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Debating Reform
Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System
Fourth Edition
Edited by:
- Richard J. Ellis - Willamette University, USA
- Michael Nelson - Rhodes College, USA
Other Titles in:
American Government and Politics
American Government and Politics
January 2020 | 400 pages | CQ Press
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.
Preface
Contributor
1. Resolved, Article V should be revised to make it easier to amend the Constitution and to call a constitutional convention
Sanford Levinson
David E. Kyvig
2. Resolved, American democracy needs less sunshine and more closed-door negotiations
Bruce Cain
Gary D. Bass, Danielle Brian, and Norm Eisen
3. Resolved, Andrew Jackson should be removed from the $20 bill in favor of Harriet Tubman
Brian Weiner
Mark Cheathem
4. Resolved, Congress should restore each state's freedom to set its drinking age
John McCardell
James C. Fell
5. Resolved, Congress should pass the Democracy Restoration Act restoring the right to vote in federal elections to people with criminal records
Erika L. Wood
Roger Clegg
6. Resolved, states should enact voter id laws and reduce early voting
Mike Nelson
Keith Bentele and Erin O'Brien
7. Resolved, the United States should adopt a national initiative and referendum
Todd Donovan
Richard J. Ellis
8. Resolved, the United States should adopt compulsory voting
Martin P. Wattenberg
Jason Brennan
9. Resolved, Congress should remove the caps on the amount that individuals can contribute to candidates for federal office
John Samples
Richard Briffault
10. Resolved, political parties should nominate candidates for president in a national primary
Caroline J. Tolbert
David P. Redlawsk
11. Resolved, Congress should bring back earmarks for special interest groups
Scott A. Frisch and Sean Q. Kelly
Jeffrey Lazarus
12. Resolved, proportional representation should be adopted for U.S. House Elections
Douglas J. Amy
Brendan Doherty
13. Resolved, the redistricting process should be nonpartisan
Elaine C. Kamarck
Justin Buchler
14. Resolved, the Senate should represent people not states
Bruce I. Oppenheimer
John J. Pitney, Jr.
15. Resolved, Senate Rule XXII should be amended so that filibusters can be ended by a majority vote
Steven S. Smith
Wendy J. Schiller
16. Resolved, the electoral college should be abolished
George C. Edwards III
Gary L. Gregg
17. Resolved, the 22nd Amendment should be repealed
David Crockett
Mike Korzi
18. Resolved, bring back the bureaucrats
John Dilulio
Brad DeWees
19. Resolved, the terms of Supreme Court justices should be limited to 18 years
David Karol
Ward Farnsworth
20. Resolved, Americans should receive four more years of free public education
Robert Samuels
Neal McCluskey
21. Resolved, national security would be strengthened by requiring the government to keep fewer secrets and to become more transparent
Michael Colaresi
Stephen Knott