Chris Mathews Hardball Summary

Before I started reading the book Hardball, by Chris Matthews, I had a preconceived idea of what the content of this book would be. From the title of the book I drew the conclusion that Matthews would write more about the darker side of politics and how it is 'really' played. I don't really know much about politics, and frankly, I don't care much for politics. However, when I hear the word hardball in the context of politics, I think of blood shed. I think of dirty tricks and blackmail and money changing hands in dark places. I even think of the mafia to some degree when I hear the word hardball. Perhaps my notion of hardball was a bit more than what Chris Matthews describes in his book. After

Dickerson, Mark, Thomas Flanagan, and O"Neill Brenda. An Introduction To Government And Politics: A Conceptual Approach. 8. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2010. 126-142. Print.

This written report is appertaining to the book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, written by Lee H. Hamilton. This book is published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington, IL, it was copyrighted in 2004 by the publisher.

The structure of our government is complex. With local, state, and federal levels of government, it can be confusing to understand how the government works. Luckily, Morris Fiorina wrote a document about the structure of the government called The Rise of the Washington Establishment. The Washington establishment simply refers to big government workers such as, included but not limited to, house representatives, senators, congressmen, and party leaders. These legislators and bureaucrats are the ones who run the government and establish laws. In his document, Fiorina argued that these people are in office only for personal gains. He strongly focused on congress, in which he believes they act in favor of their reelection. Power, money, and insurance benefits are the main influences that motivate congressmen to hold their position. Governmental representatives are supposed to reflect the values of the people, but they ultimately act in a selfish manor. The Rise of the Washington Establishment analyzes how congressmen act for their own self-interest.

The danger of politics lead to the principal factor of checks and balances, within the government and Founding Fathers, throughout the “most crucial and consequential [decade] in American history” (27). Politics were also what lead to the quarrel between John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

Hardball by Chris Matthews is an interpretation of what many know as “hard-politics”. The book describes the skill of playing the game in Washington and how to be successful at it. The book is a guide that teaches a series of maxims that would be in favor of politicians to learn in order to be successful. The different tactics provided in the book hold a lot of knowledge that would make the life of anyone following these strategies much easier when trying to get ahead in life. Matthews describes a countless number of examples of successful politicians that rose to the top. Those politicians are the ones who learned how to play hardball in Washington.

In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In "If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?" author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about

Throughout the course of American politics, superstar senators have risen from the frameworks of capitol buildings on federal, state, and local levels. Some were ruthlessly manipulative in their desire to achieve success, choosing to push their own agenda for the sake of a spot in history. Others served a more earnest cause, putting their country before their party. From the founding fathers to post World War II America, senators of the extremely partisan kind worked in Washington, these men certainly were not the last of the “cut throat” politicians, their actions setting a precedent for future men and women in their partisan agenda. However, noble men who worked endlessly for the prosperity, safety, and unity of America are often swept

The book Plunkitt of Tammany Hall can leave readers with mixed feelings about politics from Plunkitt’s perspective. Plunkitt, himself, used some questionable tactics while he was a politician and defends what he did; such as the difference between honest graft and dishonest graft. Plunkitt lived in the world of politics for forty plus years and thrived in the middle of it all with his political machine, Tammany Hall. The views Plunkitt held differ from those of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

In an era where strong partisan divisiveness continues to paralyze Congress, The Challenge of Congressional Representation offers a well-formulated, insightful study of the intricate relationship between Congress and their home constituencies. It invokes nostalgia for a time before the Tea Party insurgency and the dreadful Citizens United decision – a time when Congress members put “country before party”, by listening to the people they represent rather than their echo chamber and the unlimited fiscal influences of Political Action Committees. To be sure, author Richard F. Fenno presents this noble exploration as a follow up piece to his earlier study, Home Style, and maintains focus on the micro-analysis of Congress members and their relationships with their constituents (p. 1). Indeed, The Challenge of Congressional Representation seeks to fill the chasm of Congress ' personal narratives within their home constituencies through the innovative approach of personal observation and storytelling. However, the author’s transitions between first and third person can be dizzying at times. Nevertheless, the book is enjoyable and presents the reader with a captivating cast of characters and an inside glimpse of the painstaking process of casework while juggling family, hectic travel schedules, and legislative duties.

The political game is a dog eat dog world, there are several factors that determined weather a politician will be successful or not. Having alliances, enemies, and deals is all part of it. In the book “Hardball: How Politics is Played” written by Chris Mathews explains what it takes to get ahead in politics and how to avoid disasters techniques previously used by others.

The first chapter revolves around Mathews talking about how Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan became successful through the idea of “who you get to know” and not just who you know. Mathews explained how during the Great Depression, Lyndon B. Johnson would stay at the Dodge Hotel and approach the U.S. senators who stayed there one by one. This helped him engage with them more on a personal level and help him figure out the motives of these people as well as others. At one point Johnson “got up early to brush his teeth five times, with five-minute intervals in between” (Mathews 25) and this shows how determined he was to meet as many congressional secretaries as he could that lived there. Another way Johnson tried to know more about others is through the use of party cloakrooms. This was a place where congressmen and senators went to relax in their off time. Johnson hired “Bobby” Baker, the man who answered the phones in the Senate Democratic

“When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency”(Johnson csmonitor.com). Samuel Johnson, English writer and essayist, popular in the 19th century, sums up the reality of modern American politics in such a simple sentence. However, the simple warning, unheeded, has surely stymied and gridlocked American government to such an extent, that even the most diehard believers in democracy are finding the current political environment to be permanently toxic and therefore, hopelessly ineffective. When did it all go wrong? One of the best examples of two political rivals that warred fiercely from 9-5, but liked and respected one another after hours, comes in the friendship of President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill. Reagan and O’Neill disagreed on nearly everything that a politician can include in a platform. Yet

The long days and nights on the bus with Mr. Donald Trump, it grew older and older place after place; Trump will not even let me drink after a hard day’s work because his brother died of alcohol poisoning. Some days people think he is a joke and do not take him serious because of his 19-point plan for Presidency. To inform you all, Trump is in it for the long haul and he has the money and resources to stick to it out till he wins the presidential candidacy. One of the primary reasons he is running is because he is scared where our government is taking American people. Everyday I stress the importance of chapters of the novel Hardball written by Chris Matthews. Some of the chapters are prime learning tools, they help each politician take it to the next level and become a prime politician.

Virtually all of the representatives had professional careers before getting elected. He notes four dangerous trends of government.