Advertisement

Full-Time Congressman, Part-Time Novelist

47:04
Download Audio
Resume

Congressman, now novelist, Steve Israel turns a satirical eye at Congress and the war on terror in his new book. He’s with us. Plus: could Mitt Romney really run for President a third time? And will Jeb Bush run, too?

Congressman Steve Israel (D-MD) is also the author of a new satirical novel, "The Global War On Morris." (Courtesy Simon & Schuster)
Congressman Steve Israel (D-MD) is also the author of a new satirical novel, "The Global War On Morris." (Courtesy Simon & Schuster)

Even in a Congress that seems to do very little, being a Congressman would seem to take a lot of time.  But Congressman Steve Israel of New York has somehow managed to write a novel.  On his Blackberry, to start with.  Then his iPhone.  It’s about Washington.  It’s a satire - of course.  It’s about the war on terror gone goofy.  “The Global War on Morris,” is his title.  He’s with us.  This hour On Point:  Congressman, novelist, humorist Steve Israel on our crazy capitol.  Plus, we will look at the latest on Republican hats in the ring for the presidency, 2016, and the tale of Mitt Romney – maybe in again.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York), Congressman for New York's third district. Author of the new novel "The Global War On Morris." Former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. (@repsteveisrael)

From Tom’s Reading List

Washington Post: ‘The Global War on Morris,’ a political satire by Congressman Steve Israel -- "Let’s be honest: The bar is low for a novel by a member of Congress. One feels grateful if the book doesn’t commit a crime or humiliate itself in a public restroom. So it’s an unexpected delight to find 'The Global War on Morris,' a political satire by Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), so spirited and funny."

The Wall Street Journal: Lawmaker’s Novel Sends Up the War on Terror -- "Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat from New York’s Long Island suburbs, has written a satirical novel. 'The Global War on Morris' is a sharp departure from his previous books, both of them collections of historic speeches. This one, conceived as a comedic history of the war on terror, weaves actual events into the fictional story of Morris Feldstein, a Long Island pharmaceutical salesman mistakenly targeted as a terrorist by a homeland-security bureaucracy run amok."

Huffington Post: Kings of the Hill: Game of Thrones — "For those who follow politics like episodes of Game of Thrones, get ready for a blockbuster season when the new Congress begins this week. Cast with committee chairs who rule with the congressional equivalent of the scepter: a gavel. Think a congressional committee chair has no true power? Ask Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings, whose words so incensed Darryl Issa that he commanded that Cummings' microphone be turned off. Stopping a congressman from speaking on CSPAN is as close as Washington gets to royal beheadings."

Read An Excerpt Of "The Global War On Morris" By Steve Israel

https://www.scribd.com/doc/252428528/Excerpt-From-The-Global-War-on-Morris-By-Steve-Israel

Bush vs Romney, 2016?

Karen Tumulty, national political correspondent at the Washington Post. (@ktumulty)

Washington Post: Romney moves to reassemble campaign team for ‘almost certain’ 2016 bid -- "Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, calling former aides, donors and other supporters over the weekend and on Monday in a concerted push to signal his seriousness about possibly launching a 2016 presidential campaign."

This program aired on January 13, 2015.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close