... impeccably timed ... Jentleson is explicitly a partisan in this fight, and in Kill Switch he doesn’t pretend to distance himself from the action to give the view from 10,000 feet. But his intimacy with the Senate turns out to be his book’s greatest strength. Jentleson understands the inner workings of the institution, down to the most granular details, showing precisely how arcane procedural rules can be leveraged to dramatic effect ... Jentleson ably narrates this history.
... a powerful brief ... There’s nothing dishy about this insider’s account by a former a top aide to Reid. Nonetheless, it’s a compelling read ... Meeting these challenges will require a lot more than the changes in Senate rules and procedure Jentleson recommends at the end of his book. That’s because the problems he so vividly describes are not just the Senate’s to solve; they belong to the nation that it, however imperfectly, represents.
... informative and timely ... Given that this book is written by a former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid, one might throw out the hypothesis due to partisan lenses. But Jentleson, public affairs director at Democracy Forward, takes care to trace the key points in the development of minority rule as well as legislative tools associated with it ... Unlike a bill, readers will not get lost within the legislative process in this comprehensive yet accessible account. What emerges is a picture of how the filibuster and cloture rules and the centralization of power within the political party leader’s hands create the tools that Senator Mitch McConnell has effectively used during his time as Senate Majority Leader. However, Jentleson deftly explains how both parties are at fault in terms of quashing majority viewpoints. In the prolog, the author suggests practical ways the Senate can be reformed to prevent and undo gridlock ... A startling read that will provoke tough questions about governance, this is highly recommended to all interested in government reform.
Progressives have launched a sustained assault on the filibuster as a racist anachronism that allows a minority of senators to hijack the will of the American public by holding up legislation until a supermajority of 60 votes can be mustered to end debate. That is the thesis of Adam Jentleson’s Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy ... Mr. Jentleson’s prescription is a 'majority rule' Senate ... How else to make the Senate work again? Wait—make the District of Columbia a state? 'Frankly,' Mr. Jentleson writes, 'there is simply no viable argument against it.' Readers can be forgiven for wondering what this transparent effort to pad Democratic majorities has to do with the proper functioning of the Senate.
... an engrossing primer on modern-day congressional gridlock ... Jentleson skillfully clarifies many arcane legislative procedures and brings a wide range of historical episodes to vivid life. Readers will be galvanized to make the issue of Senate reform a priority.
