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Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think
Bill Bryson meets Thomas Frank in the true story of how power-hungry politicians broke American democracy — and why fixing it is easier than you think — from the New York Times bestselling author of Thanks, Obama
Here’s something true for almost every American. The democracy you live in today is different – completely different – than the democracy you were born into.
Since 1980, the number of Americans legally barred from voting has more than doubled. Since the 1990s, your odds of living in a competitive Congressional district have fallen by more than half. In the twenty-first century alone, the amount of money spent on Washington lobbying has increased by more than 100 percent. Meanwhile, new rules in Congress make passing new bills nearly impossible, no matter how popular or bipartisan they are.
No wonder it feels like our representatives have stopped representing us. Thanks to changes you never agreed to, and that you probably don’t even know about, your slice of power – your say in how your country is run – is smaller than it’s ever been.
How did this happen? And how can we fix it before it’s too late? That’s what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer.
Millions of Americans now recognize that our democracy is in trouble, and that the trouble goes beyond Trump. But too often, we’re looking in the wrong places for solutions. Voter suppression is real, but Voter ID laws aren’t tipping elections. Getting rid of bizarrely shaped districts won’t end gerrymandering. In fact, it would make gerrymandering worse. Calling for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United is a nice gesture. But in the real world, it’s the least effective type of campaign finance reform.
If We, the People, want to save our republic, we need to start by understanding it.
Poking into forgotten corners of history, Litt tells the true story of how the world’s greatest experiment in democracy went awry. Translating political science into plain English, he explains how our system of government really works. Searching for solutions, he speaks to experts, office-holders, and activists nationwide.
He also tries to crash a party at Mitch McConnell’s former frat house. It goes poorly.
But Democracy in One Book or Less is more than just an engaging narrative. Litt provides a to-do list of meaningful, practical changes – a blueprint for restoring the balance of power in America before it’s too late.
Here’s something true for almost every American. The democracy you live in today is different – completely different – than the democracy you were born into.
Since 1980, the number of Americans legally barred from voting has more than doubled. Since the 1990s, your odds of living in a competitive Congressional district have fallen by more than half. In the twenty-first century alone, the amount of money spent on Washington lobbying has increased by more than 100 percent. Meanwhile, new rules in Congress make passing new bills nearly impossible, no matter how popular or bipartisan they are.
No wonder it feels like our representatives have stopped representing us. Thanks to changes you never agreed to, and that you probably don’t even know about, your slice of power – your say in how your country is run – is smaller than it’s ever been.
How did this happen? And how can we fix it before it’s too late? That’s what former Obama speechwriter David Litt set out to answer.
Millions of Americans now recognize that our democracy is in trouble, and that the trouble goes beyond Trump. But too often, we’re looking in the wrong places for solutions. Voter suppression is real, but Voter ID laws aren’t tipping elections. Getting rid of bizarrely shaped districts won’t end gerrymandering. In fact, it would make gerrymandering worse. Calling for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United is a nice gesture. But in the real world, it’s the least effective type of campaign finance reform.
If We, the People, want to save our republic, we need to start by understanding it.
Poking into forgotten corners of history, Litt tells the true story of how the world’s greatest experiment in democracy went awry. Translating political science into plain English, he explains how our system of government really works. Searching for solutions, he speaks to experts, office-holders, and activists nationwide.
He also tries to crash a party at Mitch McConnell’s former frat house. It goes poorly.
But Democracy in One Book or Less is more than just an engaging narrative. Litt provides a to-do list of meaningful, practical changes – a blueprint for restoring the balance of power in America before it’s too late.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 16, 2020
331 people are currently reading
3818 people want to read
About the author
David Litt
6 books381 followersDavid Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David has written speeches, op-eds, and jokes for Fortune 100 CEOs, professional athletes, leading philanthropists, and prominent political figures.
His New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book will be released on June 16, 2020. He is currently developing a sitcom for ABC based on his life in DC.
His New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book will be released on June 16, 2020. He is currently developing a sitcom for ABC based on his life in DC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
July 8, 2020
I haven’t finished it yet, but i’ve already gotten enough valuable information to rate it a 5. If you believe you have or should have representation in our democracy, please read this ASAP. It contains eye-opening, urgent, and vital information for all would-be voters.
Update: i’ve finished. Please read this. We all need it.
Update: i’ve finished. Please read this. We all need it.
May 6, 2020
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
First, I was impressed by the tonal balance that David Litt achieves here. Written for a popular audience, Litt's humor and pop culture references make this an accessible book. And yet, he doesn't totally shift tone when getting into the weeds of congressional committee appointments, or causes of increasingly party polarization over the last thirty years. It's not easy to hold such a consistent tone while trying to be both serious and readable.
In terms of content, Litt attacks many of the predictable causes of our political dysfunction, but also pushes beyond the headlines. For example, he explains why partisan gerrymandering isn't really the biggest cause of the "politicians choosing their voters" phenomenon, or why Citizens United isn't the root of all campaign finance evils. The problems facing our democracy are more complicated than that.
The one area where I thought the book underdelivered a bit was on the "why fixing it is easier than you think" section of the subtitle. I'm not sure his prescriptions for solving the problems are easy. They mostly seem to depend on Democrats winning control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency, and pushing forward some serious democracy-strengthening proposals, like national minimum voting requirements, increasing the representativeness of the Senate, increasing transparency in campaign finance and hoping that by tipping the scales toward greater democracy, we end up in a self-reinforcing positive cycle that rewards political engagement, rather than inhibits it.
It's a very optimistic view of what can happen, and while I share his optimism about the power of structures, I'm not sure I'm as confident that democrats (both small- and big-d) will be able to use those levers of power to achieve a more sustainable republic without ratcheting up the partisan tension beyond repair.
This is definitely a good book to read to understand the history of how we got where we are, and to consider some paths out of our current predicament.
First, I was impressed by the tonal balance that David Litt achieves here. Written for a popular audience, Litt's humor and pop culture references make this an accessible book. And yet, he doesn't totally shift tone when getting into the weeds of congressional committee appointments, or causes of increasingly party polarization over the last thirty years. It's not easy to hold such a consistent tone while trying to be both serious and readable.
In terms of content, Litt attacks many of the predictable causes of our political dysfunction, but also pushes beyond the headlines. For example, he explains why partisan gerrymandering isn't really the biggest cause of the "politicians choosing their voters" phenomenon, or why Citizens United isn't the root of all campaign finance evils. The problems facing our democracy are more complicated than that.
The one area where I thought the book underdelivered a bit was on the "why fixing it is easier than you think" section of the subtitle. I'm not sure his prescriptions for solving the problems are easy. They mostly seem to depend on Democrats winning control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency, and pushing forward some serious democracy-strengthening proposals, like national minimum voting requirements, increasing the representativeness of the Senate, increasing transparency in campaign finance and hoping that by tipping the scales toward greater democracy, we end up in a self-reinforcing positive cycle that rewards political engagement, rather than inhibits it.
It's a very optimistic view of what can happen, and while I share his optimism about the power of structures, I'm not sure I'm as confident that democrats (both small- and big-d) will be able to use those levers of power to achieve a more sustainable republic without ratcheting up the partisan tension beyond repair.
This is definitely a good book to read to understand the history of how we got where we are, and to consider some paths out of our current predicament.
June 12, 2020
I went into this book really only knowing the title. I had no idea who the author was (I didn’t even notice the ‘author of…’ on the bottom of the front cover picture!), but if he could help enlighten me in any way as to the workings, inner and outer, of the democratic country I live in, I was ready to give it a chance. I wanted to know more, and this book promised to tell me not only more about the structure of the US government, but where it tripped and ways to fix it.
It delivered.
By barely a quarter through it, I had decided I’d be buying a copy of it for myself. Besides, I was already pulling facts and figures out of it in conversations with my family.
By the halfway point, I clicked “Checkout” and pre-ordered two copies – one for me, and one to give away.
By the end, I was glad I had made the decisions I did, and now I look forward to them arriving in my mailbox after it is released on June 16th.
