Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives

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Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 424 ratings · 100 reviews

When the Tea Party Came to Town demonstrates Robert Draper’s uncanny ability to ferret out news-making tidbits and provides us with the first look at this game-changing Congress—sure to be a classic work.In When the Tea Party Came to Town, Robert Draper delivers the definitive account of what may turn out to be the worst congressional term in United States history. As he d...more

ebook, 352 pages

Published April 24th 2012 by Free Press (first published April 1st 2012)

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Oct 08, 2012 Allison (The Book Wheel) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, non-fiction, political

I first heard about this book after an interview with the author on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I was intrigued by Stewart's comment about politicians being "real people" and decided that I should read the book. I must admit, it was really good. Given, it was good in a, "now I am frightened about the state of our country" way, but it was still good. The book mostly follows the Republican/Tea Party freshman that were voted into office during the 2010 midterm elections.

I enjoyed it because it...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Judie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DO NOT ASK WHAT WE DO

The evening of January 20, 2009, 15 white males and their spouses met at an expensive restaurant in Washington DC. Seven of the men were Congressmen (Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, Pete Sessions, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra, and Dan Lungren); five were Senators (Jim DeMint, Jn Kyle, Tom Coburn, John Ensign, and Bob Corker); journalist Fred Barnes, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and communications specialist Frank Luntz, who had organized the meeting, complet...more DO NOT ASK WHAT WE DO

The evening of January 20, 2009, 15 white males and their spouses met at an expensive restaurant in Washington DC. Seven of the men were Congressmen (Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, Pete Sessions, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra, and Dan Lungren); five were Senators (Jim DeMint, Jn Kyle, Tom Coburn, John Ensign, and Bob Corker); journalist Fred Barnes, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and communications specialist Frank Luntz, who had organized the meeting, completed the group.
The men were in shock by the election of Barack Obama who had been inaugarated earlier that day and they were trying to figure out how to get the White House back into Republican hands. They decided to stick together, highlight any problem faced by a Democrat official, and challenge the Democrats on every issue Their decision would have an amazing effect on The United States during the next four years.
In DO NOT ASK WHAT WE DO, Robert Draper follows the 112 U.S. House of Representatives during it’s first year. The year began with the induction of 98 new Representatives and ended with the failure of Congress to enact a budget and the US Credit rating being downgraded from AAA to AA+.
The book examines the styles of numerous players and how they affected Congress and, by extension, America.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Whip, observed that many of the new Congressmen were risk takers. He identified “ ... Two types of leaders. One was a thermometer who could accurately discern the temperature in the room. The other type of leader was a thermostat, who could actual change the environment. Obama was a thermostat. He saw himself as an entrepreneur, a creator of wealth and jobs.”
Among attempts made for both parties to work together were getting-to-know-you dinners between freshman and senior members. At the end of 2010, Nancy Pelosi thought they should raise the debt ceiling in the lame duck congress. President Obama disagreed and thought the Republicans would and should be equal partners in the discussion and would tread the matter in a reasonable fashion. Part of President Obama’s plan was eliminating tax cuts for wealthy. The Republicans wouldn’t pass it even though a majority of Republican voters approved.
That should not have been a surprise. In 2007 and 2008 20% of Republicans voted against their own budget because it didn’t meet their terms. Chris Van Hollen stated. “I think the Republicans are going to pay a very heavy price for (automatic defense cuts) because of the extreme lengths they were prepared to go. The American people saw that they wee literally willing to jeopardize te credit worthiness of the US in order to try and force upon the country their budget plans.”
The Democrats decided they couldn’t please the Republicans no matter what they did. Their votes were needed to pass many Republican sponsored bills but there was support for the Democrat’s bills in return.
Among the pressures on the Republican Congressman was that the majority of fund raising profits were given to Conservative favorites.
Imagine what would happen to an organization when a large group of high ranking middle managers are brought in and have their own agenda. Many have made promises about what they will accomplish without considering how much power their co-workers will give them. They refuse to compromise and maintain an adversarial position within the entire group, concentrating on the wishes of their small constituency despite differing views and needs of the entire population that they represent. As one would expect, things would not go their way, things that should be accomplished fail, and everyone becomes angry and frustrated. That is the sad story of the 112th Congress.(less)

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Aug 28, 2012 Jonathan Mcnabb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading a book about events that you lived and directly worked through is a new experience for me. We have all had ties to some book that we have read, whether it was about a national cause or a field of study that we enjoy. But as I read Robert Draper’s Do Not Ask What Good We Do – a story of the Freshmen House Republicans’ first year in Washington – I could not help but think back to the last year of my life with fondness and frustration.

