Barnes Burning

Ben Barnes, author of Barn Burning, Barn Building and former Texas Lt. Governor, is a great representative of everything that is wrong with the Democratic Party. Throughout this book, written before Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 elections, is full of advice to sell out core constituencies and serve business interests at all costs. He insists tht modernation is always the best course, even when it plainly is not: he seems to regret the steps toward civil rights taken in the 1960s (because they alienated much of the South), has never questioned his advocacy of the war in Vietnam, views liberals in his party as a bigger opponent than republicans, and makes half-wit justifications for the obviously unethical business dealings he had while holding office in the state of Texas.

The "solutions" he offers to the modern Democratic Party to regain power are no help at all--basically it boils down to the need for greater bipartisanship--as if the problems our country now faces are the result of Democrats not compromsing enough on bad republican policy. He seems to hold few if any real positions; anything is negotiable. The only reason I do not give it one star is because it has some value to understanding the historical forces that broke up the Texas Democratic Party and led to Republican ascendance. There are also a couple of interesting bits regarding Nixon's use of the SEC to trump up allegations against democrats, and about Barnes' role in getting George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard.

Among the blurbs on the back cover of the book is one claiming that Tom Daschle once called Barnes the 51st democratic senator; if Barnes really is representative of democratic politicans, then it is obvious why democrats have had so much trouble holding on to power