Speaker Jim Wright

Author : J. Brooks Flippen
Publisher : Univ of TX + ORM
ISBN 13 : 1477316310
Total Pages : 490 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Speaker Jim Wright written by J. Brooks Flippen and published by Univ of TX + ORM. This book was released on 2018-04-01 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rise and fall of a Texas Democrat: “A definitive, richly detailed biography [and] an engrossing history that sheds light on our own fractious times.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A former Golden Gloves boxer and WWII bombardier, Jim Wright entered Congress to fight a different kind of battle, making his mark on virtually every major policy issue of the later twentieth century: energy, education, taxes, transportation, environmental protection, civil rights, criminal justice, and foreign relations among them. He played a significant role in peace initiatives in Central America and in the Camp David Accords, and was the first American politician to speak live on Soviet television. A Democrat representing Texas’s twelfth district (Fort Worth), he served in the US House of Representatives from the Eisenhower administration to the presidency of George H.W. Bush, including twelve years as majority leader and speaker—and his long congressional ascension and sudden fall in a highly partisan ethics scandal spearheaded by Newt Gingrich mirrored the evolution of Congress as an institution. Speaker Jim Wright traces the congressman’s long life and career in a highly readable narrative grounded in extensive interviews with Wright and access to his personal diaries. A skilled connector who bridged the conservative and liberal wings of the Democratic Party while forging alliances with Republicans to pass legislation, Wright ultimately fell victim to a new era of political infighting, as well as to his own hubris and mistakes. J. Brooks Flippen shows how Wright’s career shaped the political culture of Congress, from its internal rules and power structure to its growing partisanship, even as those new dynamics eventually contributed to his political demise. To understand Jim Wright in all his complexity is to understand the story of modern American politics.

Author : Julian E. Zelizer
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0698402758
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Burning Down the House written by Julian E. Zelizer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book! A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice The story of how Newt Gingrich and his allies tainted American politics, launching an enduring era of brutal partisan warfare When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, President Obama observed that Trump “is not an outlier; he is a culmination, a logical conclusion of the rhetoric and tactics of the Republican Party.” In Burning Down the House, historian Julian Zelizer pinpoints the moment when our country was set on a path toward an era of bitterly partisan and ruthless politics, an era that was ignited by Newt Gingrich and his allies. In 1989, Gingrich brought down Democratic Speaker of the House Jim Wright and catapulted himself into the national spotlight. Perhaps more than any other politician, Gingrich introduced the rhetoric and tactics that have shaped Congress and the Republican Party for the last three decades. Elected to Congress in 1978, Gingrich quickly became one of the most powerful figures in America not through innovative ideas or charisma, but through a calculated campaign of attacks against political opponents, casting himself as a savior in a fight of good versus evil. Taking office in the post-Watergate era, he weaponized the good government reforms newly introduced to fight corruption, wielding the rules in ways that shocked the legislators who had created them. His crusade against Democrats culminated in the plot to destroy the political career of Speaker Wright. While some of Gingrich’s fellow Republicans were disturbed by the viciousness of his attacks, party leaders enjoyed his successes so much that they did little collectively to stand in his way. Democrats, for their part, were alarmed, but did not want to sink to his level and took no effective actions to stop him. It didn’t seem to matter that Gingrich’s moral conservatism was hypocritical or that his methods were brazen, his accusations of corruption permanently tarnished his opponents. This brand of warfare worked, not as a strategy for governance but as a path to power, and what Gingrich planted, his fellow Republicans reaped. He led them to their first majority in Congress in decades, and his legacy extends far beyond his tenure in office. From the Contract with America to the rise of the Tea Party and the Trump presidential campaign, his fingerprints can be seen throughout some of the most divisive episodes in contemporary American politics. Burning Down the House presents the alarming narrative of how Gingrich and his allies created a new normal in Washington.

Author : John M. Barry
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780670819249
Total Pages : 794 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Ambition and the Power written by John M. Barry and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On cover: The fall of Jim Wright: a true story of Washington.

Author : J. Brooks Flippen
Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 1477315144
Total Pages : 552 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Speaker Jim Wright written by J. Brooks Flippen and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2018-04-01 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jim Wright made his mark on virtually every major public policy issue in the later twentieth century—energy, education, taxes, transportation, environmental protection, civil rights, criminal justice, and foreign relations, among them. He played a significant role in peace initiatives in Central America and in the Camp David Accords, and he was the first American politician to speak live on Soviet television. A Democrat representing Texas’s twelfth district (Fort Worth), Wright served in the US House of Representatives from the Eisenhower administration to the presidency of George H. W. Bush, including twelve years (1977–1989) as majority leader and speaker. His long congressional ascension and sudden fall in a highly partisan ethics scandal spearheaded by Newt Gingrich mirrored the evolution of Congress as an institution. Speaker Jim Wright traces the congressman’s long life and career in a highly readable narrative grounded in extensive interviews with Wright and access to his personal diaries. A skilled connector who bridged the conservative and liberal wings of the Democratic party while forging alliances with Republicans to pass legislation, Wright ultimately fell victim to a new era of political infighting, as well as to his own hubris and mistakes. J. Brooks Flippen shows how Wright’s career shaped the political culture of Congress, from its internal rules and power structure to its growing partisanship, even as those new dynamics eventually contributed to his political demise. To understand Jim Wright in all his complexity is to understand the story of modern American politics.