Mr. Litt takes a step-by-step, piecemeal approach to breaking down how US government functions. He starts with the majority: us voters – who can vote, and how voting rights have been an issue since the Constitution was drawn up. From there he steps up to whose votes matter in electing the Representatives in the House, the senators in the Senate, and the President, with an important section on the Electoral College. With the voters and legislators in place, he proceeds to detail a bill’s pathway to becoming law, and all the hurdles it must overcome through the House, the Senate, the Presidency and yes, even the judiciary branch – hurdles which have changed since our country was founded, and which have an alarming tendency to move around considerably.
Throughout this whole process, he keeps a largely neutral view. It is worth noting that in the first third he does provide clues about his personal political leanings; in the second third he confirms his leanings; and in the final third his political leanings area little more outspoken, though far from unjustifiably so.* More importantly, he has endeavored, and I would say succeeded, in writing a book valuable for both sides of the aisle and anyone in between or around it about the democracy of our republic. He took care to show the evolution of different actions and ways of thought and their influence on how our system of government has grown from what it was when the Founding Fathers wrote it to how we use and interpret it today. He uses many examples from history to illustrate his points, and is not afraid to show both the good and the bad – that which casts both positive and negative lights on the parties involved as appropriate – which has influenced the US over the centuries. By doing so, he offers a balance to his book, one where above all, the facts of history are meant to stand sturdy, if not always tall and proud.
His writing is quite accessible, especially considering how complicated politics seems to be. He lays everything out quite plainly, and provides a good amount of additional reading/reference resources at the back. There is a little bit of him inserted in it, but more for the effect of framing and providing some context to events and explanations – nothing that truly gets in the way of learning what he has to relate to us. After all, an informed populace makes informed decisions, and in a world which seems more complicated by the day, it is at least as important as ever before, to take in new information and gauge it carefully against what we already know, to be informed about what is going on but also what went on, and to use everything we learn to make informed decisions which will guide us in shaping our country to be the best it can be. A republic, a democracy, and one which is of the people, by the people, and for the people.
All in all, it is an engaging, fact- and history-filled read, and should be read by anyone and everyone, regardless of political leanings, who wants to know not only how, as the subtitle says, our democracy works, and why it doesn’t, but also how we can go about fixing it.
Normally I would also include favorite quotes – and I highlighted a lot in my digital arc copy! – but I will wait, and maybe add them later after I have had a chance to pull them from the final published copy. There were many lines which were striking in their frankness, in their truth, in how succinctly they explained this or that aspect of the American governmental system.
I received a free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected the contents of my review or rating.
Side note: there were only a couple typos in the beginning, but the final third, and especially the last two chapters, suffered quite a few more typos (usually missing or extra words), which I hope will be corrected for the final printing.
*The true test will be to see if someone who is very much a right-wing conservative will make it through the entire book. I have one such person in mind. I might update this review later with how it goes with this person.
It delivered.
By barely a quarter through it, I had decided I’d be buying a copy of it for myself. Besides, I was already pulling facts and figures out of it in conversations with my family.
By the halfway point, I clicked “Checkout” and pre-ordered two copies – one for me, and one to give away.
By the end, I was glad I had made the decisions I did, and now I look forward to them arriving in my mailbox after it is released on June 16th.
Mr. Litt takes a step-by-step, piecemeal approach to breaking down how US government functions. He starts with the majority: us voters – who can vote, and how voting rights have been an issue since the Constitution was drawn up. From there he steps up to whose votes matter in electing the Representatives in the House, the senators in the Senate, and the President, with an important section on the Electoral College. With the voters and legislators in place, he proceeds to detail a bill’s pathway to becoming law, and all the hurdles it must overcome through the House, the Senate, the Presidency and yes, even the judiciary branch – hurdles which have changed since our country was founded, and which have an alarming tendency to move around considerably.
Throughout this whole process, he keeps a largely neutral view. It is worth noting that in the first third he does provide clues about his personal political leanings; in the second third he confirms his leanings; and in the final third his political leanings area little more outspoken, though far from unjustifiably so.* More importantly, he has endeavored, and I would say succeeded, in writing a book valuable for both sides of the aisle and anyone in between or around it about the democracy of our republic. He took care to show the evolution of different actions and ways of thought and their influence on how our system of government has grown from what it was when the Founding Fathers wrote it to how we use and interpret it today. He uses many examples from history to illustrate his points, and is not afraid to show both the good and the bad – that which casts both positive and negative lights on the parties involved as appropriate – which has influenced the US over the centuries. By doing so, he offers a balance to his book, one where above all, the facts of history are meant to stand sturdy, if not always tall and proud.
His writing is quite accessible, especially considering how complicated politics seems to be. He lays everything out quite plainly, and provides a good amount of additional reading/reference resources at the back. There is a little bit of him inserted in it, but more for the effect of framing and providing some context to events and explanations – nothing that truly gets in the way of learning what he has to relate to us. After all, an informed populace makes informed decisions, and in a world which seems more complicated by the day, it is at least as important as ever before, to take in new information and gauge it carefully against what we already know, to be informed about what is going on but also what went on, and to use everything we learn to make informed decisions which will guide us in shaping our country to be the best it can be. A republic, a democracy, and one which is of the people, by the people, and for the people.
All in all, it is an engaging, fact- and history-filled read, and should be read by anyone and everyone, regardless of political leanings, who wants to know not only how, as the subtitle says, our democracy works, and why it doesn’t, but also how we can go about fixing it.
Normally I would also include favorite quotes – and I highlighted a lot in my digital arc copy! – but I will wait, and maybe add them later after I have had a chance to pull them from the final published copy. There were many lines which were striking in their frankness, in their truth, in how succinctly they explained this or that aspect of the American governmental system.
I received a free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected the contents of my review or rating.
Side note: there were only a couple typos in the beginning, but the final third, and especially the last two chapters, suffered quite a few more typos (usually missing or extra words), which I hope will be corrected for the final printing.
*The true test will be to see if someone who is very much a right-wing conservative will make it through the entire book. I have one such person in mind. I might update this review later with how it goes with this person.
August 24, 2020
Instead of filling out worksheets in my 9th grade civics class, it would have been better for me to read David Litt's, "Democracy in One Book or Less." I can't say how many times I had to put the book down, shake my head, and turn to anyone in the room to say, "Did you know..." Followed by an exasperated explanation of how voting rights are in jeopardy, or how Congress isn't functioning how the Founders intended, or how the Supreme Court is losing its judicial independence--the source of its power and authority. In this country, we are taught to believe in exceptionalism, that our constitution and resulting democracy are "more perfect" than any other country's. And while our constitution is surely great, the actual carrying out of our democracy needs constant improvements and repairs. I enjoyed how Litt carefully laid out the current problems followed by possible solutions, while at the same time filling each chapter with humor and entertaining stories from US history. I always prefer my history with a side of levity. Litt's writing is clear and easy to digest, which is probably why Litt served as a top speech writer for Obama. If you're tired of complaining about Congress being dysfunctional or that our leaders don't reflect the American people, I recommend reading this book to learn about what's acutally causing that dysfunction and how we really can (and should) fix it.
July 7, 2020
Full disclosure: I was a teacher of the author, so I have no claims of being without bias. I expected the book to be pop-political science, and as a history teacher, I was reading it expecting to see things I already knew explained in clever digestible ways that I could use with my students. While I found all of that, I was also impressed by the number of things that I learned that were totally new. Additionally, I appreciated how so much of the book was focused on clear and possible solutions. David Litt's Skywalker moment approach is a reassuring one -- we don't need to wait for overwhelming victories to change the system, we just need those small openings where you can land a photon torpedo to change the system. As it feels more and more like we are possibly seeing one of those Skywalker moments now, the book was inspiring.
