The Democracy Fix

The Democracy Fix PDF Author: Caroline Fredrickson
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620973901
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
The former special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, president of the American Constitution Society, and author of the "damn fine" (Elle) Under the Bus shows how the left can undo the right's damage and take the country back Despite representing the beliefs of a minority of the American public on many issues, conservatives are in power not just in Washington, DC, but also in state capitals and courtrooms across the country. They got there because, while progressives fought to death over the nuances of policy and to bring attention to specific issues, conservatives focused on simply gaining power by gaming our democracy. They understood that policy follows power, not the other way around. Now, in a sensational new book, Caroline Fredrickson—who has had a front-row seat on the political drama in DC for decades while working to shape progressive policies as special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, chief of staff to Senator Maria Cantwell, deputy chief of staff to Senator Tom Daschle, and president of the American Constitution Society—argues that it's time for progressives to focus on winning. She shows us how we can learn from the Right by having the determination to focus on judicial elections, state power, and voter laws without stooping to their dishonest, rule-breaking tactics. We must be ruthless in thinking through how to change the rules of the game to regain power, expand the franchise, end voter suppression, win judicial elections, and fight for transparency and fairness in our political system, and Fredrickson shows us how.

The Democracy Fix

The Democracy Fix PDF Author: Caroline Fredrickson
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1620973901
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book Here

Book Description
The former special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, president of the American Constitution Society, and author of the "damn fine" (Elle) Under the Bus shows how the left can undo the right's damage and take the country back Despite representing the beliefs of a minority of the American public on many issues, conservatives are in power not just in Washington, DC, but also in state capitals and courtrooms across the country. They got there because, while progressives fought to death over the nuances of policy and to bring attention to specific issues, conservatives focused on simply gaining power by gaming our democracy. They understood that policy follows power, not the other way around. Now, in a sensational new book, Caroline Fredrickson—who has had a front-row seat on the political drama in DC for decades while working to shape progressive policies as special assistant for legislative affairs to President Clinton, chief of staff to Senator Maria Cantwell, deputy chief of staff to Senator Tom Daschle, and president of the American Constitution Society—argues that it's time for progressives to focus on winning. She shows us how we can learn from the Right by having the determination to focus on judicial elections, state power, and voter laws without stooping to their dishonest, rule-breaking tactics. We must be ruthless in thinking through how to change the rules of the game to regain power, expand the franchise, end voter suppression, win judicial elections, and fight for transparency and fairness in our political system, and Fredrickson shows us how.

Fixing American Politics

Fixing American Politics PDF Author: Roderick P. Hart
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000478882
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Fixing American Politics: Solutions for the Media Age brings together original chapters from 34 noted scholars from two disciplines – political science and communication – asked to identify the most pressing problems facing the American people and how they can be solved. Authors address the questions succinctly and directly, with their favored solutions featured in chapter titles that exhort and inspire. The book gives the reader much to think about and debate. Should news outlets be funded with public money rather than by private enterprise? Are the new social media a boon or a bane to political elections? Is the American past dead, or is it living once again? Do churchgoers and environmentalists have anything to discuss? Is the FCC doing its job? Can political ads be made less toxic? Should Fox News be "cancelled?" Should cancel cultures be cancelled? Can we become more civil to one another and, if so, how? Fixing American Politics poses all the best questions ... and offers some concrete answers as well. This book is perfect for students, citizens, the media, and anyone concerned with contemporary challenges to civic life and discourse today.

The Political Fix

The Political Fix PDF Author: Douglas E. Schoen
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429948558
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Top political insider Douglas E. Schoen dissects the failures of modern politics and unveils the practical-minded, citizen-powered solutions that will revive American democracy One of America's foremost political pollsters, Douglas E. Schoen, shows how the electoral system can be mended so that it once again serves and inspires the American people—no matter their party. In The Political Fix, Schoen lays out provocative yet highly achievable solutions—from completely unmoderated debates to a rotating primary schedule—that will compel politicians to be responsive to citizens rather than to special interests. To ensure justice for all, he calls for removing the attorney general from the cabinet and creating joint chiefs of staff for the Justice Department. He points to innovations on the state and local level—from Alaska, where the state checkbook is posted on the Web, to New York City, where residents can call a single toll-free number to access government services. And he argues that the obsession with capping the influence of large donors has strangled genuine reform—and the answer is to get more money into politics, through a tax credit for small donors. Schoen provides a rallying cry and an action plan for the thousands of Americans hungry for long-lasting political change.

The Declaration of Independents

The Declaration of Independents PDF Author: Nick Gillespie
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610392000
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Everywhere in America, the forces of digitization, innovation, and personalization are expanding our options and bettering the way we live. Everywhere, that is, except in our politics. There we are held hostage to an eighteenth century system, dominated by two political parties whose ever-more-polarized rhetorical positions mask a mutual interest in maintaining a stranglehold on power. The Declaration of Independents is a compelling and extremely entertaining manifesto on behalf of a system better suited to the future--one structured by the essential libertarian principles of free minds and free markets. Gillespie and Welch profile libertarian innovators, identify the villains propping up the ancien regime, and take aim at do-something government policies that hurt most of those they claim to protect. Their vision will resonate with a wide swath of frustrated citizens and young voters, born after the Cold War's end, to whom old tribal allegiances, prejudices, and hang-ups about everything from hearing a foreign language on the street to gay marriage to drug use simply do not make sense.

