In his 1996 book Up From Conservatism, Michael Lind argued that the traumatic events of 1968 and their aftermath destroyed the influence in American politics of what Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called "the vital center." In the ensuing political polarization, moderate liberals and moderate conservatives who could work together were replaced in Washington by more extreme representatives, whose posturing and ineffectiveness made governance difficult and government a four-letter word.

In No-Fault Politics, a veteran of the days of moderate and effective government passes judgment on his successors. Eugene McCarthy, a 22-year Capitol Hill veteran (1948-70) and two-time candidate for President (1968, 1976), argues that many of the recent laws and regulations designed to clean up government corruption have succeeded only in making government less effective, less accountable, less democratic, and less popular.

McCarthy's main charge against what he calls "post-modern politics" is that its rules have been written by political innocents, who knew what was right, but didn't know what would work. Post-Watergate changes in the rules for campaign spending and Congressional self-governance, rather than leading to a reformed politics, have instead led to the institutionalization of the two major parties, the rise of political action committees (PACs), a tremendous paperwork burden on independent candidates, the assignment of undemocratic powers to a series of independent counsels, and a breakdown in Washington party discipline with a corresponding loss of public accountability.

What we're left with, McCarthy writes, is a government whose officers shun responsibility for the performance of their duties and must watch their every step in case they give off even "the appearance of unethical conduct." In short, we have a government that can no longer govern effectively and responsively.

Making the problem worse is the way that laws to isolate politics from corruption have instead isolated it from the average citizen:

Citizens who would petition the government, especially in an organized way, are threatened by lobbying reform bills with possible criminal penalties. Citizens who contribute to candidates their bosses may dislike must hope their secret is not discovered lest they lose their jobs. Some businessmen who want to back a cause or candidate they believe in find that they have been operating within close range of criminal prosecution. Citizens who attempt to fill out their own tax returns have long been in danger. Citizenship, along with the professional practice of politics, has been criminalized in the United States. [33]

 
McCarthy also comments unfavorably on the gradual erasing of the boundary between the responsibilities of state governments and the responsibilities of the federal government; a trend that climaxed in Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign "to be governor of the United States." This confusion between state and federal duties has been accompanied by a similar confusion between the Constitutional duties of the House and Senate, giving us a Congress in which little is accomplished and no one is to blame. And what do Cabinet secretaries actually do these days?

McCarthy's recommendations to address this set of problems boil down to a call for returning to the principles of the Truman-led Democratic party of McCarthy's political youth. He favors scrapping much of the reform legislation of the 1970s, giving politicians greater freedom of action in exchange for their accepting greater responsibility for the consequences. He also calls for scrapping many of the remaining welfare programs spawned by the Johnson administration, and argues that the Democratic Party should return to its Fair Deal belief in ensuring that every citizen be guaranteed the dignity of employment. Finally, he writes that the separate branches of government must each restrain themselves to doing their Constitutionally mandated duties properly and effectively, rather than poaching powers from each other and thus blurring the lines of accountability.

No-Fault Politics reads like the advice of a spry old grandfather who isn't quite what he used to be. The 82-year-old McCarthy displays the wit, wistfulness, and poetic sensibility he is known for, but his narrative is often oddly disjointed, and his discussions of the Roosevelt and Truman administrations sound more like nostalgic wishes for a return to youth than like accounts of truly better days.

The book's major shortcoming, however, is McCarthy's elision of the effect his 1968 presidential campaign had on the governmental reforms he so deplores. McCarthy was the man who inspired many "political innocents" to enter politics in the first place, and his failure to even bring this up or explain what happened in its aftermath is deeply disappointing.

All in all, though, No-Fault Politics is book well worth reading. McCarthy's long and wide-ranging experience in American politics, combined with his wry sense of humor and gift for the surprisingly apt remark, allows him to bring to his book a deep perspective on the current troubles that is unique and invaluable.

Review posted: 30 September 1998