May 19, 2021
It was an informative book that spoke on the American government, how people think it works, how it actually works and why, and how it can be more responsive to the people it is supposed to represent. However, I think it takes a somewhat conservative approach to the issue and does not connect it to organizing, advocacy, and economic democracy. It was already 500 pages, but I do think it is at least somewhat folly to not look at the very economic system that upholds the status quo that created the needs for these reforms in the first place. That would be a separate, second book though, I suppose. It is a good start in one's journey to learning about democracy in politics and government. Overall a very interesting and humorously written read!
May 27, 2020
For a political book, this book was very easy to read. David Litt explains how democracy should work and why our system is messed up. He talks about everything that interferes with our system working of the people, by the people and for the people. He even says which party did what to get us that way, including the Libertarian party. Very informative book that should be read by all Americans before they vote.
August 15, 2020
A super interesting history of how we got to where we are today
June 23, 2020
Motivational, although, in parts, a little dryer than I was expecting. The exposé of voter suppression is pretty terrifying. I was slightly concerned that I had no at-hand way of fact-checking some of the claims. But overall this is a book with the potential to make our troubled country better.
April 23, 2025
Definitely an interesting read - lots of facts and theories about what's been happening to our government, with some interesting ideas about how to fix things. Alert - from a Democratic point of view; if you're a Trump supporter, you'll hate this book.
October 10, 2021
David Litt has written a masterpiece. This is an entirely readable, witty, intelligent analysis of our political process today along with the historical perspective and the forces that impact how everything works. Not only does Litt provide a thoroughly entertaining description but he also presents ideas on ways to improve our political process. The approach he uses in each section to use a relatable person or a Congressional bill, named “Belle,” as his jumping off point is really engaging and novel. I was actually a political science major in college and in my first freshman course we were assigned to read Plato and John Locke. Needless to say, my freshman brain could retain none of it. This book is so well done, even a freshman could understand it. I just wish I could remember every detail of the book, it’s that good. We would be a better country if everyone read this book! The only downside is that with each inefficiency that he describes, I felt myself becoming more and more frustrated with where we are today and our overall inability to make any progress through our legislative process. However, I think that Litt ended the book with an optimistic outlook.
September 24, 2024
4 stars because I learned a lot about our democracy and the many ways it is not always fair and for the people. I started off reading the print version and switched to audio to consume it all before book club — I enjoyed both versions. I won’t go into details on the content other than it was written in a way I could understand the many topics covered without it feeling like a textbook history lesson. It was written by a great speech writer, so expect to laugh and enjoy it! The one thing I missed that was called out at book club and I honestly didn’t realize it’s in the title, but I am not sure I have any takeaways or things I can do to get involved or make a difference. Great to read before the 2024 election!
April 25, 2021
Aside from the overwhelming amount of typos (especially in the last section), the book is a good overview (from the perspective of a rich white dude) of the inequities of our system of voting and legislation. It is grounded in current political events, so I imagine it will not be worth reading in its entirety in a couple of years, and I'd recommend skipping chapters 9 to 11 anyway—the argument feels like it falls apart at this point and almost reads as if the print deadline was approaching and the book needed a quick finish.
If you do pick up the book, make sure you give Part II a read-through for an overview of some of the more addressable problems in our legislative system without being too grounded in current events.
If you do pick up the book, make sure you give Part II a read-through for an overview of some of the more addressable problems in our legislative system without being too grounded in current events.
June 11, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When was the last time that you laughed out loud while learning about campaign finance reform? For me, it was in chapter 7 of this book, which is hilarious, informative, infuriating, and inspiring, all at the same time. I really enjoyed this author's first book, a memoir of his time working in the Obama White House, so I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed! I like to think that I know a decent amount about our country's government, but I learned so much from this book, and all of the information was presented in an engaging, easy-to-understand way. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand why our government lets us down so often and how we can fix it.
When was the last time that you laughed out loud while learning about campaign finance reform? For me, it was in chapter 7 of this book, which is hilarious, informative, infuriating, and inspiring, all at the same time. I really enjoyed this author's first book, a memoir of his time working in the Obama White House, so I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed! I like to think that I know a decent amount about our country's government, but I learned so much from this book, and all of the information was presented in an engaging, easy-to-understand way. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand why our government lets us down so often and how we can fix it.
July 23, 2020
This book is so informative about the development of our nation, I wish I owned a copy to reference whenever I wanted. Even though our Founding Fathers set up our government, there was always enough flexibility to allow changes (nuance) - such as filibustering, PACs and number of votes necessary to pass a bill.
His premise starts with the nostalgic look at the After School cartoon "It's just a bill" refrain from the 1970s and then spends the rest of the book explaining why "bells" can't be passed any more.
The author is a former speech/joke writer for President Obama. I read his previous book that told of his time in the White House. The author has wit and a bit of snark that helps bring the book to the next level.
I recommend.
His premise starts with the nostalgic look at the After School cartoon "It's just a bill" refrain from the 1970s and then spends the rest of the book explaining why "bells" can't be passed any more.
The author is a former speech/joke writer for President Obama. I read his previous book that told of his time in the White House. The author has wit and a bit of snark that helps bring the book to the next level.
I recommend.
November 1, 2020
Highly recommended! Litt was one of Obama's White House speechwriters and has a clear, slightly-humorous style that makes even a history of the Senate filibuster engaging reading.
September 22, 2021
Everyone in The League of Women Voters should read this book. While I'm still angry about the chapter on the Judiciary, I want to think there is hope. 'To inherit a republic in peril, and to pass on a republic in peril, is no failure. It's quite literally the best we can do."
Read
November 4, 2024Makes the fall of the Great American Experiment…fun…somehow.
Of three books on the same theme that I read in late 2024 (god only knows why), this is the most informative and useful.
Of three books on the same theme that I read in late 2024 (god only knows why), this is the most informative and useful.
September 1, 2020
Timely, needed.
April 18, 2021
Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think by David Litt
“Democracy in One Book or Less” is a solid book that describes what has happened to our system of government and why it matters. Former speechwriter for President Obama and bestselling author of Thanks, Obama, David Litt provides readers some interesting ideas on how to preserve our democracy. This informative yet somewhat humorous book includes eleven chapters broken out into the following three parts: I. Who Gets to Vote?, II. Whose Votes Matter? And III. Which Ideas Become a Law?
Positives:
1. A well-written informative book with a touch of humor.
2. An excellent topic, how to preserve our democracy with an emphasis on our voting system and how ideas become law.
3. Describes who are America’s non-voters and why they are not voting. “Which brings us, at last, to the most plausible explanation for why Americans vote at such low rates. We aren’t apathetic, or lazy, or indifferent. The reason so many of us don’t vote is that so many of our leaders don’t want us to.”
4. Provides eye-opening data on voter suppression. “In the most recent presidential election, thanks to Florida’s laws and laws like them, the number of people legally barred from voting because of a felony conviction stood at 6.1 million. Only one-quarter of these non-voters were actually in prison.” Bonus, “In the forty years before Donald Trump was elected president, America’s population grew by 50 percent. But the number of Americans barred from voting because of a felony conviction grew by 500 percent.”
5. Voter suppression has consequences. “Stripping citizens of the ballot flipped seven Senate seats, all of them from blue to red. Among those lucky senators was Mitch McConnell, who won his first term in a nail-biter. If Kentucky hadn’t made it illegal for so many Kentuckians to cast a ballot, a different person would be leading the Republican Party today.”
6. Voter suppression tools. “Of all the new vote-erasing tools developed in the last three decades, one has received the lion’s share of attention: Voter ID. Before 2006, no state required voters to show photo identification at the polls. Today, seventeen states do. The brainchild of none other than Hans von Spakovsky, voter ID has earned praise and sparked fury in a way that election regulations rarely do.”
7. Describes voter discouragement. “Which is one reason so many of us decline to exercise that right at all. Looking at the 2012 elections in Florida, Ohio State professor Theodore Allen told the Orlando Sentinel that at least 201,000 Floridians didn’t vote because of long lines.”
