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23 Proposals to Revitalize Our Constitution and Make America a Fairer Country
Walker & Company
October 2007
On Sale: October 2, 2007
352 pages
ISBN: 0802716210
EAN: 9780802716217
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Larry Sabato has one of the most visionary and fertile
political minds in America. Like so many, he is increasingly
alarmed at the growing dysfunction and unfairness of our
political system. To solve this, to restore the equity for
ordinary citizens that is at the core of our democratic
society, we must take a radical step—to revise the
Constitution, the document that guides our political
process, for until some of its outmoded provisions are
reformed, we will only have more of the same.
The original framers fully expected the Constitution to be
regularly revised by succeeding generations to reflect the
country’s changing needs; yet, apart from the ten amendments
in the Bill of Rights, it has only been amended 17 times in
220 years, and most of those amendments had minor
ramifications. Today, partisan gridlock dominates
Washington; 17 percent of voters elect a majority of
senators; the presidency has assumed unprecedented and
unintended powers; while politicians spend as much time
campaigning for office as they do governing; and average
Americans feel more and more disconnected from the political
process so that half or more don’t vote in many
elections—all of which would have horrified Jefferson and
Madison.
A More Perfect Constitution presents twenty three creative
and dynamic proposals to reinvigorate American governance at
a time when such change is urgently needed. Combining
idealism and pragmatism, and with full respect for the
original document, Sabato's thought-provoking ideas range
from the length of the president’s term in office and the
number and terms of Supreme Court justices to the structure
of Congress, the vagaries of the antiquated Electoral
College, and a compelling call for universal national
service—all laced through with the history behind each issue
and their potential impact on the lives of ordinary people.
Aware that such changes won’t happen easily, Sabato urges us
nonetheless to engage in the debate and discussion they will
surely engender. As we head towards a presidential election
year, no book is more relevant or significant than his.
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