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10 Steps to Repair American Democracy : An Owners Manual for Concerned Citizens
10 Steps to Repair American Democracy An Owners Manual for Concerned Citizens Author:Steven Hill Unresponsive government. Suspicious voting equipment. Uninspiring candidates. Mindless political debate. Noncompetitive elections. American democracy is suffering through its worst crisis in years, and while many Americans recognize it, they just don't know what to do about it. In his new book, "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy," political ... more »analyst Steven Hill says that American democracy has been working about as well as the levees around New Orleans. Hill, who is director of the New America Foundation's political reform program, establishes that the American republic is rooted in outdated methods and practices, from poorly functioning voting equipment to the way we elect the president, and presents an inspiring blueprint for political reform. The Introduction presents an overview of American democracy, followed by 10 chapters (each chapter being a "step"/solution) covering the voting equipment/election administration issue; Electoral College/direct election of the president; instant runoff voting; campaign finance reform; media reform; universal voter registration; term limits for Supreme Court justices; overhaul of the U.S. Senate; redistricting abuses; proportional representation and the end of winner-take-all elections; and more. Instead of reading four or five or six different books -- one on the Electoral College, another on voting equipment, yet another on campaign finance reform, media reform, redistricting or instant runoff voting -- who has time for so much reading -- "10 Steps" gives you a brief overview of all of these, plus practical, solution-oriented steps so that even a person with minimal time can participate in transforming American democracy. "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy," with a foreword by the New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg, is a "one-stop" shopping guide to what's broken about democracy in the USA, and what Americans can do to repair it. Drawing on the author's 20 years of scholarship, journalism and advocacy, this book will change the way you think about American politics.« less