Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time [Hardcover]

Chuck Schumer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1594865728 | ISBN-13: 978-1594865725 | Publication Date: January 23, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

New York’s popular senior senator, who won reelection by the largest margin in the state’s history, offers a bold plan for change in the Democratic party

As the results of the last presidential election played out, it became clear that while Democrats call themselves the party of the middle, the middle class does not consider the Democrats their party. Now, Chuck Schumer, who has gained national prominence as the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee, offers his plan for capturing the middle-class vote and moving his party back into the majority. Democrats can accomplish this, the senator explains, without abandoning their traditional principles.

Schumer envisions a hypothetical, average middle-class American family—he thinks of them as "The Baileys"—who spend "as much time talking about the cost of cornflakes as the cost of the national debt." He then details specific proposals he believes would keep America safe, secure, and on top; and support the aspirations of a prosperous and growing middle class while speaking to anxieties created in a world changed by technology and globalization. For example, he proposes to:

• increase the number of college graduates by 50%

• reduce property taxes by 50%

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Schumer, Democratic U.S. senator from New York, offers a positive message for middle-class Americans--just in time for the presidential elections of 2008. The timing will prick readers' curiosity about Schumer's ambitions. Whether he's a candidate or not, his book presents an interesting perspective by an influential member of a party that has recently regained control of Congress. Schumer conjures an imagined composite American family, the Baileys, a family that he says inspires his legislative efforts. Schumer then outlines 11 goals to be achieved in 10 years to improve the lives of the Baileys: increase reading and math skills by boosting federal spending in schools, reduce illegal immigration and encourage legal immigration by creating a biometric national employment card, reduce dependency on foreign oil, and lower cancer mortality. Interspersed throughout is Schumer's own life story, from his involvement in politics as a Harvard undergrad canvassing for Senator Eugene McCarthy to the triumph of Democratic leadership in the 2006 elections. Whatever readers may think of Schumer and his policies, he has found an effective way to convey his political positions. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

CHUCK SCHUMER was elected to the New York State Assembly at age 23--making him one of the youngest members since Theodore Roosevelt--and to Congress at age 29. In 1998 he became New York's junior senator, and he now holds the senior position. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife. They have two daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; First Edition edition (January 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594865728
• ISBN-13: 978-1594865725
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,258,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Every Republican Should Read, February 22, 2007

By 

Newt Gingrich (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
("THE")   

This review is from: Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time (Hardcover)

Positively American
by Senator Chuck Schumer
(Rodale, New York , 2007, 274pp)

I am surprised to be recommending Senator Chuck Schumer's Positively American and yet it is a very powerful and effective book.

Schumer is a liberal and very positive Democrat but he is also very smart and has some profound insights into contemporary American thinking.

For any Republican who would like to understand what happened in 2006, the Schumer explanation is compelling and sobering. He and Rahm Emmanuel have understood that a hard left Democratic Party will never be a majority. They were prepared to recruit candidates who were electable and to accept that those candidates would infuriate their more liberal wing. They saw a center-left majority as preferable to a happy leftwing minority. It is a formidable warning about how they will run 2008 and beyond.

Furthermore, Schumer has a much better sense for middle class than I would have expected. He is thinking a lot about how to understand the needs and concerns of middle class and how to develop programs which will appeal to the middle class vote.

Schumer's reelection by 71% (a new york record) was not an accident. He has a serious, thorough understanding of how to emphasize issues and achievements which will appeal to moderate voters who would be infuriated by the left wing of the democratic party.

Finally Schumer lists 11 major areas of solutions. Republicans could easily coopt half of those solutions and challenge Senator Schumer to help pass them into law.

This is a smart book by an intelligent, liberal Democrat who is determined to turn his party into a governing majority again. It is worth study by every Republican who would like their party and their center-right philosophy to prevail.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My Honest Opinions, February 14, 2007

By 

Matthew S. Calvey "Matt Calvey" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time (Hardcover)

In the interests of full disclosure, I am solidly conservative, I voted for the president in 2004 (too young to vote in 2000), and would vote for him again if there were an election today. So now that all of that is out of the way, you can judge my review on its merits.
I thought the book was extremely well written. I don't know if Mr. Schumer employs a ghost-writer, or writes it himself, but whoever did the writing did a great job, the language was concise and flowing, and the actual text itself was easy to read.
In spite of my disagreements with the Senator, his passion and his beliefs come across strongly during the book, and at the least, conservatives must grant that this man is motivated by a genuine system of beliefs, and is not a finger in the wind politician.
I will not list my disagreements with his policy proposals, this is a book review, not a debate forum, but I had one huge structural beef with the book. There is not a single footnote in the entire book! I understand that many authors, both right and left, don't footnote properly, or at all, and I hate it when it happens. I do not think Mr. Schumer would lie to his readers, but I absolutely think that as a partisan for his party, he may distort statistics, mis-quote opponents, or spin data a certain way (not that this is a negative, I would do the same thing were I in his shoes). I am only saying that if you are going to make declarative statements, provide citation!
I gave this book 3 stars because it was a good read, but it was not the page-turner or rhetorical masterpiece that I would give 4 stars to (I would give 5 stars only to a few select books in the English language). I freely admit that my opinion may be biased by my political disagreements with Senator Schumer, but I must call a spade a spade and say this was a well-written and moving book, with stylistic flaws that made it a little less than it could have been. Worth a read for sure, no matter what your politics are...

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important and Interesting Read, January 25, 2007

By 

Concerned Democrat (Scarsdale, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time (Hardcover)

Refreshingly honest, this book is a much-needed wake-up call for all Democrats, reminding us all of the needs and interests of the average American family. Written in a straightforward, yet compelling, voice, the book is a surprisingly good read. Kudos to Senator Schumer for his honesty and insight. I highly recommend it!