8. Making voting more difficult. “For all these reasons—obsolete technology, underpaid and undertrained poll workers, understaffed polling places, and a management system run by politicians instead of professionals—what Jacqui witnessed two years ago in New Jersey happens nationwide. Even when everyone involved is trying their best, so many things can go wrong. It’s very hard to make voting easy.”
9. Describes how elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and the White House differs.
10. History behind Gerrymandering. “One of these new districts was so warped and twisted that when a Boston Gazette cartoonist drew it, it reminded him of a salamander. The names of the governor and amphibian were mashed together, the hard G sound was gradually softened, and “gerrymander” was born.”
11. Explains the concept of weak versus strong voters. “Every state accounts for two of the Senate’s one hundred members, or 2 percent. If your state’s population makes up more than 2 percent of America, your vote is therefore weaker than average. If your state’s population makes up less than 2 percent of America, your vote is stronger.” “Weak states account for 69 percent of America’s population, but only 34 percent of its senators.”
12. A look at the Electoral College system. “To our ancestors’ credit, when they realized how unworkable the Electoral College was, they changed it. Under the Twelfth Amendment, which they ratified before the 1804 presidential contest, electors no longer cast two votes for president. Instead, they voted for a party ticket—a president and vice president—and whichever pair earned a majority of electoral votes won both offices. That’s the system we have today.”
13. The reality of the Electoral College system. “The Electoral College benefits voters in swing states. Just as your vote for the House of Representatives is stronger if you live in a competitive district, your vote for president is stronger if you live in a battleground state.”
14. The campaign finance system. “The idea that corporations had the same political free-speech rights as human beings was a fringe view, one no justice had held for the first two hundred years of American history. But times had changed. A new age of money in politics was on the horizon.”
15. Describes megavoters. “The emergence of megavoters—far more than any novel constitutional thesis or newly created legal entity—is the defining feature of the Citizens United era. Since 2010, our country has converted income inequality into political inequality with the ease of a gambler converting casino chips into cash.”
16. The difficulty of passing bills. “Bills are not just imperiled. They are far more imperiled than they used to be. In the 100th Congress, the first full legislative session of my life, 7 percent of introduced legislation passed both the House and Senate. In the 1990s, Congress approved about 5 percent of bills, a number that dropped to 4 percent in the 2000s. During the 2010s, Congress approved just 2 percent of new proposals, its lowest rate in half a century. To say today’s legislative process turns bills into laws is like saying the veal industry turns calves into cows. We don’t pass bills. We kill them.”
17. Politics and money. “That’s the other reason lawmakers seek out specific committee assignments: money. If you’re on the financial services committee, you can expect huge contributions from banks. If you’re handling laws that regulate agriculture, you can expect Monsanto to come knocking. It’s an updated version of the symbiotic relationship developed by fundraising king Mark Hanna in the 1890s.”
18. The filibuster. “Where McConnell’s predecessors had filibustered some things, McConnell and his party filibustered everything. The new Republican Party was allergic not to a bill or to an issue, but to an entire presidency.”
19. Lobbying. “Generally speaking, lawmakers don’t take policy positions because lobbyists give them money. Lobbyists give lawmakers money because of the policy positions those lawmakers already hold. Lee Drutman, quoting a professional influencer he once interviewed, passed along an excellent analogy: “Bringing a check to a fundraiser is like bringing a bottle of wine to a party.” You’re not bribing your way onto the guest list. You’re saying thank you for the invite.”
20. The importance of judges.
Negatives:
1. Lack of visual material actually hurts this book. The process of how a bill becomes law would have been aided immensely by illustrations.
2. The humor is uneven and at times even flat. It lacks bite, for writing with bit check out conservative author Rick Wilson.
3. An excellent writer but wasn’t perfectly clear on how as an example a bill becomes law.
4. It’s full blown partisan.
In summary, this is an informative book that covers the important topic of voter disenfranchisement and how bills become law. Litt provides interesting perspectives while adding a touch of humor to such a serious topic. He provides some eye-opening insights regarding how far some operatives will go to keep people from voting and provides useful ideas on what we can do to protect our democracy. Lacked clarity on how bills become laws but overall a worthwhile read. I recommend it.
Further suggestions: “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, “Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America” by Cass R. Sunstein, “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” by David Cay Johnston, “The Common Good”, “Saving Capitalism” and “Beyond Outrage” by Robert B. Reich, “Inequality” by Anthony B. Atkinson, “The Great Divide” by Joseph Stiglitz, “Winner-Take All Politics” by Jacob S. Hacker, “White Rage” by Carol Anderson, “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire” by Kurt Andersen, and “A Colony in a Nation” by Chris Hayes.
“Democracy in One Book or Less” is a solid book that describes what has happened to our system of government and why it matters. Former speechwriter for President Obama and bestselling author of Thanks, Obama, David Litt provides readers some interesting ideas on how to preserve our democracy. This informative yet somewhat humorous book includes eleven chapters broken out into the following three parts: I. Who Gets to Vote?, II. Whose Votes Matter? And III. Which Ideas Become a Law?
Positives:
1. A well-written informative book with a touch of humor.
2. An excellent topic, how to preserve our democracy with an emphasis on our voting system and how ideas become law.
3. Describes who are America’s non-voters and why they are not voting. “Which brings us, at last, to the most plausible explanation for why Americans vote at such low rates. We aren’t apathetic, or lazy, or indifferent. The reason so many of us don’t vote is that so many of our leaders don’t want us to.”
4. Provides eye-opening data on voter suppression. “In the most recent presidential election, thanks to Florida’s laws and laws like them, the number of people legally barred from voting because of a felony conviction stood at 6.1 million. Only one-quarter of these non-voters were actually in prison.” Bonus, “In the forty years before Donald Trump was elected president, America’s population grew by 50 percent. But the number of Americans barred from voting because of a felony conviction grew by 500 percent.”
5. Voter suppression has consequences. “Stripping citizens of the ballot flipped seven Senate seats, all of them from blue to red. Among those lucky senators was Mitch McConnell, who won his first term in a nail-biter. If Kentucky hadn’t made it illegal for so many Kentuckians to cast a ballot, a different person would be leading the Republican Party today.”
6. Voter suppression tools. “Of all the new vote-erasing tools developed in the last three decades, one has received the lion’s share of attention: Voter ID. Before 2006, no state required voters to show photo identification at the polls. Today, seventeen states do. The brainchild of none other than Hans von Spakovsky, voter ID has earned praise and sparked fury in a way that election regulations rarely do.”
7. Describes voter discouragement. “Which is one reason so many of us decline to exercise that right at all. Looking at the 2012 elections in Florida, Ohio State professor Theodore Allen told the Orlando Sentinel that at least 201,000 Floridians didn’t vote because of long lines.”
8. Making voting more difficult. “For all these reasons—obsolete technology, underpaid and undertrained poll workers, understaffed polling places, and a management system run by politicians instead of professionals—what Jacqui witnessed two years ago in New Jersey happens nationwide. Even when everyone involved is trying their best, so many things can go wrong. It’s very hard to make voting easy.”
9. Describes how elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and the White House differs.
10. History behind Gerrymandering. “One of these new districts was so warped and twisted that when a Boston Gazette cartoonist drew it, it reminded him of a salamander. The names of the governor and amphibian were mashed together, the hard G sound was gradually softened, and “gerrymander” was born.”
11. Explains the concept of weak versus strong voters. “Every state accounts for two of the Senate’s one hundred members, or 2 percent. If your state’s population makes up more than 2 percent of America, your vote is therefore weaker than average. If your state’s population makes up less than 2 percent of America, your vote is stronger.” “Weak states account for 69 percent of America’s population, but only 34 percent of its senators.”
12. A look at the Electoral College system. “To our ancestors’ credit, when they realized how unworkable the Electoral College was, they changed it. Under the Twelfth Amendment, which they ratified before the 1804 presidential contest, electors no longer cast two votes for president. Instead, they voted for a party ticket—a president and vice president—and whichever pair earned a majority of electoral votes won both offices. That’s the system we have today.”
