The Work of Government (w/ Senator Jeff Bingaman)

Oliver talks to retired United States Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM, served 1983-2013) about how the legislative process evolved during his 30 years in Washington, D.C. They discuss the debt ceiling, successful instances of past bipartisan cooperation, the war in Iraq, industrial policy, energy policy, and much more. Senator Bingaman's new book Breakdown: Lessons for a Congress in Crisis offers an insightful, first-hand analysis of the causes and consequences of the dysfunction in Congress. Some of the sections, like the one concerning Bingaman's critical role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, are extremely detailed and should prove useful to political scientists, historians, and others looking for primary sources related to these topics. One topic not discussed during this interview was Bingaman's exceptional 1982 campaign. While running against incumbent Harrison Schmitt, who was and still is the most recent person to have walked on the moon, Bingaman utilized the campaign slogan "What on Earth has he done for you lately?" in the course of drawing attention to Schmitt's seeming neglect of local matters. Patreon: patreon.com/whatsleft