The book follows a number of interesting figures in the...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Bryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a great inside look at the current House. The book does an excellent job showing the frustrations of all our representatives. It is a particularly interesting class of representatives after the huge influx of tea party freshmen in 2010, and this book does a great job showing some of the details following that most recent election. For example, the book describes a private conference where an independent expert on government debt was explaining to some of the House freshmen the consequences...more What a great inside look at the current House. The book does an excellent job showing the frustrations of all our representatives. It is a particularly interesting class of representatives after the huge influx of tea party freshmen in 2010, and this book does a great job showing some of the details following that most recent election. For example, the book describes a private conference where an independent expert on government debt was explaining to some of the House freshmen the consequences of not increasing the debt ceiling last year, and the reality of the situation. Instead of responding something like "hey, our districts back home aren't going to like this very much, but it's obvious we need to put out this fire quickly and quietly" some stood up and said how biased the report was and how Karl Rove disagrees and knows better and how they as tea party freshmen demand to see the long-term effects of the situation--basically reacting in the very same ignorant way many of the people of their districts would react. Senior GOP leaders must have lost a lot of sleep and a lot of hair over these new guys. What a headache. I grew in appreciation for many of these senior GOP leaders after reading this book. They whole party has been in a rough place the last couple of years, thanks to the divide within the party between moderates and tea partiers.
I loved the interview he got with Allen West on Libya. Oh, what a classic example of the legacy he is building for himself as someone that nobody can understand.
Overall, the book is interesting. Draper has a way of reporting that tells the story from the perspective of those he is reporting on, and without adding any heavy bias or controversial personal interpretations. This gives his reporting more credibility. It reads like a report. He doesn't try to artificially add drama or plot. Also, the book revealed to me the extensive nature of the deal-making, persuasion, intimidation, mess-making that legislation really is. It certainly isn't smooth and clean like I thought it was. I kept thinking how an ideological "purist" would have a stroke having to deal with all the give-and-take necessary to pass legislation. If I were them, I wouldn't try to repeal Obamacare on "day one," I'd simply quit on day one. (less)

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May 17, 2012 Damian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An inside view of the first year or so of the 112th House of Representatives, i.e. the 2010 Tea Party House. Written in admirably unbiased style, the book follows a handful of GOP House freshmen through the travails of 2010 and 2011, the euphoria of the landslide midterms, the Anthony Wiener scandal, through the debt-ceiling debate and up to the 2011 State of the Union. Those freshmen include Allan West, the ex-marine Tea Party rep from Florida (famous for saying crazy shit, most recently that m...more

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May 08, 2012 Jay Connor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The title of this excellent book by Robert Draper is based on a quote from a Congressman who was so frustrated with the “days of fraction” that he was not seeking re-election after his fifth term in the 5th Congress of 1796! Yikes.

Draper does a masterful job of understanding and projecting the push and pulls of the new 112th Congress brought in 2010 by the Tea Party wave. We travel with many of the new congressmen on their journey of discovery, while also looking over the shoulders of the old g...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Kay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a nonfiction book with a clear focus. Though he does provide some context with anecdotes from further back American history, this book is really about the upstarts in the House of Representatives who have worked to dismantle the "size and scope of government." Allen West comes of favorably, even though I've only ever encountered his ramblings as those of a crazy person, and John Dingell comes across as an eccentric (but perhaps admirable) curmudgeon.

