Paul Schumaker

Broschiertes Buch

The Twenty-Eighth Amendment?

Beyond Abolishing the Electoral College

Beschreibung

The Electoral College was adopted by the framers of our Constitution as a method of ensuring that our presidents would be well-qualified statesmen. But this goal has been thwarted by changes in our "unwritten constitution," resulting in a deeply flawed electoral process that is far removed from Constitutional provisions. Reformers frequently seek to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a process that gives the presidency to the candidate winning the most popular votes, but that alternative provides poor inoculation from charismatic charlatans. Paul Schumaker, a retired professor of political science, employs the techniques of memoir to convey the evolution of his thinking about this issue, to warn us against adopting such pretenders as the "Interstate Compact," and to prescribe a national process that weds concerns for more acceptable candidates with our common democratic values. Covering the past, the present, and the future, this book concisely informs the public about a current issue of enduring importance for American politics.

Autor

Until his retirement in 2017, Paul Schumaker was a professor of political science at the University of Kansas for 45 years. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Beloit College, where he co-majored in economics and philosophy, he earned his PhD in political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At KU, he taught a wide variety of courses, not only in political science and political theory but in Western Civilization. His teaching and research focused on empirical political theories, seeking to provide political explanations and evaluations from a variety of political and moral perspectives. Overtime, he focused increasingly on developing democratic pluralism as a primary basis for understanding and achieving democratic processes and effective and fair outcomes in American national, state, and local politics. His contributions to "Advancing Pluralism" are available at https://paulschumaker.com The diversity of his achievements is indicated by the many scholarly books and articles that are listed on his website and in his leadership positions at the University of Kansas (including serving twice as Chair of Political Science and Director of the Division of Government). During his career, he received awards for both his teaching and research, and some of his books and articles have been translated into foreign languages. While his journal articles are addressed to other professors in the academy, the audience of his books are as often students as professionals. The Twenty-Eight Amendment? is his first attempt to reach a broader public audience, and he employs a variety of literary techniques for this purpose He had given little attention to the Electoral College until the Bush-Gore presidential election in 2000, and since then his interest in the College was little more than a hobby until it put Donald Trump in the White House. During his retirement, he has become somewhat obsessed with understanding developments subsequent to the framing and adoption of the Constitution that have thwarted the framers intention to prevent the election of demagogues. Additionally, he has studied alternative methods for choosing a president that are more consistent with both the intentions of the framers and with contemporary democratic values. That Schumaker is not completely obsessed with politics and political theory generally, and with the Electoral College in particular, can be observed by reading some of his blogs at https://paulschumaker.com. He plays tennis and rides bikes regularly (but he stopped being a distance-runner almost a decade ago, and now plays golf only when he is willing to humiliate himself on the links). He enjoys many cultural and recreational activities with his wife (Lynn Burlingham whose writings are available at lynnburlingham.com). They enjoy visiting his sons and grandkids in California. They also enjoy taking other trips around the country and in various other parts of the world, often to see other members of their families and their many friends. They enjoy spending summers at their cabin at in northern Wisconsin, which is sometimes a gathering place for their families and friends. Proposing to amend the Constitution should not be construed as evidence that Schumaker is an unhappy man, upset with the overall Constitution, American government, or current political trends generally. On the contrary, he is grateful for the many blessings in his life. It's just that there are some problems in life that he believes can be lessened or remedied by reflections and commitments - sometimes through solo endeavors and sometimes working with others in our various communities. One such problem is how Americans choose their presidents. This book is his solo effort to think through that problem. But he recognizes that solving this problem will require a broad and probably sustained national effort.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Gatekeeper Press
• Seitenzahl: 280
• Erscheinungstermin: 17. Februar 2020
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 15mm
• Gewicht: 356g
• ISBN-13: 9781642378733
• ISBN-10: 1642378739
• Artikelnr.: 60410251