Alice M. Rivlin - Divided We Fall: Why Consensus Matters

More Praise for Alice Rivlin andDivided We Fall

We owe a great debt to Sheri Rivlin and Allan Rivlin for completing this manuscript left unfinished at Alice Rivlins death. It is a fitting final contribution by a fine thinker and public servant who contributed so much to our democracy. Alice worried that the American experiment is in danger of failing. This book can help us avert that danger, and points us to a path upward, toward success.

WILLIAM KRISTOL, editor at large, The Bulwark

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This posthumously published book by Alice Rivlin is an eloquent cri de coeur and an urgent and timely call to renew the basic elements of consensus and common sense that permit democratic government to succeed in a society of sharply divergent viewpoints. No one knows how the current polarized impasse will end, but Rivlins package of ideas and reforms seems as compelling a solution as any that have been offered. This book is a meaningful contribution in a dark moment.

JAMIE RASKIN, U.S. representative (D-Md.) and lead impeachment manager in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump

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Alice Rivlins final book is not only a fascinating insiders memoir but a brilliant analysis of current threats to our democracy. It calls on all of us, both inside and outside of government, to actincluding specific advice on what we can do. Buy 10 copies and give them to friends. That is the legacy she wanted and deserves.

ISABEL SAWHILL, senior fellow, Brookings

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Alice Rivlin foresaw that we would be facing the survival of our constitutional republic. Once again giving of her enormous intellect and her deep compassion for the American people, she spent the last months of her life writing this call to action to end hyperpartisanship. She understood that given the incentives in todays electoral politics, We the People must find the faith in each other to demand that our elected officials stop putting party above country and find solutions supported by most Americans.

CAROLYN J. LUKENSMEYER, founding executive director, National Institute for Civil Discourse

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They broke the mold with Alice M. Rivlin. No single person in recent history engaged in the public arena set a better example of true public service than she. Her final book is a testament to her years of public service which were designed with the one goal of making government work for all of us. The final chapter, addressing the corrosive effects of political polarization in achieving that goal, should be required reading for all elected officials at the federal, state, and local level. Even more so, it should be required reading for all citizens.

G. WILLIAM HOAGLAND, senior vice president, Bipartisan Policy Center, and former chief of staff to Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.)

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Alice Rivlin was one of the true great leaders of a lifetime. Her practical, optimistic, and inspirational voice shines through in this book, and its message is needed more than ever. Every single project, commission, and institution was better for having Alice involved, and the nation would be better if we followed her words of wisdom.

MAYA MACGUINEAS, president, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

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How fortunate we are to have Alice Rivlins final, landmark treatise on core threats to American democracy. Infused with insights and perspective from her decades of unparalleled leadership in Washington, Divided We Fall calls on us to revive the habit and practice of bipartisanship. Failure, Alice warns, will degrade Americans economic and social welfare, and imperil our democratic experiment. All of us have something to learn from Alices brilliant, clarion call for change.

SARAHBINDER, professor of political science, George Washington University, and senior fellow, Brookings

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Sheri and Allan Rivlin have done a great service in editing and completing Alice Rivlins last book. Drawing on her decades in public service, Alice reflects on the continued necessity for bipartisanship even in a hyperpartisan era, driving her points home with examples from personal experience and evidence from scholarship. Taking stock of major economic and policy problems, she urges partisans to engage in civil debate, seek common ground, share responsibility for difficult choices, and achieve durable solutions.

FRANCES E.LEE, author, Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign, and professor of politics and public affairs, Princeton University

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Alice Rivlin was the most devoted public servant I had the honor to know and work with during my public service career in Washington. She was totally committed to challenging both politicians and the public to do whatever was necessary to make our democracy work. This final book by Alice is not just her prescription for fixing our democracy, it is her fervent last prayer that we cannot afford to ignore the dangers it is we the people who must in the final words of her book defend our constitutional system, seek truth and justice, and see America succeed.

LEON E. PANETTA, chairman, Panetta Institute for Public Policy, and former secretary of defense, CIA director, Office of Management and Budget director, and U.S. congressman

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In these pages are the core symbols of Alice Rivlins life and legacy: Courage, Integrity, Determination. This diminutive, iconic, powerful presence was revered in Washington, D.C. In my first Senate term, I worked with her in several venues. Added to those above traits, there was a palpable blend of kindness, fairness, and balance. In this book she even describes herself sometimes as maybe naive. No one else would ever confirm that observation!

Ill slip into the western vernacular and just say this: She had a plenty tough job when I first met her, and she was eager and able to speak truth to power. We have a phrase in this part of the country, If you have a bear of a job, hire a grizzly. She was all that. And she loved the code, If you have integrity, nothing else mattersand if you dont have integrity, nothing else matters. She was a pure joy to work with and her presence gave birth and nurture to so many remarkable ideas and honest counsel as found in these pages.

ALAN SIMPSON, former senator (R-Wyo.) and co-chair, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

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This book is incredible in many ways. It is a great diagnosis of our current condition, and an even more important and necessary wake-up call and call to action. We are allowed one more opportunity to appreciate Alices acumen for diagnosing problems, her concern about government dysfunction, her clear understanding of the geographic dimension of economic inequality, as well as her many recommendations for action. I love this book!

RICHARD FLORIDA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and author, The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Classand What We Can Do About It

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Alices last book reinforces her brilliant reputation as a policy bridge builder.

DONNA E. SHALALA, former U.S. representative (D-Fla.), former U.S. secretary for health and human services and past president of the University of Miami