This book tracks a fringe movement of...more

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May 27, 2012 Savannah Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-smart-reads

Do Not Ask What Good We Do follows the first year of 112th Congress after the elections of 2010, the elections that gave the Republicans control of the house and ushered in an impressive class of Tea Party Freshman. Robert Draper gives an unbiased account of that first year, from Weiner Gate to the debt limit fight. You're pretty much presented with all sides of the story, the behind the scenes look into Congress that you don't get to see on the T.V. with the many news conferences. You actually...more

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May 19, 2012 Scott Sedar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics

I'm glad I read DO NOT ASK WHAT GOOD WE DO, mostly because it helped put the recent partisan bickering in context. The author takes a middle road, for the most part, as he examines recounts his year with the Congress. Out of a vast number of interviews, he focus on a handful of men and women, many who are new to the House of Representatives. Most have come to Washington with a grassroots desire for a balanced budget and reduced deficit -- determined to reduce the size and scope of the US governm...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Amr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, obama, politics, united-states

This book is more like a collection of stories about members of Congress than it is a coherent narrative that tells a specific story. It certainly tells stories about the same time period (112th United States Congress), and naturally the same events but it doesn't tell the same story or even one story. It's mostly, I think, what the author was able to find out about these congresspeople that he covered during that period of time.
Some of these congresspeople are Democrats and some are Republicans...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Christian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: current-events-issues, politics

In this book, the author examines the state of the People's House and follows a number of members of the House of Representatives following the 2010 election. The addition to the House of a number of people who had never held office before, many of whom identified with the Tea Party movement, resulted in a definite shift in the atmosphere of the chamber and the tone of the debate. The author did a good job of describing the individual members as persons with complex motives and worldviews. Fresh...more

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May 27, 2012 Mlg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

An insider's look at the last four years of Congressional inaction. It focuses more on the Tea Party freshmen House members than anyone else. Their refusal to compromise frustrates Boehner, as Cantor plots to take Boehner's place. Obama comes off as weak and naive, thinking he can compromise with the Republicans. He offers them deal after deal, irritating his own Democrats. If the Progressives have a hero it has to be Nancy Pelosi, who is the strongest advocate for the Democratic base. Yes, she...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Frankdurkin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A good book, but definitely not a great book. Most of the facts and stories were either known or simply added a bit of a back-story to larger stories/issues that we all know. While it was nice to get to “know” some of the congress people that I was unfamiliar with, a few of the more popular ones featured seemed to be almost lampooned. I find it a little difficult to believe that Allen West speaks only in military phrases, or that Runyan uses only football analogies, or than a newly-minted female...more

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May 22, 2012 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Draper comes across as a political neophyte with little interest in partisan politics, which is somewhat refreshing. It allows for a humanizing of the Teaparty freshmen in the 112th Congress, which makes this an interesting read. The book’s short-comings are Draper’s lack of familiarity with congressional institutions and the absence of an engaging theme or set of arguments to connect the string of antidotes that he describes in such interesting detail.

Concerning Draper’s lack of background in...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, politics

http://philadelphiareviewofbooks.com/...

Allen West has no shortage of commentary on the foreign and economic policy of the President of the United States, and in recent weeks, he has busied himself with spouting his opinions on any issue of note to anyone listening. The congressman from Florida’s 22nd district, both a member of the Tea Party Caucus and the only current Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus, a former combat officer in the Iraq War and civilian advisor to the Afghan...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Bobbi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Draper does a good job of delivering an inside view of several personalities who came into the House of Reps. in the 2010 Tea Party coup. He offers enough inside detail to keep it interesting, but without editorializing.

This book helped me understand better where the Tea Party is coming from, and to see how they are driven by an uninformed or misinformed electorate that, for example, doesn't even understand the debt ceiling, but does want religion factored into government decisions.

It shows how...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Adam Mahlum rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

A fascinating portrait of the politics and personalities of America's most important branch of government. Anybody that thinks that the success and failure of our country can all be pinned on a president--any president for that matter--should read this book. The Tea Party freshmen of the 112 Congress are portrayed as they truly are--clueless inept charlatans hell bent on derailing government so that they can prove that government does not work. The author, Robert Draper, does not offer much comm...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Greg Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book, which had an authentic, behind-the-scenes feel. I liked the author's approach: rather than strictly telling a chronological story, he focuses on key players and tells the story through them. I am sure many will become cynical reading this book - it does relate a lot of obstruction and do-nothing behavior - but I also see evidence of people trying to serve their constituents and do the right thing. The biggest thing I learned involved the debt ceiling debate and the im...more

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Oct 28, 2012 David Cooke rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, politics

