Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship Is Poisoning the U.S. House of Representatives

The creation of politically safe, more ideologically tilted congressional seats through redistricting has cemented the Republican hold on power and made the House of Representatives unrepresentative - so charges Eilperin in "Fight Club Politics." Republicans take about two-thirds of committee seats, even though they had only 52.9% of the vote in '94. Another "innovation" was having leadership PACs dole out money, instead of challengers, junior lawmakers, and possibly more independent lawmakers. Thirty years ago new members were more likely to move their families to D.C., eager to become part of the social scene. Families often socialized with each other, regardless of party. This lifestyle disappeared in the late '80's and early '90s - especially after Armey and Gingrich warned the Class of '94 to keep their families away from the D.C. The intent was to focus on one's district, and members became "Tuesday to Thursday" legislators. Rather than seeking a comfortable bipartisan majority for their initiatives, GOP leaders now focus on securing 218 votes on their side so they can craft bills as conservative as possible. Thus, the Democrats have become irrelevant. Given the Republicans' slight majority, floor amendments are banned 78% of the time. Sixty percent of all bills are exempted from the requirement of at least 48 hours to review bills, and nearly 40% come off the printer after 8 P.M. (Result: Democrats had one hour before the vote on a 3,000 page $1 trillion budget bill.) House tradition dictated that the minority party got to send delegates of its choice to conference committees - no longer. Term-limiting committee chairs, and filling those positions via leadership decision (vs. seniority) has further augmented leadership power. Members now are also required to donate campaign funds to retain choice assignments. Bottom Line: Gerrymandering + closed primaries creates much more extreme politics with a focus on primaries. Fixing the problem will require an end to gerrymandering. Several states have done this, Iowa being the most obvious, but there is a long way to go.

This book is a pleasure to read, offering insightful and amusing anecdotes and quotes gathered personally by the author. For veterans of Capitol Hill, Fight Club offers fresh analysis of what ails Congress. For those less familiar with the inner workings of Congress, this book is a fun and educational read that helps explain why the two parties are unable to find common solutions to some of the country's most pressing issues.

I really enjoyed this book. It's well written, quick-paced and informative. The author clearly had access to all the important Congressional decision makers, and she used her connections to collect some memorable stories and quotable quotes that explain what's really going on in Washington. I've read a couple books on Congress in school, and this is definitely the most interesting and relevant, if a little less wonkish. I only wish she had been more partisan. If you want to understand what's ailing Congress these days and how we got there, this is the book for you.

Wow! This book is a can't-miss for all political junkies - or for anyone else who just wants to understand how D.C. politics became so bitter. Eilperin also offers some thoughtful ideas about what can be done to remedy all the partisanship. The author narrates episodes of House incivility in an exciting way that makes the book a fast read - and it's a good thing because you'll probably want to read it again.

This is an uncommonly good book. It helps us understand -- from the inside -- why the House of Representatives is so much more partisan, mean-spirited, and intractable than in times past. Founders like James Madison fully intended the House to be rough-and-tumble compared to the Senate, but nothing like what has transpired since 1994. They planned for much higher turnover than today's members who are almost single-minded about preserving the perquisites of incumbancy and their own seats.