Meanest Man in Congress

McNulty Brendan, McNulty Timothy, Wright Jim

Description

The meanest man in Congress was also the most successful in terms of passing legislation and bi-partisan leadership. The story of Jack Brookss colorful life and accomplishments, including his friendship with presidents and key political figures during the nearly 50 years he was in Congress, is told in this book. There is no existing biography on Jack Brooks The message about Brookss style of governance is timely The Brooks family will help NewSouth secure attention for the book in political circles, including in D.C. Political biographies remain popularA native of Beaumont, Texas, and a World War II veteran, Jack Brooks served for forty-two years in the U.S. Congress, representing Texass 9th district. One of the most influential congressmen nobody ever heard of, Brooks is finally getting his due in this new biography, the first ever written about his life. The Meanest Man in Congress: Jack Brooks and the Making of an American Century chronicles in fascinating detail not only the career of a remarkable lawmaker, which spanned the tenures of ten U.S. presidents, but also the epic sweep of American history in the latter half of the 20th century, from the Kennedy assassination to the Iran-Contra affair.Packed with anecdotes about the irascible Brooks based on his personal correspondence, interviews with his peers and family members, and more, this meticulous biography traces the incredible life and times of a true public servant, a man who applied his tenacious will to practical, across-the-aisle governance for the good of his constituents and his country. At a time when Brookss brand of selfless service is in short supply and American politics has become a zero-sum game, distinguished authors Timothy McNulty and Brendan McNulty bring into high relief the character of a man who knew how to compromise and bargain, negotiate and cooperate to get things done.

Sujets

• USA
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: University of Georgia Press
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781603064118
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for The Meanest Man in Congress
From his youth in a rough corner of Texas to his service in the Marines in World War II and on to Congress to help build Lyndon Johnson s Great Society, Jack Brooks s story is full of lessons for lawmakers, for voters, for Americans searching for meaning in confusing times. The McNultys have created a highly readable account of a fascinating, important man s life and times. - C HARLES M ADIGAN , author, reporter, professor
Tim and Brendan McNulty provide us with a much-needed biography of Congressman Jack Brooks, who was a leading figure among two generations of Lone Star political legends that included Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, and many others. Any student of national politics in the mid-twentieth century will relish looking again at those turbulent times through the squinting, purposeful eyes of Beaumont s Congressman Jack Brooks. - C AL J ILLSON , professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, author of The American Dream: In History, Politics, and Fiction
Right when we all seem to have forgotten what public service and political compromise ought to look like, along comes The Meanest Man in Congress to remind us. Jack Brooks-crusty, colorful, and yes, mean-leaps off the pages into our collective consciousness in this timely biography. - J AY R OOT , Texas Tribune investigative reporter and author of Oops! A Diary from the 2012 Campaign Trail
Finely reported and illuminated by exquisite detail, Timothy and Brendan McNulty s work hurtles readers back through time to the challenges of a tumultuous twentieth century. This comprehensive work on the improbable life of Jack Brooks is a reminder of a time when our nation was not governed by a zero-sum, winner-take-all ethos that divides Americans and the world into us and them. - G EORGE DE L AMA , president of the Eisenhower Fellowships, former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune
When I came to Congress, Jack Brooks proved a guide and friend. He was a master legislator, canny operator, and giant of the House, who brought a formidable mix of charm and intellect to the fight for liberty, equality and justice for the American people. His principled leadership, richly chronicled in this first biography, leaves an extraordinary legacy. - N ANCY P ELOSI , Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Cigar-chomping, irascible, and fiercely dedicated to his beliefs, Brooks shaped Texas and national politics for four decades. A fascinating window into the political history of the post-World War II era and a darn fun read. - B RANDON R OTTINGHAUS , professor of political science, University of Houston
The McNultys do a superb job documenting Brooks s fascinating personality and career. But this father-and-son writing team goes beyond Brooks himself to chronicle how a villainous turn in our politics made us the divided nation we are today. A thorough account and enjoyable read. - J AMES O S HEA , author and former editor of the Los Angeles Times and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune
From the Great Society to Watergate to the Iran-Contra scandal to the Clinton crime bill, Congressman Jack Brooks was a larger-than-life figure in our nation s political history. His dedication to vigorous congressional oversight of the executive branch should stand as a role model for today s legislators. The Meanest Man in Congress tells his remarkable story. - T ERRY M C A ULIFFE , former Virginia governor
An eminently readable biography of one of our nation s longest-serving Congressmen that also chronicles the era when the words bipartisan and compromise were not anathema. This book provides a reminder of how government can work when patriotism supersedes partisanship, and how a politician s relatives can use their status for greater good as opposed to personal enrichment. - K ERRY L UFT , former Washington bureau chief, Tribune Co., former news editor, Bloomberg Politics
I can t think of any member of Congress who did more for America s space program than Jack Brooks. As the book points out, Brooks strengthened NASA during its formative years and later saved the International Space Station (ISS) in the post-Cold War era when Congress sought to cancel Big Science program. Today, a quarter of a century later, the ISS still circles high above Earth as a symbol of America s ability to bring the nations of the world together in peaceful exploration of space. - D ANIEL S. G OLDIN , 9th NASA Administrator, 1992-2001
This is a book of nostalgia for the days of good governance represented by a crafty, persistent, and honorable congressman who put country above party to pass monumental legislation. Reading this biography-a Herculean task of research I much admired-can make you weep over the passing of those times, when skillful legislators could navigate through partisan politics to higher ground. - D AVID K. S HIPLER , former New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Constructive change doesn t come just because you think something isn t right . . . it is tough, tedious work. . . . I ve tried to change a thousand things in government and only managed a few.
- J ACK B ROOKS