This is an interesting, personal look inside the House of Representatives. Because it is essentially a journal account in real time, there isn't a plot really driving the book forward, but I certainly felt a much better sense of how government (dys)functions. It certainly humanizes many individuals you would probably strongly disagree with, which really emphasizes that ultimately the House is 435 individual folks and not just faceless D's and R's beholden to party ideology. It's a little superfi...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Lee (Rocky) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, book-club, non-fiction

This was a rather interesting behind the scenes look at Congress. It is almost more about the personalities involved than it is about the institution itself, though I suspect it was intended to be more than that. It isn't really a history so much as a point in time. I liked it, but don't really feel like I learned very much from it and I'm not really sure what the author intended to convey in writing this particular book, other than perhaps as a reminder that our government is composed of human...more

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Jul 16, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you think the current state of affairs are messed up in American politics, you're right. Draper eviscerates the body politic and pierces the hot air balloons which make up the chambers of Congress. How did we get ourselves into this mess. Well, Draper follows new and old members and shows us why they got there, what they did, and how the game is played. Mutual respect is not part of the game plan, not any more, and bi-partisan problem solving losses out.

Draper deftly delineates the emergence...more

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May 11, 2012 Lynette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow. No matter how dysfunctional you think this Congress is, you will think it more so after reading this book. My thoughts upon completing it are to wonder how far our country will fall before Democrats and Republicans find a way to govern together. Do Not Ask What Good We Do is not biased in favor of either party, and, if anything, made me see those members whom I previously found odious as more human and, surprisingly, likable. Draper has written a fantastic book, great for gaining a better u...more

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May 22, 2012 Francine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is first rate writing, you will enjoy that!
The author gives us glimpses into our country's history and reveals that the battles within and between the parties is nothing new.
However, Draper does highlight the disfunction we have experienced over the last several years and it is apparent that this is the worst incivility we have ever experienced.
The book caused me (equally disappointed by both major parties) to have a little more compassion for some of the TEA party bunch.
Find this book at...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Absolutely wonderful book and surprisingly non-partisan. What I love about Draper's writing is that he really makes these people human; it's so easy to think of politicans as 1-dimensional idealogues, but he delves much deeper. For example, Allan West may be the stereotype of a Tea Party crank, but he's incredibly knowledgeable about foreign policy; Renee Ellmers exploited Islamaphobia to get elected but drew from her experience as an ER nurse when she visited constituents seriously injured afte...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: north-america, politics, history, nonfiction

I already had an extremely low opinion of the Tea Party, and this book managed to simultaneously humanize them for me while also making me dislike more than I had previously thought possible.

Despite that beginning, Do Not Ask What Good We Do isn't about the Tea Party, except in so far as the 2010 elections brought them to prominence and allowed many of their candidates to enter congress. It's not really a coherent story at all so much as a collection of individual tales of the various people who...more I already had an extremely low opinion of the Tea Party, and this book managed to simultaneously humanize them for me while also making me dislike more than I had previously thought possible.

Despite that beginning, Do Not Ask What Good We Do isn't about the Tea Party, except in so far as the 2010 elections brought them to prominence and allowed many of their candidates to enter congress. It's not really a coherent story at all so much as a collection of individual tales of the various people who make up the 112th Congress, most prominently John Dingell, Jeff Duncan, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Anthony Weiner, and Allen West, but with a smattering of stories about others, both long-serving members or new freshmen.

Some of the stories I had heard before--Reagan's senility, for example, or Weiner's fall from grace--but most of them were new to me, and the picture they painted was less of either the august statesmen's body that people tend to mythologize congress having consisting of in days of yore or the worthless cesspool of leeches, wastrels and demogogues that seems to be the modern opinion, but a much more nuanced portrayal of people who do the best they can, who frequently disagree about the course of the country but who can still (with some notable exceptions) work together to accomplish the task of governing the country.

I think the focus on the Tea Party candidates helps quite a lot, because it helps show part of the process of the conquered absorbing the conquerers. Year after year, new members of congress or presidential candidates come to Washington, promising to bring change to the staid institutions of government, but then learn that it's not so easy. Like the Germanic tribes in Rome, or the Mongols in China, they learn that there's a reason why things are done the way they are and that maybe throwing it all away isn't the best solution to the problem. The difference being, of course, that neither of those groups had to then go back to their districts and deal with constituents who believe that, "The only time anyone compromises is when the Democrats want something," as one direct quote runs.