Author : Timothy McNulty
Publisher : NewSouth Books
ISBN 13 : 1603064117
Total Pages : 609 pages
Book Rating : 4.18/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Meanest Man in Congress written by Timothy McNulty and published by NewSouth Books. This book was released on 2019-05-10 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A native of Beaumont, Texas, and a World War II veteran, Jack Brooks represented Texas's Ninth District for forty-two years in the U.S. Congress. One of the most influential congressmen you've never heard of, the irascible Brooks is finally getting his due in this first full biography. The Meanest Man in Congress chronicles in fascinating detail not only a remarkable lawmaker's career—spanning the tenures of ten U.S. presidents—but also the epic sweep of American history in the latter half of the twentieth century, from the Kennedy assassination to the Iran-Contra affair. Packed with anecdotes based on Brooks's personal correspondence, interviews with his peers and family members, and more, this meticulously researched biography traces the incredible life and times of a true public servant, a man who applied his tenacious will to practical, across-the-aisle governance for the good of his constituents and his country. At a time when Brooks's brand of selfless service is in short supply and American politics has become a zero-sum game, distinguished authors Timothy McNulty and Brendan McNulty bring into high relief the character of a man who knew how to compromise and bargain, negotiate and cooperate to get things done.

Author : James W Riddlesperger
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780875658179
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.72/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Reflections on Wright written by James W Riddlesperger and published by . This book was released on 2024-05-22 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reflections on Wright is a collection of essays on Jim Wright from his early years through his retirement from the House of Representatives. Wright was one of the most influential members of Congress in the latter part of the twentieth century and had a major role in policies such as the interstate highway system and American policy in Central America. Foreclosed from moving to the Senate, Wright eventually sought to become Majority Leader and won in a hotly contested race against California's Phil Burton. Both as Majority Leader and as Speaker, Wright proved himself an exceptionally strong leader. Indeed, Wright pushed his agenda so strongly that it led to grumbling among members of his caucus. With attacks on his ethics by Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich, attacks that heralded a new level of viciousness between the two parties in the House, Wright resigned and returned to Fort Worth. For most of the remainder of his life, he taught at Texas Christian University.

Author :
Publisher : Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN 13 : 9781604736540
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Power Plays: Politics, Football, and Other Blood Sports written by and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Barry, award-winning author of "

Author : Anthony Champagne
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
ISBN 13 : 1603443266
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.65/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Austin-Boston Connection written by Anthony Champagne and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the more than fifty years that Democrats controlled the U.S. House of Representatives, leadership was divided between Massachusetts and Texas. When the Speaker was from Texas (or nearby Oklahoma), the Majority Leader was from the Boston area, and when the Speaker was from Boston, the Majority Leader was from Texas. The Austin-Boston Connection analyzes the importance of the friendships (especially mentor-prot?g? relationships) and enmities within congressional delegations, regional affinities, and the lynchpin practice of appointing the Democratic Whip.

Author : Leah Wright Rigueur
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691173648
Total Pages : 429 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Loneliness of the Black Republican written by Leah Wright Rigueur and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-02 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of black conservatives in the Republican Party from the New Deal to Ronald Reagan Covering more than four decades of American social and political history, The Loneliness of the Black Republican examines the ideas and actions of black Republican activists, officials, and politicians, from the era of the New Deal to Ronald Reagan's presidential ascent in 1980. Their unique stories reveal African Americans fighting for an alternative economic and civil rights movement—even as the Republican Party appeared increasingly hostile to that very idea. Black party members attempted to influence the direction of conservatism—not to destroy it, but rather to expand the ideology to include black needs and interests. As racial minorities in their political party and as political minorities within their community, black Republicans occupied an irreconcilable position—they were shunned by African American communities and subordinated by the GOP. In response, black Republicans vocally, and at times viciously, critiqued members of their race and party, in an effort to shape the attitudes and public images of black citizens and the GOP. And yet, there was also a measure of irony to black Republicans' "loneliness": at various points, factions of the Republican Party, such as the Nixon administration, instituted some of the policies and programs offered by black party members. What's more, black Republican initiatives, such as the fair housing legislation of senator Edward Brooke, sometimes garnered support from outside the Republican Party, especially among the black press, Democratic officials, and constituents of all races. Moving beyond traditional liberalism and conservatism, black Republicans sought to address African American racial experiences in a distinctly Republican way. The Loneliness of the Black Republican provides a new understanding of the interaction between African Americans and the Republican Party, and the seemingly incongruous intersection of civil rights and American conservatism.

Author : Jeffrey R. Biggs
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Honor in the House written by Jeffrey R. Biggs and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In 1989 he became the first Westerner to serve as Speaker of the House, the most powerful position in Congress. He retained that position until defeated in the Republican landslide election of 1994. President Bill Clinton then appointed him Ambassador to Japan."--BOOK JACKET.