To Genevieve Anne McNulty, wife and mother
NewSouth Books
105 S. Court Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
Copyright 2019 by Tim and Brendan McNulty
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by NewSouth Books, a division of NewSouth, Inc., Montgomery, Alabama.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McNulty, Brendan, author. | McNulty, Tim (Timothy John), 1947- author.
Title: The meanest man in Congress : Jack Brooks and the making of an American century / Brendan and Tim McNulty.
Description: Montgomery : NewSouth Books, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018060111 (print) | LCCN 2019000857 (ebook) | ISBN 9781603064118 (Ebook) | ISBN 9781588383211 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Brooks, Jack, 1922-2012. | United States. Congress. House-Biography. | Legislators-United States-Biography. | United States-Politics and government-20th century. | Texas-Politics and government-20th century.
Classification: LCC E840.8.B765 (ebook) | LCC E840.8.B765 M36 2019 (print) | DDC 328.73/092 [B] -dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018060111 )
Design by Randall Williams
Printed in the United States of America by the Maple Press
Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
A Note of Thanks from the Brooks Family
Introduction
P ART I: J ACK B ROOKS FOR C ONGRESS !

1 Dallas 1963
2 The Early Years
3 War!
4 Legislature and Lamar
5 First Race for Congress
6 First Term
7 The Late 1950s
8 Rising Texas Tide
P ART II: T HE A RT OF THE P OSSIBLE

9 Legislation: 1961-1965
10 Power in the Presidency
11 Legislation: 1965-1968
12 All the Way with LBJ
13 Legislation: 1969-1972
14 Congressional Operations
15 Waste
16 Procurement
17 Family Life
P ART III: T HE M EANEST M AN IN C ONGRESS

18 The Executioner
19 Snake Killer
20 Iran-Contra
21 Reaganomics and Runaway Spending
22 Mindless Cannibalism
23 House Judiciary
24 Crime Bill
25 1994 Election
26 Epilogue
Appendix
Sources
Index
Foreword
J IM W RIGHT (1922-2015)
J ack Brooks was one of a kind. Everybody who really knew him recognized Jack as an original. He was a man of strong convictions and unambiguous loyalties, impelling likes and some dislikes, both of which he could express in remarkable clarity, force, and eloquence. Jack was no shrinking violet and was little given to pussyfooting or vague nuance.
Nor would he ever stoop to being part clown or publicity hound. Counting his forty-two enormously productive years in the U.S. Congress, his six in the Texas legislature, and his combat time spent overseas as a fighting Marine in World War II, Jack Brooks served our country professionally and with unique distinction for a full half century. It will surprise some to read in this book of the major national reforms quietly and efficiently sponsored by Brooks. He wasn t doing these things for bragging rights. He never tried to hog the spotlight. Jack was focused on results for Americans.
His approach to crafting legislation, of which ordinary millions of Americans are the unknowing beneficiaries, reflected one of his favorite hobbies-repairing and perfecting clocks and watches. In both pursuits, he was a perfectionist. He always brought the same patience and professionalism to working a major bill through Congress that he liked to spend making an errant clock resume running or stop losing five minutes a day.
There s an old saying that Congress is composed of two types-the show horses and the workhorses. Even when filling a leadership role which may require a bit of the former, Jack Brooks never lost sight of a need to be and to encourage the latter.
I learned a long time ago that it was hard to get ahead of Jack on anything. He was exactly four days older than I, and he never permitted me to forget it-nor to catch up-during the three-and-a-half decades we served together in the U.S. Congress, one of the few institutions in society where seniority is more valued than riches or royalty.
Returning from World War II, Jack and I managed to get ourselves elected to the Texas legislature in 1946. We were both twenty-three. On one cold January morning, I showed up for work at the storied state capitol wearing a new, gray Homburg hat. It had been a Christmas present. Jack, who preferred the five-gallon Texas western with a broad brim, shook his head ruefully. Jim, he said, my constituents wouldn t vote for me if they saw me wearing a hat like that!
It was a clue to Jack s nature. Studiedly down-to-earth. Straightforward. Unpretentious. Plainspoken and plainly dressed. But unashamedly ambitious and clearly going somewhere, while never forgetting his roots and where he was from.
Life had not be