It's often said that one should not see the making of either laws of sausages if one wishes to maintain any respect for the process of either, but I think that's incorrect. I think if you're going to eat sausage--or participate in the democratic process, however minimally--you should understand what really goes into it, and above all else this book does a good job of showing that.
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Jul 26, 2012 Bryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I burned out on reading books about contemporary politics after Game Change. That book, about the 2008 presidential primary campaigns, was deeply cynical and condescending, not to mention loaded with the sorts of politics-as-violence metaphors that make political journalists seem a little too proud of themselves.

Do Not Ask What Good We Do, though, is a hell of a good book about government and the current political climate. It follows a handful of congresspeople through a year in the House of Re...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, politics, read-in-2012, nonfiction

Informative book about the 2010-2012 U.S. House of Representatives- read at the risk of getting angry.

"What made 2010 different was a rising tide of economic distress, coupled with the growing belief that the Democrats were only making things worse. Unlike many of the other Blue Dogs, Giffords had voted for the complete unholy trinity: stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. The latter vote set off an ugly conflagration of attacks- the very least of which were snarky ads featuring a Pelosi dou...more Informative book about the 2010-2012 U.S. House of Representatives- read at the risk of getting angry.

"What made 2010 different was a rising tide of economic distress, coupled with the growing belief that the Democrats were only making things worse. Unlike many of the other Blue Dogs, Giffords had voted for the complete unholy trinity: stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. The latter vote set off an ugly conflagration of attacks- the very least of which were snarky ads featuring a Pelosi double instructing a Giffords stand-in who would bleat, "Whatever you say, mama Nancy." More ominously, an anonymous assailant blew out the windows on her district office. Sarah Palin's PAC website showed a map of congressional districts with crosshairs covering twenty of them, representing Democrats who had voted for health care. Arizona's 8th district was one of them. Giffords went on MSNBC to warn Palin that "there's consequences to that action." (36)

-I remember hearing about this after Giffords was shot. It made me so upset. Knowing more about the situation just makes it worse.

"Obama had made a strategic mistake, McCarthy thought, picking a fight with Paul Ryan (on the budget). "I think Ryan's in his head," he would say. "Think about it. Ryan's a young guy. Ryan's risen fast. Ryan's got a great family. Ryan's got a lot of comparisons to the rise of where the president is. It's not so smart to raise him up by picking him as an enemy."" (143)

-Ryan is featured quite a bit in thie book. It was interesting to read about him now that he's Romney's VP pick.

"And she (Pelosi) had resisted the temptation to say "I told you so" to Obama- who, back in December, had disagreed with the Speaker's belief that they should raise the debt ceiling during that lame-duck session. The president's belief had been that the Republicans would and should be equal partners in the debt ceiling discussion- implying, she thought, that he believed the Republicans would treat the matter in a reasonable fashion." (259)

-This totally makes sense to me. Whenever Republicans tell me how radical they think Obama is, I just have to laugh inside because I really believe he was trying to be centrist and work with the Republicans as much as he could.

"In short, whatever pressures to govern the freshmen faced were drowned out by pressures from the right. On top of that, their reelection fortunes depended on money from conservative donors. Blake Farenthold had raised a meager $102,000 during the third quarter of 2011. Farenthold couldn't stand asking people for money and was troubled by a system that dictated raising and spending a million dollars every two years so as to keep one's seat." (271)

-A million dollars every Congressional campaign. Infuriating. We need campaign finance reform yesterday.

"The Florida freshmen (West) wasn't quite sure what vision was being articulated on November 1, when the Republican leadership brought to the floor House Concurrent Resolution 13, which reaffirmed "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States. "There are few things Congress could do that would be more important than passing this resolution," cosponsor Lamar Smith intoned." (272-273)

-Seriously?! The guy seriously believes this was one of the bets things Congress could have been doing? Aargh!

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Sep 12, 2012 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought there were some interesting moments but I found Do Not Ask What Good We Do to be a mostly scattershot affair. I know the intent of the book was to look at the 112th Congress as a whole, but I thought the author bit off more than he could chew. I don’t mean that in the sense he seemed overwhelmed by the material, but rather since so many moving parts are mentioned, the narrative was not as compelling as it could have been.

