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Sam Rosenfeld

Sam Rosenfeld is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Harvard University and a former web editor at the Prospect.

Recent Articles

Then Came the Hammer

Sam RosenfeldNov 21, 2004

The Hammer: Tom DeLay, God, Money, and the Rise of the Republican
Congress

By Lou Dubose and Jan Reid • Public Affairs • 306 pages • $26.00

On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and Its Consequences,
1948–2000

By Julian E. Zelizer • Cambridge University Press • 376 pages • $30.00

The American Congress: The Building of Democracy

Edited by Julian E. Zelizer • Houghton Mifflin • 784 pages • $35.00

How Congress Evolves: Social Bases of Institutional Change

By Nelson W. Polsby • Oxford University Press • 257 pages • $29.95

Better Luck Next Time?

Sam RosenfeldNov 17, 2004

After the pummeling they took on November 2, Democrats consoled themselves that history would be on their side in 2006 -- midterm elections normally spell congressional gains for the party out of power in the White House. Sure, that axiom didn't apply in 2002, nor in 1998 … but it's a rule, damn it, and Dems clung to it as the election-night horror show unfolded before their eyes.

House Calls

Sam RosenfeldOct 29, 2004

Democrats have a shot at taking the presidency and a decent chance of winning control of the Senate next week. So what about those heady predictions we heard this past spring and summer that Democratic representatives would ride a national tide to a House takeover?

Don't bet on it.

Sure, some still insist that the party could achieve a net gain of 12 seats, enough to take control. “Absolutely!” affirms Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesman Greg Speed. But for those not paid to hype the Dems' chances, the possibility of a takeover is no longer taken seriously.

House of Games

Sam RosenfeldOct 13, 2004

The short autumn session of the 108th Congress that began the first week of September came to a close this past weekend as members started shuttling home to campaign for November's elections. But what a month it's been!

Insult to Intelligence

Sam RosenfeldSep 22, 2004

Representative Porter Goss endured six and a half hours of questioning during the Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearings for his nomination as the new director of central intelligence (DCI), leading up to today's all but preordained confirmation by the full Senate. Democrats ducked a fight they feared would leave them open to GOP charges of obstructionism and disregard for America's security.

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