The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House [Hardcover]

Douglas E. Schoen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Doug Schoen offers a number of very intelligent, bipartisan solutions to make American government more responsive and effective. The book provides a road map to making our system work more like our Founding Fathers envisioned.”—Bill Clinton

 

“Doug Schoen and I see things from different perspectives, but I always know that he analyzes things in an objective, rational, straightforward way. He doesn’t see things through an ideological lens and in this book, as someone who has been part of it for more than thirty years, he provides a clear view on how to make the American political system more responsive.”­—Sean Hannity

 

“A treasure trove of provocative ideas about how to improve American democracy offered by someone who has seen up close for decades how politics works in our country.”—Bill Bradley

 

“Very few people understand the workings of the American political system as well as Doug Schoen. For more than twenty-five years Doug has been an instrumental inside player and observer of the political scene. This book comprehensively and articulately lays out Doug’s prescriptions for taking back a broken and oftentimes counterproductive system. I urge every political figure and junkie to read this important book.”—Bob Kerrey

“This is a perceptive and provocative look at how our democracy works—and doesn’t. I don’t agree with all of it—for example, I think Bork deserved to be Borked—but THE POLITICAL FIX challenges settled assumptions and proposes bold reforms that range from grassroots empowerment to the way we elect Presidents. It’s a charter for a new kind of politics.”—Bob Shrum

 

About the Author

Douglas E. Schoen has been a Democratic Party adviser for the past thirty years. A founding partner of Penn, Schoen, and Berland, he was President Clinton’s strategic consultant during the 1996 reelection campaign and has advised New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Indiana governor Evan Bayh, and former British prime minister Tony Blair. The author of five books, including Declaring Independence, he lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080508973X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805089738
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,755,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Political Reform Ideas., March 30, 2010

By 

J.L. Populist (WI,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House (Hardcover)

Douglas Schoen is a pollster, political analyst, and author of two previous books.

While I don't agree with all of his proposed solutions, he did a great job documenting sources in the "notes" near the back of the book!

The solution that I have the most dislike for is the idea of eliminating the electoral college. It does to some extent balance out the relevance of smaller, less populous states. Without it states like California and New York would be emphasized far more and would render the smaller states almost irrelevant. Not a good or fair idea in my opinion.

Mr. Schoen offers a myriad of ideas to reform our broken system.
I think he excelled in the section regarding the Judicial system. One of his criticisms was the nasty, attack ads in judicial elections. Seeing one in my state recently, I whole-heartedly agree with the author.
He accurately pinpointed major concerns and provided some very good solutions.

This is a short list of potentially good solutions in the book:

+ Open Primaries.
We have them in Wisconsin and they work well for us.
+ Free air time for presidential candidates.
This would also address the high cost of campaigns.
+ Make election day a national holiday.
He isn't the first to offer it, but a great idea that may spark higher voter turnout.
+ Lobbyist regulations.
Force Congress to disclose contact with lobbies and also ban lobbyists from all political fundraisers.
+ Expand voter-candidate contact in debates.
This was used in the last presidential debates via online sites and other questions directly from voters and it spiced up an otherwise dull event.
+ Merit selection of judges.
Eliminate elections and insure the independence of the judiciary.
+ Abolish senate "holds".
Particularly in judicial appointments, one Senator can anonymously block an appointment for a number of days with no justification needed.


On page 92 Mr. Schoen summed up why we still have a broken system-
"It's not that we don't know how to fix our politics. It's that we haven't yet summoned the will to do what needs to be done."

There are potential improvements for our ailing political system in this book. Despite disagreeing with some of the solutions, I recommend this book for it's effort, mostly bipartisan criticism, and it's creative ideas.