13. The reality of the Electoral College system. “The Electoral College benefits voters in swing states. Just as your vote for the House of Representatives is stronger if you live in a competitive district, your vote for president is stronger if you live in a battleground state.”
14. The campaign finance system. “The idea that corporations had the same political free-speech rights as human beings was a fringe view, one no justice had held for the first two hundred years of American history. But times had changed. A new age of money in politics was on the horizon.”
15. Describes megavoters. “The emergence of megavoters—far more than any novel constitutional thesis or newly created legal entity—is the defining feature of the Citizens United era. Since 2010, our country has converted income inequality into political inequality with the ease of a gambler converting casino chips into cash.”
16. The difficulty of passing bills. “Bills are not just imperiled. They are far more imperiled than they used to be. In the 100th Congress, the first full legislative session of my life, 7 percent of introduced legislation passed both the House and Senate. In the 1990s, Congress approved about 5 percent of bills, a number that dropped to 4 percent in the 2000s. During the 2010s, Congress approved just 2 percent of new proposals, its lowest rate in half a century. To say today’s legislative process turns bills into laws is like saying the veal industry turns calves into cows. We don’t pass bills. We kill them.”
17. Politics and money. “That’s the other reason lawmakers seek out specific committee assignments: money. If you’re on the financial services committee, you can expect huge contributions from banks. If you’re handling laws that regulate agriculture, you can expect Monsanto to come knocking. It’s an updated version of the symbiotic relationship developed by fundraising king Mark Hanna in the 1890s.”
18. The filibuster. “Where McConnell’s predecessors had filibustered some things, McConnell and his party filibustered everything. The new Republican Party was allergic not to a bill or to an issue, but to an entire presidency.”
19. Lobbying. “Generally speaking, lawmakers don’t take policy positions because lobbyists give them money. Lobbyists give lawmakers money because of the policy positions those lawmakers already hold. Lee Drutman, quoting a professional influencer he once interviewed, passed along an excellent analogy: “Bringing a check to a fundraiser is like bringing a bottle of wine to a party.” You’re not bribing your way onto the guest list. You’re saying thank you for the invite.”
20. The importance of judges.
Negatives:
1. Lack of visual material actually hurts this book. The process of how a bill becomes law would have been aided immensely by illustrations.
2. The humor is uneven and at times even flat. It lacks bite, for writing with bit check out conservative author Rick Wilson.
3. An excellent writer but wasn’t perfectly clear on how as an example a bill becomes law.
4. It’s full blown partisan.
In summary, this is an informative book that covers the important topic of voter disenfranchisement and how bills become law. Litt provides interesting perspectives while adding a touch of humor to such a serious topic. He provides some eye-opening insights regarding how far some operatives will go to keep people from voting and provides useful ideas on what we can do to protect our democracy. Lacked clarity on how bills become laws but overall a worthwhile read. I recommend it.
Further suggestions: “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, “Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America” by Cass R. Sunstein, “It’s Even Worse Than You Think” by David Cay Johnston, “The Common Good”, “Saving Capitalism” and “Beyond Outrage” by Robert B. Reich, “Inequality” by Anthony B. Atkinson, “The Great Divide” by Joseph Stiglitz, “Winner-Take All Politics” by Jacob S. Hacker, “White Rage” by Carol Anderson, “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire” by Kurt Andersen, and “A Colony in a Nation” by Chris Hayes.
June 23, 2020
Audiobook review
David Litt is a good writer, excellent narrator and simply a good story teller. His previous book, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years" was one of the funniest books I had read that year. I felt I was sitting in the family room next to my beloved little brother hearing him recount stories of his "war stories" from working in the White House.
This book is a bit different. More of a primer on the evolution (or some feel - devolution) of democracy in the United States. He weaves in these interesting stories of people that contributed significantly to the creation of our democratic structure that we know little about. You learn about the current government, the extraordinary hurdles a bill (or Bell) must face to get passed and ultimately lands on our entirely broken two party system as it exists now. If you wanted to know why the Senate Majority Leader holds so much power in office, why the House Speaker position is so imp't, why it's been so difficult for people to break out from the two party system to express their grievance with both their party and the President, he breaks it down for you.
But the author's true genius is in making a book about democracy interesting to the masses by weaving in little interesting stories throughout the book. He sprinkles in some sugar to keep the book lively. Visits to a frat house, the shenanigans of filibusters and what it really takes from a bodily perspective to speak for a period of 24 hours, bumping into a despicable government official and realizing his exterior is truly as unattractive as his interior all make for great story telling.
The true gem in this book was something he revealed about a Governor I voted for but had no idea of how far he would go to restore voting rights to individuals that have so little voice/and thus agency in the government - people convicted of felonies that had their voting rights rescinded.
Terry McAuliffe with his indomitable energy (and with a box of pens and reams of paper), restored the voting rights of thousands of individuals one by one by one when his attempt to pass more sweeping legislation was stymied. The notice was sent with a self addressed envelope making it that much easier for them to re-register to vote. What he was conveying to each of these people that probably had so much dignity stripped from them was the following - "you've paid your debt to society but you still matter, your voice is as important now as ever." If that doesn't exemplary compassion and kindness I don't know what does. Brings a tear to my eye even now.
p.s. if you're more conservatively inclined or are a fan of the Senate Majority Leader in 2020, this book may not be so compelling to you.
David Litt is a good writer, excellent narrator and simply a good story teller. His previous book, "Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years" was one of the funniest books I had read that year. I felt I was sitting in the family room next to my beloved little brother hearing him recount stories of his "war stories" from working in the White House.
This book is a bit different. More of a primer on the evolution (or some feel - devolution) of democracy in the United States. He weaves in these interesting stories of people that contributed significantly to the creation of our democratic structure that we know little about. You learn about the current government, the extraordinary hurdles a bill (or Bell) must face to get passed and ultimately lands on our entirely broken two party system as it exists now. If you wanted to know why the Senate Majority Leader holds so much power in office, why the House Speaker position is so imp't, why it's been so difficult for people to break out from the two party system to express their grievance with both their party and the President, he breaks it down for you.
But the author's true genius is in making a book about democracy interesting to the masses by weaving in little interesting stories throughout the book. He sprinkles in some sugar to keep the book lively. Visits to a frat house, the shenanigans of filibusters and what it really takes from a bodily perspective to speak for a period of 24 hours, bumping into a despicable government official and realizing his exterior is truly as unattractive as his interior all make for great story telling.
The true gem in this book was something he revealed about a Governor I voted for but had no idea of how far he would go to restore voting rights to individuals that have so little voice/and thus agency in the government - people convicted of felonies that had their voting rights rescinded.
Terry McAuliffe with his indomitable energy (and with a box of pens and reams of paper), restored the voting rights of thousands of individuals one by one by one when his attempt to pass more sweeping legislation was stymied. The notice was sent with a self addressed envelope making it that much easier for them to re-register to vote. What he was conveying to each of these people that probably had so much dignity stripped from them was the following - "you've paid your debt to society but you still matter, your voice is as important now as ever." If that doesn't exemplary compassion and kindness I don't know what does. Brings a tear to my eye even now.
p.s. if you're more conservatively inclined or are a fan of the Senate Majority Leader in 2020, this book may not be so compelling to you.
March 25, 2021
When it comes to straight informational content, Democracy in One Book or Less is fantastic. It could almost be a textbook for a high school civics or poly sci class; I wish I had been taught more of these details during my education. I learned so much about how our modern representative government works (and how it doesn't). Chapters on voter suppression and voter fraud, the balance of the states in the House and Senate, unequal representation based on that parcelling, gerrymandering, the filibuster, the influence of lobbyists, judicial packing and more flew by for me in the audio version. Even though I've studied a lot of American history, I learned a lot of new things about the formation of states, the writing of the Constitution, and the differences between how our government functioned in its early iteration and today. I feel like I have enlarged my understanding of how the country runs by reading this book.
