Book Review of A National Party No More

The scruples of a Conservative democrat by Zell moth millerIn A National troupe No More Senator Zell miller writes a non-fiction mass that is something of a memoir of his political life as a womb-to-tomb Democrat and as well as being a fulmination against the Democratic party. In 2002 the Democratic Senator Paul Coverdell from atomic bite 31 died suddenly and the Georgia Governor Roy Barnes asked Zell miller to fill in until November of that year and then to sour for the position to serve the time remaining in the late senators consideration of office. When milling machine went to cap D.C. he claims that he had hoped that he would find Washington to be the protrude where great terminations of the day are debated and solved, and great giants mountain pass those h both toldowed halls. Instead he discovered what Washington D.C. was not at all like he had hoped and this angered him on behalf of Americans (milling machine 8).In his race Miller has served the differenti ate of Georgia as an administrator of a number of vital agencies, as an assistant to two governors, as head of the tell apart Democratic Party, as Lieutenant Governor, and then as Governor (Miller mental institution no page number). He also served in the Georgia State Senate from 1965-1969. He failed in his attempts to run for the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia. In addition Miller served in the U.S.Marine corps and has taught at four different colleges. It is worthy noting that the majority of these positions are executive positions not legislative positions so suffice as Georgias United States Senator put him into a relatively unknown take a shit of government where he lacked extensive experience and none on the issue level. It appears somewhat incongruous that a marine would be a lifelong Democrat since military personnel currently tend to lean toward the republican Party. Although Miller served only three years in the Corps it is guide that his experiences aff ected him greatly because he has written a bear Corp Values Everything You Need to Know I Learned in the Marines.Millers book was occasioned by his experiences in the U.S. Senate beginning in 2000, in combination with his ripe(p) age. Miller was born in 1932 according the reverse side of the patronage page. The book was published in 2003 so Miller was 70 or 71 at the time his book was published.This is certainly not an issue of itself, nevertheless one wonders if Miller would make the alike(p) claims he had entered the same Senate at the age of forty or fifty. Miller alludes to this when he writes that he has arrived at a station in life where I discover the whistle of that moral policeman we all swallow to answer to . . . (Miller 1). He takes the occasion to advise members of my Democratic Party and other politicians who are so far out of touch with regular Americans to shape up (Miller 2).This position, that tacitly assumes he is correct while other party members who disac cord with him are wrong, is strongly reminiscent of an elderly gentleman on the brink of retirement who climbs on a soapbox to straighten out the next generation. This is not to narrate Miller does not make some good points, he just does not prove them nor give the reader sufficient information to jog if Mill is correct.The book suffers significantly because it has no notes, no bibliography and no index. thence the reader has no opportunity to check either the statements Miller makes as being either true or false. Many of his claims are allow by anecdotal evidence based on his memory of what happened end-to-end his career.Miller calls himself a Conservative Democrat, an unusual designation, only not an illogical one. Despite this he is known to redeem been a supporter of prexy George W. Bush and announced in 2003 that he would support the Presidents re-election. He verbalize at the Republican National Convention in 2004 in support of the President. Such actions hardly in dicate a lifelong Democrat.Miller criticizes the Democrat Party because the leaders, he claims, have ignored the opinions of Conservative Democrats in the South, almost one-third of the U.S. population, and have told them to go to hell (Miller 9). He appears to assume that all Democrats in the South are Conservative Democrats because he is one and that they all agree with him. He fails to mention the non-conservative Democrats in the South and seems to assume there are none.Miller concludes the Democrat leadership disagrees with Southern Democrats on the fine issues of capital penalty, late-term abortion (even with a lot of pro-choice people), trying juveniles as adults, topic defense, and the teaching of determine in school (Miller 3). Millers reasoning puzzle out is suspect for a variety of reasons. First, it is not clear that these are the vituperative issues, at least on a internal level. Capital punishment has been left up to the states and should not be regarded as a national issue, as are abortion laws as long as laws do not restrict a womans right to control of her own body. trying of juveniles as an adult does not seem to be a national issue either nor should it be.The current system presumes juveniles forget not be tried as adults unless there are significant overriding reasons for doing so. The finis of where to try a juvenile is judged on a case-by-case fundament which is as it should be. As far as the teaching of values as a national issue, it is clearly an important issue that impacts people passim the country, but the Federal Government has no basis to determine what values should be taught.Miller seems to have completely forgotten the Tenth Amendment to the musical composition that reserves to the states any berths not delegated to the federal government and not interdict to the states shall be a state power. It is apparent that many of these critical issues are state issues. National defense clearly is a national issue, but f ederal taxes, the deficit, Medicare, and Social Security benefits are as well, but Miller doesnt mention these issues.Millers has a rambling and folksy writing style that slips from base to story and slides from point to point in a chaotic form that defies linear analysis. He chooses his anecdotes by cherry picking stories that will honor his position even if they are not related to the Democratic Party on page 145 Miller quotes The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Winston Churchill, and Rodney King on the same page in support of a chapter entitled Give to intolerance No Sanction. Certainly a case can be do for citing Rodney King, but the other two sources were clearly not written in support of civil rights in the United States.To his credit Miller admits mistakes he has made during his career. He points out that during 1964 he had proclaimed that there should be an investigation of Communist infiltration in the civil rights movement. What an idiot (Miller 143). This is outstandingly refreshing given the current climate of politicians who consistently hide what they have done and deny they have done it until they are proven to have done it when they will admit and ask for forgiveness. On the other mass this begs the question as to just how much credence one ought to place in the writings of a self-proclaimed idiot.Miller claims that the Democratic Party no longer represents the majority of Americans and has become distinctly too liberal in relation to the United States population as a whole. This is an interesting position. Miller does not claim the leadership is wrong on issues, just that they disagree with Southern Conservative Democrats such as himself. This leaves the possibility open that the leadership is correct and the membership is wrong, but Miller fails to allow for this possibility. If this proves to be the case, it appears that Miller is advocating that the Democratic Party concern itself, not with the correct solution, but with gaining power agai n.A National Party No More The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat is largely not successful. His conclusion has merit but his treatment of the issues is inferior. The lack of references is a major weakness that could be easily corrected. Millers failure to move in a linear, logical fashion in favor of using a disjointed, episodic style greatly reduces the dominance of Millers writing. Rather than being the scathing indictment he hopes to provide that will help the Democratic Party, Millers book feels more like a parting salutation by a statesman whose party has evolved while he has not. His sadness and doom predictions for the Democratic Party made in 2004 proved him anomalous since the Democratic once again gained the majority in both houses. Although Miller makes some interesting points that have validity, his book should be read with circumspection. work CitedBarnes, Fred. Zell Miller Endorses Bush. 29 Nov. 2003. The Daily Standard. 20 April 2007. Miller, Zell. A National Party No More The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. Atlanta Stroud and student residence Publishing, 2003. Text Of Zell Millers RNC Speech. 01 September 2004. CBS News. 20 April 2007 http//www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/01/politics/main640299.shtml.