Making Government Work

Author: Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings

"Performance is better than promise" has long been the motto of Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, a former Governor of South Carolina and six-term U.S. Senator who has distinguished himself as a stalwart advocate of fiscally responsible progressive programs. In this political memoir, Hollings takes aim at our increasingly flawed political system and a government that has gone "into the ditch." As remedy he pulls antidotes from anecdotes about his personal experiences in making government work in spite of itself for the past half century.
Hollings's long political career speaks volumes about the potential of the elected and the electorate to use government for the good of all. As South Carolina's Governor in the early 1960s, Hollings oversaw the social transition of the state into the civil rights era and from an agriculture-based economy to an industry-based system with international partnerships. In the U.S. Senate from 1966 to 2005, he took point on shepherding new policies to address hunger, environmental conservation, energy consumption, communications, international trade, campaign finance, the federal budget, space exploration, and national defense. Hollings's instructive recollections of these efforts form a user's manual for our representative democracy as he shares compelling—and often candidly colorful—accounts of the smart stewardship of resources and authority needed to enact policies that make positive differences in the lives of Americans.
Confrontational at times toward those issues and institutions he cites as responsible for knocking government off course, Hollings lays out clearly his deep commitment to improving our system of government, strengthening regulations on free trade, countering dependence on campaign contributions, and enhancing our communications and education programs to compete better in an information-driven global marketplace. This prescriptive compendium of sound thinking from an experienced agent of change seeks to reinvigorate a floundering system and actively calls good people and good ideas back into the service of America's bright future.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings has enjoyed a remarkable career in public service as a South Carolina legislator (1949–1954), Lieutenant Governor (1955–1959), Governor (1959–1963), U.S. Senator (1966–2005), and U.S. presidential candidate (1983–1984). A visionary workhorse, Hollings has focused throughout his career on putting government on a sound financial basis and promoting economic development to create opportunities. Recognized as a policy expert on the budget, telecommunications, the environment, defense, trade, and space, he is the author of the Coastal Zone Management Act (1972), the Ocean Dumping Act (1972), and the Automobile Fuel Economy Act (1975) and coauthor of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act (1985). Hollings led in the creation of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in 1972 and passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Kirk Victor covers the U.S. Senate for the National Journal and was part of a reporting team that won a National Headliner Award in 2005 for coverage of Congress. A native of Savannah, Georgia, Victor has a law degree from the Antioch School of Law and a M.S. degree in journalism from Columbia University.
REVIEWS
"Making Government Work is an accurate accounting of the key role Fritz Hollings played in dealing with the major legislative and political challenges of the day as a South Carolina Governor and U.S. Senator. While elements of the book reflect Senator Hollings's partisan views, it more importantly recounts his bipartisan efforts on vital issues such as hunger, budget, and defense. Only Hollings could make such a compelling case on how to make government work. His straightforward style will appeal to anyone interested in the inner workings of government."—Bob Dole
"In the U.S. Senate, Fritz Hollings was known for his candor. In this engaging memoir he demonstrates that he's still telling it like it is! In direct no-nonsense language, Hollings describes his remarkable political career of nearly a half century of service to the people of South Carolina and the nation. Whether you agree or disagree with him on the issues, when you finish this lively book, you'll agree that Fritz Hollings was an extraordinary Senator and public servant."—George J. Mitchell
"Fritz Hollings, the keenest wit in the Senate and a grand storyteller, reveals how the people's business gets done; why big money, nonstop news cycles, polling, and armies of costly consultants produce only deadlock; and what we can do to make our government work again. Every voter should read this book."—Richard J. Whalen
"Throughout his remarkable career, Fritz Hollings distinguished himself as a commonsense statesman and a responsible, effective servant to our state and country. Still showing his trademark wit and wisdom, Hollings treats us to an insider's candid retrospective on how government forged successes in the past, as well as a compelling vision of how it can be made to serve the people's interests better in the future. Hollings has given us an owner's manual for operating our democracy in the twenty-first century, and every American can benefit from his insightful message."