There were so many committees, caucuses and congressman (and wome...more I thought there were some interesting moments but I found Do Not Ask What Good We Do to be a mostly scattershot affair. I know the intent of the book was to look at the 112th Congress as a whole, but I thought the author bit off more than he could chew. I don’t mean that in the sense he seemed overwhelmed by the material, but rather since so many moving parts are mentioned, the narrative was not as compelling as it could have been.

There were so many committees, caucuses and congressman (and women) that at times I thought it was difficult to follow it all. The author profiled some of the members of the 112th Congress expansively, but would then leave them completely to go to a different storyline. I know Congress is a complex place to describe, but I thought it might have been better to profile that handful of people and then follow proceedings from their perspective exclusively.

The most interesting profile was on now scandal-ridden former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, whose ego was matched only by his desire to get his mug on camera. Weiner was someone who always thought he was the smartest person in the room, and this attitude left him few friends. With few friends, no one came to his defense when his Twitter pic scandal broke. Even more interesting was how little he cared for his staff and often treated them downright disdainfully. Weiner’s treatment of his staff may have also contributed to him being left out in the cold.

Equally fascinating, and polarizing, is Republican Allen West. A former Army colonel who never misses an opportunity to mention his military service, he came to epitomize the class of “Tea Party” freshmen whose right-wing ideologies would not be compromised. In fact, most of the Tea Partiers, or “tea baggers” as elder statesmen John Dingell mistakenly called them, viewed compromise as something antithetical to their core beliefs and not what they came to Washington to do. They came to get things done, but of course their intransience instead made things grind to a halt.

This intransience was epitomized by the debt-ceiling debate that led to a near catastrophic occurrence of the U.S. Government not being able to repay its debts. The core Tea Party Republicans didn’t seem to understand that simply allowing the debt ceiling to collapse would not lead to a new, leaner government that does not rely on borrowing money to spend more than it brings in. I equate it to a person thinking that by simply no longer paying his or her credit card balance it will lead to a more prudent lifestyle. Perhaps it will in the long run but you still need to pay down your existing outstanding commitments. To not do so could wreak havoc on your credit whether you are Joe Smith or the U.S. Federal Government.

This basic lack of understanding of how things work and inherent distrust of government is at the heart of how much the freshman class of Tea Party Republicans changed the dynamics of Congress. This is I think at the heart of what motivated this book. While the author does a good job of being impartial, I think most of the blame of this Congress’ lack of progress and lowest approval ratings in history can be laid at the feet of this freshman class.
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Jan 04, 2013 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, campaign-history

I was excited for this book as soon as I saw Robert Draper promoting it on MSNBC. Draper's background as a magazine writer shines multiple times as he reports on the unique characteristics of some of the 435 members of the House.

The point of this book is really just taking a look at the House of Representatives and the lack of productivity amongst it, mostly due to the Tea Party Caucus. Draper showcases that the sheer size of the freshman Republican class and the outspokenness of the Tea Party c...more

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Jun 17, 2013 Hadrian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, nonfiction, politics-and-foreign-policy

This is a contemporary of the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress, with a particular focus on the Tea Party surge from 2010-2012, and the efforts over social entitlement reform, the debt ceiling crisis, and a partial government shutdown.

What a bunch of shits!

This is an agonizing detail of the negotiations and backroom deals which led to major policy decisions, and provides a few mini-biographies of a few of the main figures, from the Dean of the House, who's been there since 1955, to...more

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About Robert Draper

Robert Draper (born November 15, 1959)[1] is a freelance writer, a correspondent for GQ and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine. Previously, he worked for Texas Monthly, where he first became acquainted with the Bush political family.
Robert Draper attended Westchester High School in Houston, Texas. He is the grandson of Leon Jaworski, prosecutor during the Watergate scandal, segregation t...more

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title link	preview: Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives
avg rating	preview: Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives Goodreads rating: 3.90 (424 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13260708-do-not-ask-what-good-we-do?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363007939l/13260708.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13260708-do-not-ask-what-good-we-do?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives by Robert Draper[/url]

Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives

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