Uneasy Riders: The Case for a Truth-in-Legislation Amendment
![handle is hein.journals/utahlr1999 and id is 967 raw text is: Uneasy Riders*: The Case for a Truth-
in-Legislation Amendment
Brannon P. Denning & Brooks R. Smith'
I. INTRODUCTION
The electorate's frustration with congressional gridlock-the perceived
paralysis of governmental operations occasioned by divided government and
partisan bickering-has become a cliche in the literature on American
politics.' However, as Jonathan Rauch noted, the description of gridlock'
during the late 1980s and early 1990s was inaccurate, since the number and
page count of laws enacted. . remained well in line with the post-1970
norm.'2 This fact led Rauch to conclude that the real issue was not the
quantity of activity, but how effectively a given amount of activity solves
problems on net.3 The real root of public dissatisfaction, then, seems to be
a distinct, but related feeling that what does get through Congress is either
merely legislation designed to service special interest groups that ensure
lawmakers are reelected, or unnecessary spending measures for members'
home districts.
With apologies to The Charlie Daniels Band, Peter Fonda, and Dennis Hopper. See THE
CHARW DANIES BAND, UNEASY RIDER, on DECADE OF HiTs (Sony Music 1987) (describing
hirsute motorist's altercation with five big dudes... [,] one ol' drunk chick, and some fella
with green teeth); EASY RIDER (Columbia Pictures 1969) (chronicling hirsute motorcyclists'
adventures across America).
*'Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University School of Law, Carbondale. LL.M.,
Yale Law School, 1999; J.D., The University of Tennessee, 1995; B-A, The University of the
South, 1992.
-Associate, Boult, Cummings, Connors & Berry, PLC, Nashville, Tennessee. J.D., The
University of Tennessee, 1996; BA, The University of the South, 1993.
The authors thank the following people for comments on and criticisms of earlier
versions of this work: Alli Denning; Marilyn Drees; William N. Eskridge, Jr.; Philip Frickey,
Beth Garrett; Pat Kelley, Dave Kopel; Nick McCall; Abner Mlkva; Glenn Reynolds; J. B.
Ruhl; Gov. Carl E. Sanders; Janna Eaton Smith; and John R. Vile.
'See, e.g., WHY PEOPLE DON'T TRUST GOVERNMENT 3-6 (Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Philip D.
Zelikow & David C. King eds., 1997); EJ. DIONNE, JR., WHY AMEICANS HAE POLITICs 10
(1991) (noting that Americans have been losing faith in democratic institutions); FRED R.
HARRIS, IN DEFENSE OF CONGRESS 6 (1995) (The worst of all public approval problems for
Congress... is the noisy and notorious traffic jam at the intersection of policy proposal and
policy action-the dreaded 'gridlock); JOHN R. HIBBING & EaZABmrH THf=ss-MORSE,
CONGRESS AS PUBuC ENEMY 2-3 (1995) (summarizing recentlitarature on voter dissatisfaction
with Congress); JONATHAN RAUCH, DEMOSCLEROSIS: THE SILENT KniL OF AMERiCAN
GOVERNMENT 9-10 (1994) (describing how gridlock became political elich6 as [sleven in
ten Americans [believed] that the government creates more problems than it solves).
2RAUCH, supra note 1, at 11.
3Id.
957](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/utahlr1999&div=36&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Uneasy Riders: The Case for a Truth-in-Legislation Amendment
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most