Naked Emperors: The Failure of the Republican Revolution

By Scot M. Faulkner

Book Overview

Naked Emperors: The Failure of the Republican Revolution takes its place alongside All the President's Men and the novel Advise and Consent as a timeless classic about how Washington really works. It is a vivid and gripping eyewitness account about how the Republican Party failed in making government ethical and open. In the wake of the historic elections of 1994, there were great expectations that the new Republican majority would end congressional corruption while introducing twenty-first-century business practices to the most antiquated and dysfunctional of institutions. Except for a small team of change management experts who battled the Democrats, the Republicans, and ultimately themselves, the promise of fundamental change went unrealized. While the corrupt ways of the Democrats ended, new forms of corruption arose. The book follows the story to present day, including how the rise in corruption impacted the 2006 elections and will affect the 2008 campaign. The final chapters describe how the current wave of scandals arose from a well-entrenched system breeding power and greed inside the Capital Beltway. It concludes with a provocative solution that will inspire readers to challenge current governmental institutions and reinvent American democracy in the twenty-first century. The author weaves this into a suspenseful tale full of plot twists and multidimensional characters.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742558819
• ISBN13: 9780742558816
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: UNKNO
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent First hand Account of a Revolution

This book is a great look at the Republican revolution of 1994 from the inside. It explores the good parts of the Republican take over of Congress as well as the bad parts. It's too bad Scot Faulkner could not have gotten more support from those in power. Someday, maybe we'll see real change in Washington Faulkner attempted to bring to Congress.

Revelations about the Revolution

Raised by a pack of wild spreadsheets and smarter than Yoda...Scot Faulkner is the guy who most people point to when someone asks for the Management Consultant who knows all the ins and outs. His experience and professional demeanor make him both an asset to a team as well as a great teacher, IF one is willing to listen. His tome shares a unique view of a legacy which fell short of the hype. The lessons shared by Mr. Faulkner may still float as wisps of gossamer through the halls of the capitol. The dilemma however, until embraced by a committed visionary, the cry for lasting reform within our government will be effective as CPR at a morgue.

Accurate, Riveting Account

Should an electoral tidal wave engulf Republicans in this year's Congressional elections, Scot Faulkner's 2008 book Naked Emperors: The Failure of the Republican Revolution likely will become required reading for activists as they stage the expected turnaround attempt that occurs every 4 to 8 years. But the points made by my friend Scot Faulkner about the failure of Congressional and Executive Branch oversight are totally applicable to both parties, signaling the potential for deep disappointment in failing to overcome many challenges unless the changes he recommends take root. America's House of Representatives, Senate and the Executive Branch have been held up around the world as beacons of freedom, democracy and good governance. But Faulkner's insider's account paints a less-than-flattering picture, of sausage being made, mostly unsuccessfully, amid zipper-problems and ego trips. Faulkner, a "Reaganite" has since been working for both party candidates in local campaigns, and offers a wealth of information and perspective on the near-absence of oversight, the perfunctory hearings with canned questions and even more canned and sometimes made-for-CSPAN answers. The book perceptively captures the dismay many feel about the listless oversight in the Congress during the leadership of both parties, and many in the Executive Branch most keen for business-as-usual. So how can huge challenges like ensuring affordable access to health care, reforming social security, overcoming the recession, the sub-prime lending crisis etc. be managed with those weak 18th century instruments for 21st century problems. That is the crux of the fascinating overview provided by Faulkner, who was the first Chief Administrative Officer of the US House of Representatives, until his self-described hounding out. The book's diagnosis is that the probability of major change/reform is miniscule. Towards the end, Faulkner offers suggestions for reform, including electronic means of oversight. Full article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sunil-chacko/oversight-in-the-internet_b_87100.html

I lived this, and it's 100 percent accurate

First, let me disclose that I was on Mr. Faulkner's staff and am one of the characters in this book. That being said, this book is 100 percent accurate in representing what we found, what we did and how those who wanted to stop us acted. The book is a fast read, somehow Faulkner has distilled two years of insanity and chaos into a few hundred pages. I find it amazing that, looking back almost 10 years and several elections, we were able to accomplish the things we did. This book has many of the elements of a "tell all" book you traditionally see from Congressional types but with some twists: a broad historical perspective on the institution and the office the author held, a 360 degree viewpoint and in a concluding chapter, the author offers some good insights into how Americans can take back a measure of control over our government. Perhaps it is also a book that proves that in government, it is possible to filter financial and management decisions and actions through the Quality prism, but no matter how smart or great those decisions and actions may be, they are still subject to the selfish nature of humanity...And to a previous comment, though the book accurately describes the waste and abuse we uncovered, we didn't find anything that could have been presented to a grand jury. Maybe next time.

Naked Emperors

Mr. Faulkner has written a fast paced, engaging and insightful account of a unique opportunity for radical change in congress. It is told from the view of a participant with objective factual descriptions of what happened, why, by whom, for what purpose, and the results. He leaves you with a sense of serious introspection of our own government at work by providing an enjoyable reading experience that will move you to think about what you read, what you learned; and what you can do to carry the torch of change.