Tales from the Sausage Factory: Making Laws in New York State (Excelsior Editions)

"...an unusual collaboration between Daniel L. Feldman, a Democrat who represented southern Brooklyn in the Assembly from 1981 through 1998, and Gerald Benjamin, a Republican and a political scientist ... Both are pragmatists, preaching that the perfect is the enemy of the good." ---New York Times

"Tales from the Sausage Factory is a must read for anyone interested in the Byzantine workings of the New York State government. Two of the most knowledgeable authorities on New York State government, Gerald Benjamin and Daniel Feldman, have taken on the task of telling us how it relly works. Feldman, a former state legislator, and Benjamin, who has done it all and seen it all as a practitioner, professor, and pundit, really help bring it into perspective. The case studies in the book make it all accessible and understandable. I recommend this book, without reservation." ---Alan Chartock, President and CEO, WAMC/Northeast Public Radio

"Those of us who have watched New York State government up close for many years often wonder how so many good ideas wind up on the scrap heap, and why so many well-intentioned legislators lose hope for meaningful progress. Two of the state's most insightful analysts of the legislature, Dan Feldman and Jerry Benjamin, answer those questions in this book. Throught revealing anecdotes and careful research, they open a window into the way things go in Albany. What we see often isn't pretty, but it's fascinating---and it's important to know." ---Rex Smith, Editor and Vice President, Albany Times Union

"Daniel Feldman and Gerald Benjamin deliver insider anecdotes and scholarly insights describing how the state legislature works (or doesn't). Albany veterans and political newbies alike should be fascinated." ---Lise Bang-Jensen, Senior Policy Analyst, Empire Center for New York State Policy

"Dan Feldman and Jerry Benjamin's sausage tales are hot and spicy. If Albany is the nation's most dysfunctional legislature, this former assemblyman and legendary academic manage to capture how it both functions and malfunctions, taking readers inside a factory that shapes millions of lives. These are the flesh and blood, push and pull, sagas of political life in America's invisible legislative laboratory, where nuance, networking, and nonsense alternately rule." ---Wayne Barrett, Village Voice

"Laws are like sausages," Otto von Bismarck is said to have remarked. "It is better not to see them being made." Even among sausage factories, New York State's legislature is notoriously dysfunctional, but as Tales from the Sausage Factory reminds us, this was not always the case. Indeed, in the early 1980s, New York's legislature was a model of professionalism. Cowritten by former state legislator Daniel L. Feldman and political scientist Gerald Benjamin, Tales from the Sausage Factory offers an up-close look at how law and public policy are made in New York State. Drawing on Feldman's experiences as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1981 to 1998, the book focuses on four major battles over public safety policy in the 1980s and 1990s---organized crime control, the Rockefeller drug laws, sex offender notification, and gun control. Not afraid to name names along the way, Feldman and Benjamin show how politics works in New York State and how major public policy questions are decided (both in the legislature and the courts), as well as how New York's legislature might rise above its present dysfunction to recover the professionalism it once had. At a time when frustration with state government is at an all-time high, Tales from the Sausage Factory is a much-needed reminder of what we can---and should---expect from our state legislators.

Daniel L. Feldman is Associate Professor of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, and was previously Special Counsel for Law and Policy to the New York State Comptroller. From 1981 to 1998, he was a member of the New York State Legislature in the 45th Assembly District. His previous books include Reforming Government and The Logic of American Government: Applying the Constitution to the Contemporary World.
Gerald Benjamin is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Research, Regional Education, and Outreach at State University of New York at New Paltz. He has served as an elected member of the Ulster Coutry legislature between 1981 and 1993, and is a 1991 recipient of the New York State/United University Professions Excellence Award. He has written or edited fourteen books or monographs as well as numerous government reports and articles.

Daniel L. Feldman is Associate Professor of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, and was previously Special Counsel for Law and Policy to the New York State Comptroller. From 1981 to 1998, he was a member of the New York State Legislature in the 45th Assembly District. His previous books include Reforming Government and The Logic of American Government: Applying the Constitution to the Contemporary World.

Gerald Benjamin is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Research, Regional Education, and Outreach at State University of New York at New Paltz. He has served as an elected member of the Ulster County legislature between 1981 and 1993, and is a 1991 recipient of the New York State/United University Professions Excellence Award. He has written or edited fourteen books or monographs as well as numerous government reports and articles.