BUT - and that's a very big BUT - David Litt is unapologetically liberal, and thinks the way to fix our American democracy is to modify every branch and wing of government to limit conservative influence. Chapter after chapter he bewails the damage modern Republicans have done to democracy, and seems to think his party has done no wrong. His suggested solutions to today's problems are definitely left wing, and sometimes struck me as terrible ideas. I prefer a more balanced analysis in books about politics, and am less likely to trust a thinker who can't see and acknowledge more validity in his opponents' beliefs.
3.5 stars.
BUT - and that's a very big BUT - David Litt is unapologetically liberal, and thinks the way to fix our American democracy is to modify every branch and wing of government to limit conservative influence. Chapter after chapter he bewails the damage modern Republicans have done to democracy, and seems to think his party has done no wrong. His suggested solutions to today's problems are definitely left wing, and sometimes struck me as terrible ideas. I prefer a more balanced analysis in books about politics, and am less likely to trust a thinker who can't see and acknowledge more validity in his opponents' beliefs.
3.5 stars.
March 30, 2021
The good
+Litt does a great job providing long-term causes and effects in describing gradual changes and the turning points of those changes in American democracy
+His anecdotes are humorous
+I appreciate his writing of characters -- real people certainly, but he breathes life into their stories
+He seeks a prescriptive approach towards contemporary problems showing an optimistic view
+It is very accessible (and the 'One Book or Less' makes it readable)
The bad
-It is very partisan. Litt really doesn't like (or understand) conservatism. He may have a grasp on modern Republicans but seems to think conservatism as an ideology is all about power. That's not to say he is wrong but it consistently read that Litt judges Democrats on their intentions (and not the outcome) but Republicans on their outcomes (but not intentions).
-It emphasizes structural challenges to modern American democracy but largely ignores the social views. Litt indicates that if we could make structural reforms to make voting more accessible then Democrats would gain power and the world would be all right. And while he is correct in mentioning that a majority of Americans may be Democrats and prefer some liberal policies, he omits that as a people, Americans are also very divided.
+Litt does a great job providing long-term causes and effects in describing gradual changes and the turning points of those changes in American democracy
+His anecdotes are humorous
+I appreciate his writing of characters -- real people certainly, but he breathes life into their stories
+He seeks a prescriptive approach towards contemporary problems showing an optimistic view
+It is very accessible (and the 'One Book or Less' makes it readable)
The bad
-It is very partisan. Litt really doesn't like (or understand) conservatism. He may have a grasp on modern Republicans but seems to think conservatism as an ideology is all about power. That's not to say he is wrong but it consistently read that Litt judges Democrats on their intentions (and not the outcome) but Republicans on their outcomes (but not intentions).
-It emphasizes structural challenges to modern American democracy but largely ignores the social views. Litt indicates that if we could make structural reforms to make voting more accessible then Democrats would gain power and the world would be all right. And while he is correct in mentioning that a majority of Americans may be Democrats and prefer some liberal policies, he omits that as a people, Americans are also very divided.
December 29, 2022
I jumped to purchase this book after hearing David Litt's MOTH story about his time working with President Obama. The sense of humor he displayed is on full effect throughout this fun read, along with an impressive grasp of historical precedents and common-sense solutions to problems that are detrimental to our country's future. Litt does a very impressive job explaining both the purposeful cruelty and the almost accidental ineptitude within many of our dysfunctional systems. Anecdotes about renegade voter registration drives in Texas and Congressional mishaps will stick with me for a long time. When this book was written (in what seems like an almost immediately pre-Covid world), perhaps the "we can fix it together" message felt more genuine and authentic. Today, the book's (all valid!) suggestions are just a little too West Wing hope-and-changey to meet the moment.
April 8, 2021
This is required reading for anyone who wants to understand how the mechanisms of our government were set up and how it morphed into what it is now. It's not pretty.
Loved Litt's first book (Thanks, Obama), it was a fun, funny, uplifting read. This one is more serious and complex but still likely one of the more palatable vehicles for understanding U.S. government workings. Tons of interesting history of the evolution/devolution of the government process. Litt maintains his humor and snark even though a good amount of what's been done is more scary than funny.
Highly recommend reading this, it's season is upon us.
Loved Litt's first book (Thanks, Obama), it was a fun, funny, uplifting read. This one is more serious and complex but still likely one of the more palatable vehicles for understanding U.S. government workings. Tons of interesting history of the evolution/devolution of the government process. Litt maintains his humor and snark even though a good amount of what's been done is more scary than funny.
Highly recommend reading this, it's season is upon us.
October 12, 2020
If you want to understand how our government works (or sometimes doesn't), this would be a good place to start. It's an engaging read.
July 17, 2022
A good look at how our government functions.....or in far too many cases doesn't....in this age of polarization. Wish the author had more ideas on how to fix things.
July 8, 2020
This book offers great ammunition for progressives in political arguments. More importantly, it offers solutions for righting our sinking ship of democratic institutions (and with far more wit and logic than that cliched analogy). Also, it's hilarious and hard to put down, and has some great fodder for cocktail chatter.
Basically, it's divided into three parts — the reasons voters are discouraged from voting or disenfranchised, the reasons we don't actually have "one person, one vote" at any level of politics, and the reasons most good legislation can't be enacted today.
I could have saved a lot of time in the last few years by skipping some investigative, deep-dive books about our political system and just reading this entertaining summary instead (to be sure, I am glad I read the more dense books, but this is a handy replacement if you're short on time). Sure, it doesn't go into the same level of detail, but it offers more concrete solutions than some of those books, and it's a more fun read. Don't expect a scholarly and annotated political textbook, which is not to say it's not well-researched. It cites some of my favorite books from recent years, and pulls some really interesting historical anecdotes.
"One Person, No Vote" offers more detail about voter suppression. "Ratf•••ed" is more informative about gerrymandering. "Confirmation Bias" better explores the conservative takeover of the Supreme Court. However, Litt covers all this and much more.
Plus, as a speechwriter, he is really into verbiage, and humorously questions much of our accepted political language. For example he compares the abstract and formal term "voter suppression" to "describing a murderer as engaged in 'lifespan adjustment.'"
Ironically for such a wordsmith, the book also has more than a few typos, at least in this first edition. That's my only nitpick. Litt writes that he spent three years researching this book. Someone should have spent an extra three hours proofreading. That's my only nitpick, and it's easy to overlook, though occasionally distracting.
Some takeaways (and memorable chapter titles):
• "Rick Vs. Ricky" explores the diverging paths of Rick Scott, a white-collar criminal who became Florida governor, and Ricky Scott, a blue-collar criminal who wasn't allowed to vote for governor. Reduce mass incarceration, and make it easier for ex-convicts and new immigrants to vote (they pay taxes and live in our society. They should have a say in its laws).
• "The Sasquatch Hunters" is about politicians nominally rooting out voter fraud, and he suggests universal registration and "substantial match" ballot verification.
• "How to Plan a Fyre Festival" hilariously explores logistical barriers to voting (long lines, broken machines, poorly trained poll workers, etc.) through the comparison of Disney queuing to Fyre Festival planning. We need more money for poll workers, better federal election monitoring and more convenient and secure voting.
• "Take a Shit with Irv Litt" draws out another hilarious anecdote from his grandfather's high school election campaign, then explains the history of gerrymandering. He calls for non-partisan map-drawing pacts between states with opposing political leanings. But also acknowledges the impact of self-sorting, so calls for ranked-choice voting in multimember districts with proportional representation (particularly in large metro areas).
• "An Appendix" compares the electoral college to the titular organ. "Most of the time, we forget our two-step presidential election process is even there. Then, on rare occasion, it flares up and nearly kills us." He endorses the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, as well as the admission of D.C., Puerto Rico and other new territories to help balance the heavy Republican bias.
• "The Spartan Retention of the Body's Juices" (it's a old-time newspaper reference to a filibuster) is about the senate. He calls for the end of the filibuster and the start of majority rule in the senate.
