Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress
Known for working across party lines in her 18 years in the U.S. Senate, Republican Snowe, from Maine, felt driven from the legislative body by acrimonious partisanship and declined to run for reelection in 2012. But she hasn’t abandoned politics. In this heartfelt call to action, she details the cost to the American public of a Congress so polarized that it passes record low numbers of laws and can’t agree on a budget. Snowe offers an insider’s view of how Congress came to be so dysfunctional, including a behind-the-scenes look at her role in working with both sides to get President Obama’s health-care bill passed. She recounts her personal history of losing both parents when a child, widowhood at 26 that led to taking her husband’s state legislative seat, later marriage to John McKernan, who would be elected governor of Maine as she pursued politics into the Senate. Snowe offers a passionate plea to Americans to insist on changes in the Senate, including filibuster reform, biennial budgeting, and a five-day workweek for Congress. --Vanessa Bush