Great Book on 'Tort Reform' (Corporate Welfare)
I’m reading an amazing book. Blocking the Courthouse Door: How the Republican Party and Its Corporate Allies Are Taking Away Your Right to Sue by Stephanie Mencimer.
The book talks about how the Chamber of Commerce has used a concerted effort over a period of twenty five years to take away people’s access to the courthouse. As a plaintiff’s attorney, I was aware of the basics, but she really does a great job of detailing how the Chamber of Commerce used tactics from the tobacco lobby. They also used ‘astroturf’ tactics from political situations, using ‘pretend’ grassroots organizations to show ‘popular’ support for a corporate cause.
You have to love a book that starts with the John Adams quote:
“Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty. Without them we have no other fortification against being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle, and fed and clothed like swine and hounds.”
Stephanie also writes the excellent blog, the Tortellini, that gives tort reform update.
Other great articles by Stephanie include the following:
- Malpractice Makes Perfect: How the GOP milks a phony doctor’s insurance crisis from the Washington Monthly;
A lot of, lot of great information, and detailed investigative reporting from Stephanie. Thanks for fighting the good fight.
