
Cruz, Ted, 44, 45, 57, 145–147, 175, 230
Curbelo, Carlos, 234
Daggett, Susan, 10–11
dams, repair of, 153
dark-money groups, 89
D.C. Circuit, 41, 44
debt
defined, 129
downgrade of, 144
mounting, 131
projection, 129–130
reducing with budget surplus, 132
as soaring, 28
debt ceiling, 142–143
Declaration of Independence, 245, 249
“Declaration of Sentiments,” 249
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), 207, 217
deficit
in 2009, 134
in 2018, 129
Bush (George W.) and, 151
Clinton and, 129, 151
debate, 130
defined, 129
misaligned spending/revenues and, 118–119
Obama and, 152
opportunity, 118–127
projection, 129–130
reduction under Obama, 148–149
scolds, 119
from surplus to, 127–134
Trump and, 151–152
unemployment rate and, 154
DeMint, Jim, 139, 140–141
Democracy in America (Tocqueville), 273
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 73, 102, 178
Democrats
commitment of, 156
judicial confirmations after nuclear option, 50
Keystone XL pipeline and, 102–105
majorities, 8
nuclear option and, 46, 47, 48, 50, 59
on Republicans blocking nominees, 45
as wanting it both ways, 49
Denham, Jeff, 234
Denver Public Schools, 13–16, 128, 264
Dewar, Helen, 36
digital economy, 157
discretionary spending, 130
disenthrall ourselves, 3, 4
Dole, Bob, 85
Douglass, Frederick, 249–251, 264
Draper, Robert, 39
Dream Act, 26, 222
Dreamers, 208, 217, 225, 233, 254
Dreams from My Father (Obama), 16
Duncan, Arne, 17, 18, 261
Durbin, Dick, 207, 220–221, 222
Duterte, Rodrigo, 198
Eagleton, Tom, 7
economic challenges, addressing, 118
economic dysfunction, 29
economic inequality, 120, 126–127
economic mobility, 263
economic opportunity, 121, 127
economic trends, 124
economy
digital, 157
energy, 255
growing, 156
headwinds, 124
word as a joke, 263
education
affordability, 123
as beyond reach, 267
defined, 270
as freedom, 270
gap outside school and, 126
inequality, 124, 127
mobility and justice and, 270
poverty and, 125, 126
reinventing high schools and community colleges and, 158
Electoral College, 232, 240
electricity infrastructure, 152–153
energy economy, 255
entitlement spending, 130
environment
Bush (George H. W.) and, 79
Bush (George W.) and, 80
Keystone XL pipeline and, 100–101
Nixon and, 77, 82
Reagan and, 78, 80
Trump and, 109, 110
environmental legislation, reversal of, 258
Environmental Protection Agency, 77, 81
E-verify, 225
express advocacy, 84
Facebook, 20
federal courts, filling seats on, viii
Federal Election Commission (FEC), 82, 86–87, 91
Feingold, Russell, 86
Feinstein, Dianne, 45, 46
Fewer Have More chart, 274
filibuster for judicial nominees
defined, 24
as must end, 37
preemptive retaliation and, 24–25
qualified choices and use of, 66–67
rule change, 43
Fiorina, Carly, 91–92
fiscal cliff, 144
Flake, Jeff, 221–222
Forcenergy, 12–13
foreign policy
common good and, 160–162
“lesser bad” and, 160–162
leverage in, 161
maximalist philosophy, 161
shared interests in, 202
threats (Trump), 197–198
Trump, 196–199
founder beliefs, 63–64
founders
on citizenship, 245
extent of democracy and, 244
legislative effectiveness, 237
living life as, 253–254
reconciliation, 239–243
republic not a despotism, 237
size of the franchise and, 244
Four Freedoms speech (FDR), 269
Fox News, 136, 235
Franklin, Benjamin, 22, 208–209, 210
Freedom Caucus, viii, 25, 258. See also Tea Party
freedom(s)
as building blocks, 268
FDR speech, 268
to govern ourselves, 271
to learn, 270
to rise, 269–270
