Opting Out of Congress: Partisan Polarization and the Decline of Moderate Candidates

Cambridge University Press, 2017. Laid-in is a printout of 3 emails between the author and Robert Herbert, Major General and long time aide to Senator Harry Reid. Thomsen writes, in part: "It must have been an incredible experience to work for Senator Reid." "Bob Herbert, a longtime aide to former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid [and] a major general in the Nevada Army National Guard... worked for Reid from 2001 through 2017, while he served stints as majority whip, majority leader and minority leader. As an aviator, and then as a successful advocate for the guard in Washington, D.C., over the last two decades, Herbert helped secure more than $100 million for construction of the guard's facilities and the modernization of equipment… An armory in Yerington that now serves as a city hall and administrative building in the city is named after Herbert. [Nevada] Gov. Steve Sisolak… called the late major general 'the patriarch of the guard in Nevada.'" - (from Herbert's Las Vegas Review Journal obituary, October 2021). Very Good condition. Pages are clean and unmarked. From the publisher: "This book provides a candidate entry explanation for partisan polarization in Congress. Danielle M. Thomsen draws on quantitative data to show that ideological moderates are less likely to run for and remain in Congress than those at the extremes. The book introduces a party fit argument for why moderates have opted out of congressional politics. It suggests that the personal and professional benefits of congressional service have diminished for liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats as the parties have drifted apart. Although the political center has long been deemed a coveted position in the legislature, it is now a lonely and lowly place to be. Opting Out of Congress argues that partisan polarization is unlikely to diminish if ideological moderates do not run for office, and reformers who seek to restore bipartisanship in Congress must consider how to encourage moderates to launch congressional candidacies.". First Paperback Edition (so stated). Softcover. Very Good condition. xvi, 202pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.