• "Possum Kingdom" is about lobbyists. This is possibly my favorite chapter. He recognizes that lobbyists do necessary work, but has concrete solutions to their takeover of Washington — a sliding-scale tax on lobbying activity, end the tax deductibility of political non-profits, and pay both congressional think tanks and congressional staff much more.
• Finally, he makes a sound argument for expanding the size of the Supreme Court, a fringe-y progressive idea that is becoming more mainstream.
Basically, it's divided into three parts — the reasons voters are discouraged from voting or disenfranchised, the reasons we don't actually have "one person, one vote" at any level of politics, and the reasons most good legislation can't be enacted today.
I could have saved a lot of time in the last few years by skipping some investigative, deep-dive books about our political system and just reading this entertaining summary instead (to be sure, I am glad I read the more dense books, but this is a handy replacement if you're short on time). Sure, it doesn't go into the same level of detail, but it offers more concrete solutions than some of those books, and it's a more fun read. Don't expect a scholarly and annotated political textbook, which is not to say it's not well-researched. It cites some of my favorite books from recent years, and pulls some really interesting historical anecdotes.
"One Person, No Vote" offers more detail about voter suppression. "Ratf•••ed" is more informative about gerrymandering. "Confirmation Bias" better explores the conservative takeover of the Supreme Court. However, Litt covers all this and much more.
Plus, as a speechwriter, he is really into verbiage, and humorously questions much of our accepted political language. For example he compares the abstract and formal term "voter suppression" to "describing a murderer as engaged in 'lifespan adjustment.'"
Ironically for such a wordsmith, the book also has more than a few typos, at least in this first edition. That's my only nitpick. Litt writes that he spent three years researching this book. Someone should have spent an extra three hours proofreading. That's my only nitpick, and it's easy to overlook, though occasionally distracting.
Some takeaways (and memorable chapter titles):
• "Rick Vs. Ricky" explores the diverging paths of Rick Scott, a white-collar criminal who became Florida governor, and Ricky Scott, a blue-collar criminal who wasn't allowed to vote for governor. Reduce mass incarceration, and make it easier for ex-convicts and new immigrants to vote (they pay taxes and live in our society. They should have a say in its laws).
• "The Sasquatch Hunters" is about politicians nominally rooting out voter fraud, and he suggests universal registration and "substantial match" ballot verification.
• "How to Plan a Fyre Festival" hilariously explores logistical barriers to voting (long lines, broken machines, poorly trained poll workers, etc.) through the comparison of Disney queuing to Fyre Festival planning. We need more money for poll workers, better federal election monitoring and more convenient and secure voting.
• "Take a Shit with Irv Litt" draws out another hilarious anecdote from his grandfather's high school election campaign, then explains the history of gerrymandering. He calls for non-partisan map-drawing pacts between states with opposing political leanings. But also acknowledges the impact of self-sorting, so calls for ranked-choice voting in multimember districts with proportional representation (particularly in large metro areas).
• "An Appendix" compares the electoral college to the titular organ. "Most of the time, we forget our two-step presidential election process is even there. Then, on rare occasion, it flares up and nearly kills us." He endorses the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, as well as the admission of D.C., Puerto Rico and other new territories to help balance the heavy Republican bias.
• "The Spartan Retention of the Body's Juices" (it's a old-time newspaper reference to a filibuster) is about the senate. He calls for the end of the filibuster and the start of majority rule in the senate.
• "Possum Kingdom" is about lobbyists. This is possibly my favorite chapter. He recognizes that lobbyists do necessary work, but has concrete solutions to their takeover of Washington — a sliding-scale tax on lobbying activity, end the tax deductibility of political non-profits, and pay both congressional think tanks and congressional staff much more.
• Finally, he makes a sound argument for expanding the size of the Supreme Court, a fringe-y progressive idea that is becoming more mainstream.
October 13, 2020
Highlights:
We can’t just concentrate on those who choose not to vote. There is a large percent of people who cannot vote and that large percentage disproportionately affects minorities. Felons in Florida cannot vote. A felony can include taking a fire extinguisher off the wall or stealing citrus fruits off of trees. How is this fair? Even after serving their time a felon cannot vote. This is taxation without representation. Green card holders cannot vote. They are lawful, permanent residents paying taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes yet cannot vote (there was a time they could vote). The obvious is that Republicans understand the great majority of these would be voters would vote Democratic. 60 Minutes recently did a fascinating piece on Florida. Case in point: Rush Limbaugh said he’s all for giving undocumented immigrants legal status if they’d promise not to vote for 25 years (because ole fat ass will be dead by then snd doesn’t give a shit).
Voter registration should be automatic as it is in other democratic countries. Why do we have voter registration drives? Why, in Texas, does a volunteer require a license to conduct registrations? A license that must be renewed every two years while a gun license only has to be renewed every five years. And The license to volunteer is only valid in the county in which it’s issued! In Tennessee (I think?) your college ID is not a valid ID to vote, but your gun permit is. Know that requiring an ID is a new requirement (no state required an ID before 2006).
“Use It Or Lose It” is employed in some states, most recently Georgia. Didn’t vote in the last election? Your name is purged from the list. Mail in your vote? Be wary because volunteers conduct “exact matches” of signatures. Handwriting your name which may be long and complicated? A volunteer will determine if it’s a clise enough match. Divorce? Remarried? Be careful to make sure changes were made. Poll workers? No training.
Gerrymandering is alive and well. Yes, at one point in time both Ds and Rs were guilty. But the Republicans’ REDMAP project is estimated to cost one Democratic seat per state.
The Electoral College is a joke. It does not resemble in any form it’s ironical intention. The purpose of its creation was not to “protect small states.” In the Early Republic no one traveled out of state except learned men (mostly politicians). So how would voters in North Carolina know anything about the candidate from Massachusetts? Newspapers were not like today - political commentary snd debate were not a part of publications. Even if it were, news traveled slowly. Electors were put in place to be “independent experts” who would judge the best candidate to represent their state. Also, it was not a winner-take-all thing. Electoral votes were proportioned to the number of popular votes each candidate received. Jefferson (argh) changed that method to put himself in the presidency. The way it’s run now the Electoral College harms the larger populous states because the HOR is capped at 435 members so larger states cannot increase their number of representatives in proportion to their population. In the Senate, 60% of senators represent only 34% of the population.
Upset about the lobbying influence on our representatives? There was a 1400% increase in registered lobbyists from 1971 to 1982. Here why that’s bad. The number of federal employees has slightly DECREASED since 1971 while our population has greatly increased. The number of congressional non-administrative jobs has also decreased at the same time. This includes cuts to the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office (thanks Newt Gingrich), non-partisan think tanks which supply information. Each member of congress is allowed to employ 18 support staff, no more. Think about the hundreds of issues representatives need to keep abreast of. They have ONLY 18 aides to guide them on the issues. The CBO and GAO analyze and push out guidance as quickly as they can. So who do representatives have to rely on for much of the information needed? Lobbyists.
Then there’s the Supreme Court whose initial role was for ruling over states’ issues, not ruling over the other two branches of the government. The influence of the Federalist Society and its strong ideology which impedes judicial independence can’t be ignored. The Court’s job is interpret the Constitution so how can the originalists, who are all members of The Federal Society, how can they argue its fixed? How can they turn claim to interpret it?
We can’t just concentrate on those who choose not to vote. There is a large percent of people who cannot vote and that large percentage disproportionately affects minorities. Felons in Florida cannot vote. A felony can include taking a fire extinguisher off the wall or stealing citrus fruits off of trees. How is this fair? Even after serving their time a felon cannot vote. This is taxation without representation. Green card holders cannot vote. They are lawful, permanent residents paying taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes yet cannot vote (there was a time they could vote). The obvious is that Republicans understand the great majority of these would be voters would vote Democratic. 60 Minutes recently did a fascinating piece on Florida. Case in point: Rush Limbaugh said he’s all for giving undocumented immigrants legal status if they’d promise not to vote for 25 years (because ole fat ass will be dead by then snd doesn’t give a shit).