from violence, 271
what all of us do and, 269
FreedomWorks, 94, 96, 98, 137, 139
Frist, Bill, 37, 41
Fuller, Edward, 7
Game Changer - for a Few chart, 279
Gang of Eight. See also Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013
balance of principles, 223
composition of, 220–222
defined, 26
first public knowledge of, 222
legislative package, 26
process as rare, 237
respect of rationales, 224
summaries and talking points, 226
understanding of American citizenship, 238
working principles, 223
Gang of Fourteen, 38–39, 45
Garland, Merrick, 10, 51–52, 55, 56, 58, 59, 68
gerrymandered House districts, 231
Getting It Wrong chart, 280
Gingrich, Newt, 9, 39
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 32, 60
give-and-take, 21, 47, 254, 259–260
Glenn, Darryl, 186–187
globalization, 29
Gonzales, Joaquin, 253, 254
Gonzales, Rodolfo “Corky,” 253–254
Goodwin, Charles, 70
Gordon, Robert J., 123, 127
Gore, Al, 132
Gorelick, Jamie, 10
Gorsuch, Neil, 56, 58, 59, 61, 66, 68
government. See also self-government
“attachment of the people” and, 29
breakdown, causes of, 23
as the problem, 8
public confidence in, viii
&nbs
p; unrestrained partisanship and, 71
government shutdowns, vii, 10, 25–26, 44
Gowdy, Trey, 96
Graham, Jack, 186
Graham, Lindsey, 39, 59, 69, 207, 221, 222–223, 237
Grassley, Charles
on judicial nominations, 42
on rules for judicial nominees, 49–50
on Supreme Court nominations, 33–34
Grasz, Steven, 70
Great Depression, 119–120, 133, 134, 260, 268
“Great Gatsby Curve,” 122–123, 126, 280
Great Recession, 22, 28, 128, 134, 148, 152
Hagel, Chuck, 40
Hannity, Sean, 218, 236
Hansen, James, 78, 99, 100
Hastert, Dennis, 219
Hastert Rule, 219, 220, 229–230, 235
Hatch, Orin, 51, 52, 61
headwinds, 124
health care
affordability, 123
mobility and, 270
Hi Caliber, 137
Hickenlooper, John, 4, 11, 14
higher education. See also education
affordability, 123
inequality, 125
making less expensive, 157
poverty and, 126
Hilary: The Movie, 86
Hoover, Herbert, 33
House Freedom Caucus, 234
House of Representatives, 38, 95, 134, 210, 229–230, 231, 240
housing, affordability, 123
How It Feels to Be Colored Me (Hurston), 245–246
Huelskamp, Tim, 229
Hulse, Carl, 143
Humphrey, Hubert, 7
Hurston, Zora Neale, 245–246, 264
Hussein, Saddam, 162
illegal immigration, 214–215, 217–218, 219–220
immigrants
cap per year, 215
Colorado Compact and, 213
organized labor and, 216
Putin and, 198
Trump on, 27, 207
undocumented, 26, 215
we as a nation of, 206
immigration
“caravan” of asylum seekers and, 234–235
at center of concerns, 207
Colorado and, 212–214
Gang of Eight understanding of, 238
illegal, 214–215, 217–218, 219–220
preoccupation with, 235–236
reforms, comprehensive package of, 206
system, fixing, 158
immigration legislation
border security and, 216
Gang of Eight, 224–229
Kennedy legislation, 215–216
Ryan and, 232–233
Simpson-Mazzoli legislation, 214
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, 9
inaction, blame for, 257
incarceration, mass, 158, 271
income inequality, 28, 257, 258, 280
income stagnation, 123
India, 7
inequality
achievement gap and, 126
economic, 120, 126–127
education, 124, 127
headwinds, 124
reinforcement of, 126–127
of wealth, growing, 122, 123
infrastructure improvements, 152–153, 157
Inglis, Robert, 96
Inhofe, Jim, 96
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 163–164, 173–174, 188, 190
Iran
balance of power with Iraq, 162
breakout time, 188