Politics usually reaches
our daily lives through the media, and not a book. This is the first
political book I have read, and I admit I bought it because I like
Senator Tom Daschle’s fearless, small-town heart. He has long
been a proponent of alternative fuel and anti-drilling bills, which
are close to my heart.
Daschle pushes for bills that don’t include special-interest
kick-backs. For example, in the Homeland Security Bill, republicans
wanted to give the Secretary of Homeland Security unlimited authority
to shield companies from lawsuits by designating their products
as anti-terrorism technology. Maybe this is where Daschle’s
obstructionist nickname comes into play—he won’t allow
a bill to pass until all the small things have been worked out.
If he has to delay it for more research, then this is a good thing.
In his book, Tom Daschle touches on many events that transpired
during 2000-2002 that shaped America forever: The first presidential
election decided by judges and not by voters, the first time in
history the Senate was split evenly between parties, and how the
decision of republican Senator Jeffords to switch parties caused
a significant switch in the balance of power (and how the republicans
tried to smear his name because of it). Senator Jim Jeffords said
he was “growing discontent with the Republican Orthodoxy…
their strong-arm tactics… and the tone of petty vindictiveness”.
Daschle also wrote deeply about the horrific events of September
11, 2001, the anthrax attacks only a month later in his own office
and many other places, the war with Afghanistan and the Taliban,
and the new war with Iraq and Saddam Hussein (which was supposedly
based on legitimate intel about WMD, which we now know to be false).
Not to mention problems at home with our dreadful economy, devastated
by September 11th and crippled more by massive corporate corruption
(Enron and WorldCom were the two largest U.S. bankruptcies in history).
To worsen that, republicans asked Americans to reward the rich
with tax breaks, even though middle America was losing their jobs
and half their retirement savings. A federal judicial system was
packed by Bush, with “strict constructionists” who are
pro-life and anti-gay.
President Bush even appointed Charles Pickering to the Federal
Court of Appeals while Congress was out of session in January 2004,
even though Congress had repeatedly blocked him because of his anti-civil
rights views.
Daschle mentions his many dealings with the president’s politics
over policy practices, and the White House’s strategy to “maximize
the value of war for political purposes.” Daschle believes
in the purpose behind the recent wars, but it seems he does not
like the White House’s way of getting to that point.
With faulty intelligence and failure by the president to initiate
an independent inspection into September 11th, and Iraq’s
weapons of mass destruction intelligence, we can only hope that
the leader of our country has nothing to hide.
As Senate Majority Leader for 2001-2002, Tom Daschle looked at
the democrats as the last line of defense against a republican president
and republican House of Representatives. Daschle is not afraid to
voice his concern for the state of our country in the hands of President
Bush. He wrote this book as a record for the future about the choices
our leadership made and as a proponent of not letting it happen
again.
As Daschle states, “Our choices will effect our future in
profound ways. And the choice lies with what kind of representation
and leadership we want in government.”
Kristi Spurrier

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