Voter registration should be automatic as it is in other democratic countries. Why do we have voter registration drives? Why, in Texas, does a volunteer require a license to conduct registrations? A license that must be renewed every two years while a gun license only has to be renewed every five years. And The license to volunteer is only valid in the county in which it’s issued! In Tennessee (I think?) your college ID is not a valid ID to vote, but your gun permit is. Know that requiring an ID is a new requirement (no state required an ID before 2006).
“Use It Or Lose It” is employed in some states, most recently Georgia. Didn’t vote in the last election? Your name is purged from the list. Mail in your vote? Be wary because volunteers conduct “exact matches” of signatures. Handwriting your name which may be long and complicated? A volunteer will determine if it’s a clise enough match. Divorce? Remarried? Be careful to make sure changes were made. Poll workers? No training.
Gerrymandering is alive and well. Yes, at one point in time both Ds and Rs were guilty. But the Republicans’ REDMAP project is estimated to cost one Democratic seat per state.
The Electoral College is a joke. It does not resemble in any form it’s ironical intention. The purpose of its creation was not to “protect small states.” In the Early Republic no one traveled out of state except learned men (mostly politicians). So how would voters in North Carolina know anything about the candidate from Massachusetts? Newspapers were not like today - political commentary snd debate were not a part of publications. Even if it were, news traveled slowly. Electors were put in place to be “independent experts” who would judge the best candidate to represent their state. Also, it was not a winner-take-all thing. Electoral votes were proportioned to the number of popular votes each candidate received. Jefferson (argh) changed that method to put himself in the presidency. The way it’s run now the Electoral College harms the larger populous states because the HOR is capped at 435 members so larger states cannot increase their number of representatives in proportion to their population. In the Senate, 60% of senators represent only 34% of the population.
Upset about the lobbying influence on our representatives? There was a 1400% increase in registered lobbyists from 1971 to 1982. Here why that’s bad. The number of federal employees has slightly DECREASED since 1971 while our population has greatly increased. The number of congressional non-administrative jobs has also decreased at the same time. This includes cuts to the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office (thanks Newt Gingrich), non-partisan think tanks which supply information. Each member of congress is allowed to employ 18 support staff, no more. Think about the hundreds of issues representatives need to keep abreast of. They have ONLY 18 aides to guide them on the issues. The CBO and GAO analyze and push out guidance as quickly as they can. So who do representatives have to rely on for much of the information needed? Lobbyists.
Then there’s the Supreme Court whose initial role was for ruling over states’ issues, not ruling over the other two branches of the government. The influence of the Federalist Society and its strong ideology which impedes judicial independence can’t be ignored. The Court’s job is interpret the Constitution so how can the originalists, who are all members of The Federal Society, how can they argue its fixed? How can they turn claim to interpret it?
November 5, 2024
This book is witty, funny, and interesting. I really recommend it to everyone regardless of political party! It's divided into three parts: 1) who is able to vote, 2) which votes count, and 3) the politics and legislation of voting. Here, I'm just gonna highlight some of the interesting points I found and the tools he has used to analyze elections.
Things to Know
People casting illegal votes is fewer than 6 total in every election. According to the most recent studies, impersonation tarnishes 1 vote out of 32,550,000 votes.
Of all the votes in a 5,000-mile line, the chances are that just 1 voter is committing fraud. The odds that this illegitimate vote will decide the election is 0.0000017% (that is a p= 1.7E-8). At our current rate, we can expect such a vote to swing a presidential race sometime around the year 120 million. Voter fraud is incredibly rare.
He points out the difference between a voter purge and voter registration drive. In a voter purge someone combs trough the voter registrar data to get rid of ineligible voters, which is done at the taxpayer's expense, unlike registering people to vote, which requires people to volunteer, train, and obtain a permit while running the risk of going to jail. Chapter 3 is very interesting because it focuses on the ways voter disenfranchisement is institutionalized and paid for by taxpayer dollars in some states. Texas voting laws are some of the most exclusionary, but he's careful not to call it "voter suppression" by a technicality. He also points out that it's easier to get and renew a gun permit than it is to be a voter registrar.
He goes into the subtle differences between issues of gerrymandering vs. political geography, and makes the case that the latter has a larger impact on elections.
It's important to note that many of the things that happen during voter registration, ballot casting, and ballot counting don't directly target any one group of people, but ultimately disproportionately negatively affect non-white, poor/middle-class voters. This manifested in Obama's coalition, which included some of the most diverse, fastest-growing demographics (Black, Hispanic, and young people), but it also meant that their votes were easy to destroy. Although voter-ID requirements are some of the most inconsequential forms of vote elimination, they still carry consequences that target people likely to vote Democrat. For example, in Tennessee, people can use their gun permit to cast a ballot, but someone with a University of TN ID cannot. In Alabama, you can vote if two election observers know you, which gives rural areas an advantage over urban areas.
Tools/Resources Mentioned
1) Maptitude for Redistricting Software creates maps depending on your goal, e.g., you can choose to create turfs of people who are most likely to turn out for elections or support a particular political party,
2) AllOnTheLine.org has a list of important Congressional seats that can be flipped to more sensible candidates,
3) DW-NOMINATE: a scoring scheme that measures how ideologically close any one pair of Congress members are to each other.
Finally, I really appreciate that he took the time to visit Houston, Texas. Our city has one of the largest and most diverse counties in the U.S., and it's a great example of both vote elimination targeting Latinos and fabricated claims of illegal votes. He mentions that historically, "voter registration in Texas wasn't originally implemented to keep track of voters, but rather to keep certain voters out.
Things to Know
People casting illegal votes is fewer than 6 total in every election. According to the most recent studies, impersonation tarnishes 1 vote out of 32,550,000 votes.
Of all the votes in a 5,000-mile line, the chances are that just 1 voter is committing fraud. The odds that this illegitimate vote will decide the election is 0.0000017% (that is a p= 1.7E-8). At our current rate, we can expect such a vote to swing a presidential race sometime around the year 120 million. Voter fraud is incredibly rare.
He points out the difference between a voter purge and voter registration drive. In a voter purge someone combs trough the voter registrar data to get rid of ineligible voters, which is done at the taxpayer's expense, unlike registering people to vote, which requires people to volunteer, train, and obtain a permit while running the risk of going to jail. Chapter 3 is very interesting because it focuses on the ways voter disenfranchisement is institutionalized and paid for by taxpayer dollars in some states. Texas voting laws are some of the most exclusionary, but he's careful not to call it "voter suppression" by a technicality. He also points out that it's easier to get and renew a gun permit than it is to be a voter registrar.
He goes into the subtle differences between issues of gerrymandering vs. political geography, and makes the case that the latter has a larger impact on elections.
It's important to note that many of the things that happen during voter registration, ballot casting, and ballot counting don't directly target any one group of people, but ultimately disproportionately negatively affect non-white, poor/middle-class voters. This manifested in Obama's coalition, which included some of the most diverse, fastest-growing demographics (Black, Hispanic, and young people), but it also meant that their votes were easy to destroy. Although voter-ID requirements are some of the most inconsequential forms of vote elimination, they still carry consequences that target people likely to vote Democrat. For example, in Tennessee, people can use their gun permit to cast a ballot, but someone with a University of TN ID cannot. In Alabama, you can vote if two election observers know you, which gives rural areas an advantage over urban areas.
Tools/Resources Mentioned
1) Maptitude for Redistricting Software creates maps depending on your goal, e.g., you can choose to create turfs of people who are most likely to turn out for elections or support a particular political party,
2) AllOnTheLine.org has a list of important Congressional seats that can be flipped to more sensible candidates,
3) DW-NOMINATE: a scoring scheme that measures how ideologically close any one pair of Congress members are to each other.
Finally, I really appreciate that he took the time to visit Houston, Texas. Our city has one of the largest and most diverse counties in the U.S., and it's a great example of both vote elimination targeting Latinos and fabricated claims of illegal votes. He mentions that historically, "voter registration in Texas wasn't originally implemented to keep track of voters, but rather to keep certain voters out.
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