Books in Brief

Getting America Right: The True Conservative Values Our Nation Needs Today, by Edwin J. Feulner and Doug Wilson (Crown Forum, 231 pp., $26.95)

IT’s a frustrating time for conservatives. Although Republicans have held the reins of the federal government for the past half-decade, the beast has only grown bigger-and at an accelerating rate. Too many Beltway Republicans have acquiesced in this shameful status quo; in Getting America Right, Ed Feulner and Doug Wilson issue a clarion call for a renewed assault against the waste, corruption, and soul-sapping inefficiency of the federal bureaucracy. They outline a series of concrete reforms to cut through the current deadlock, including earmark disclosures, the line-item veto, mandatory sunset provisions for appropriations bills, and accountingpractice revisions that would take into account the staggering mass of unfunded liabilities that Congress has created. But they also acknowledge there is no silver bullet: A serious shift in Washington’s political culture will require more voters both to embrace conservative principles and to hold their elected officials accountable on that score. This process is, and will remain, a marathon; Feulner and Wilson have made an admirable effort at inching it along.

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About the Author

Anthony Dick

Anthony J. Dick is an associate at Jones Day.

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Getting America Right: The True Conservative Values Our Nation Needs Today, by Edwin J. Feulner and Doug Wilson (Crown Forum, 231 pp., $26.95)

IT’s a frustrating time for conservatives. Although Republicans have held the reins of the federal government for the past half-decade, the beast has only grown bigger-and at an accelerating rate. Too many Beltway Republicans have acquiesced in this shameful status quo; in Getting America Right, Ed Feulner and Doug Wilson issue a clarion call for a renewed assault against the waste, corruption, and soul-sapping inefficiency of the federal bureaucracy. They outline a series of concrete reforms to cut through the current deadlock, including earmark disclosures, the line-item veto, mandatory sunset provisions for appropriations bills, and accountingpractice revisions that would take into account the staggering mass of unfunded liabilities that Congress has created. But they also acknowledge there is no silver bullet: A serious shift in Washington’s political culture will require more voters both to embrace conservative principles and to hold their elected officials accountable on that score. This process is, and will remain, a marathon; Feulner and Wilson have made an admirable effort at inching it along.