The Gospel According to the Fix

The Gospel According to the Fix PDF Author: Chris Cillizza
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307987094
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
A divine guide to deciphering the sinful world of American politics, from the author of the Washington Post's The Fix The political world is full of acronyms, shortcuts, and lingoes that stand as a barrier to entry for anyone not in the business. The onset of social media has only made that barrier higher, as insiders tweet furiously to one another in a language most of us can't even understand. Everyday Americans and even political junkies need a how-to manual for understanding what words matter in this arena and why. Enter Brother Chris Cillizza and The Gospel According to the Fix--an essential guide to the wonderfully odd religion of politics. Based on his highly popular blog, The Gospel According to the Fix will teach you something new about politics, no matter who you are and whom you know. In our torturous political climate, this Gospel is the one true source for comprehending what the heck is going on in DC. Chapter and verse, this political Gospel will include parables the likes of: • Why Ron Paul’s candidacy is a lot like the TV show Friday Night Lights • What it takes to be Richard Ben Cramer and write the political classic What It Takes • The top ten negative campaign ads of all time • The top ten issues candidates should be discussing but aren’t because of the economy • The dos and don’ts of surviving a political sex scandal

Politics Inc.

Politics Inc. PDF Author: John Raidt
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 153815126X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
The book examines the dynamics driving the country’s deeply troubled political culture and highlights reforms needed in the post-Trump era to strengthen US democracy. The author paints a clear and sobering portrait of a mercenary election industry and its support structure tailored to perpetuate and exploit America's social and political division. He shows how corrosive partisan animosity, dysfunctional political institutions, and even Trumpism are symptoms of a broken system dominated by a self-serving party duopoly. Having hacked the democratic process for its own ends, the cartel’s intrigues continue to undermine functional compromise and the virtues essential for self-governance. Without timely structural reform outlined in the narrative, Politics Inc., abetted by technological, social, and cultural factors, will continue to undermine the country from the far right and far left. The stakes could not be higher. At risk is the nation’s security and the future of democracy at home and around the globe.

Fixing Social Security

Fixing Social Security PDF Author: R. Douglas Arnold
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691224439
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
How Social Security has shaped American politics—and why it faces insolvency Since its establishment, Social Security has become the financial linchpin of American retirement. Yet demographic trends—longer lifespans and declining birthrates—mean that this popular program now pays more in benefits than it collects in revenue. Without reforms, 83 million Americans will face an immediate benefit cut of 20 percent in 2034. How did we get here and what is the solution? In Fixing Social Security, R. Douglas Arnold explores the historical role that Social Security has played in American politics, why Congress has done nothing to fix its insolvency problem for three decades, and what legislators can do to save it. What options do legislators have as the program nears the precipice? They can raise taxes, as they did in 1977, cut benefits, as they did in 1983, or reinvent the program, as they attempted in 2005. Unfortunately, every option would impose costs, and legislators are reluctant to act, fearing electoral retribution. Arnold investigates why politicians designed the system as they did and how between 1935 and 1983 they allocated—and reallocated—costs and benefits among workers, employers, and beneficiaries. He also examines public support for the program, and why Democratic and Republican representatives, once political allies in expanding Social Security, have become so deeply polarized about fixing it. As Social Security edges closer to crisis, Fixing Social Security offers a comprehensive analysis of the political fault lines and a fresh look at what can be done—before it is too late.

Debating Reform

Debating Reform PDF Author: Richard J. Ellis
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 1544390173
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
Getting students away from spouting opinions about highly-charged partisan issues, Debating Reform, Fourth Edition looks at key questions about reforming political institutions, with contributed pieces written by top scholars specifically for the volume. Each pro or con essay considers a concrete proposal for reforming the political system. By focusing on institutions, rather than liberal or conservative public policies, students tend to leave behind ideology and grapple with claims and evidence to draw their own conclusions and build their own arguments. Students will explore how institutions work in their American government text, but this reader helps them to understand how they can be made to work better.

The Politics Industry

The Politics Industry PDF Author: Katherine M. Gehl
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633699242
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.

The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community

The Vanishing Neighbor: The Transformation of American Community PDF Author: Marc J. Dunkelman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393243990
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
A sweeping new look at the unheralded transformation that is eroding the foundations of American exceptionalism. Americans today find themselves mired in an era of uncertainty and frustration. The nation's safety net is pulling apart under its own weight; political compromise is viewed as a form of defeat; and our faith in the enduring concept of American exceptionalism appears increasingly outdated. But the American Age may not be ending. In The Vanishing Neighbor, Marc J. Dunkelman identifies an epochal shift in the structure of American life—a shift unnoticed by many. Routines that once put doctors and lawyers in touch with grocers and plumbers—interactions that encouraged debate and cultivated compromise—have changed dramatically since the postwar era. Both technology and the new routines of everyday life connect tight-knit circles and expand the breadth of our social landscapes, but they've sapped the commonplace, incidental interactions that for centuries have built local communities and fostered healthy debate. The disappearance of these once-central relationships—between people who are familiar but not close, or friendly but not intimate—lies at the root of America's economic woes and political gridlock. The institutions that were erected to support what Tocqueville called the "township"—that unique locus of the power of citizens—are failing because they haven't yet been molded to the realities of the new American community. It's time we moved beyond the debate over whether the changes being made to American life are good or bad and focus instead on understanding the tradeoffs. Our cities are less racially segregated than in decades past, but we’ve become less cognizant of what's happening in the lives of people from different economic backgrounds, education levels, or age groups. Familiar divisions have been replaced by cross-cutting networks—with profound effects for the way we resolve conflicts, spur innovation, and care for those in need. The good news is that the very transformation at the heart of our current anxiety holds the promise of more hope and prosperity than would have been possible under the old order. The Vanishing Neighbor argues persuasively that to win the future we need to adapt yesterday’s institutions to the realities of the twenty-first-century American community.