Kill Switch (book)

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Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy
Kill Switch book cover.jpg
Kill Switch book cover
Author Adam Jentleson [1]
LanguageEnglish
Subject United States Senate, Filibuster in the United States Senate
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher Boni & Liveright
Publication date
January 12, 2021
Pages336
ISBN 9781631497773

Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy is a 2021 book by Adam Jentleson, [2] a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. [3] [4] A history of gridlock in Congress, it is primarily a critique of the rise of the filibuster, [5] [6] which the author believes has caused a vetocracy during periods of Democratic Party rule by minority party Republican Party. [7]

Jentleson links the filibuster's rise in particular to efforts to stop civil rights legislation and protections for African Americans. [8] [9] [10] The book received generally positive reviews from critics. [11] [12] Kirkus Reviews described it as "astute", "maddening", and "provocative". [13] The Wall Street Journal published a more critical review, arguing that Jentleson's mentor Reid had used the filibuster on behalf of Democrats and that Jentleson's advocacy against it during Joe Biden's presidency was cynical and hypocritical. [14]

References

  1. ↑ Jentleson, Adam (January 12, 2021). "Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  2. ↑ Wang, Sam; Zelizer, Julian (February 23, 2021). "Kill Switch -- The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy". Princeton School of Public and International Affairs . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  3. ↑ Sonmez, Felicia (June 10, 2011). "Adam Jentleson to become top Reid spokesman". Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ Jentleson, Adam (2021-12-29). "Opinion | The Side of Harry Reid That Most People Never Saw". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ↑ Szalai, Jennifer (January 25, 2021). "New Book Says the Senate Is Broken". The New York Times . Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Former Senator's Staffer On What Senate Might Do In Response To Riot At U.S. Capitol". NPR.org. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  7. ↑ Green, Joshua (January 13, 2021). "A History of the Filibuster as the Root of Senate Dysfunction". Bloomberg News . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  8. ↑ Szalai, Jennifer (January 4, 2021). "As the Georgia Runoffs Arrive, a New Book Says the Senate Is Broken". The New York Times . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  9. ↑ Gross, Terry (January 12, 2021). "'Kill Switch' Examines The Racist History Of The Senate Filibuster". NPR . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  10. ↑ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (February 4, 2021). "Examining the Case Against the Filibuster". The New Yorker . Retrieved May 2, 2025.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ Tomasky, Michael (April 8, 2021). "Can the Senate Restore Majority Rule?". The New York Times Book Review . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  12. ↑ Kiely, Kathy (January 22, 2021). "Biden is 'a Senate guy', but it just doesn't work like it used to". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  13. ↑ Jentleson, Adam (February 7, 2021). "Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  14. ↑ Odell, Kate Bachelder (February 7, 2021). "'Kill Switch' Review: When 51 Votes Aren't Enough". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
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