Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin argue that Americans can revitalize their democracy and break the cycle of cynical media manipulation that is crippling public life. They propose a new national holiday-Deliberation Day-for each presidential election year. On this day people throughout the country will meet in public spaces and engage in structured debates about issues that divide the candidates in the upcoming presidential election.Deliberation Day is a bold n...

The Supreme Court’s intervention in the 2000 election will shape American law and democracy long after George W. Bush has left the White House. This vitally important book brings together a broad range of preeminent legal scholars who address the larger questions raised by the Supreme Court’s actions. Did the Court’s decision violate the rule of law? Did it inaugurate an era of super-politicized jurisprudence? How should Bush v. Gore change the terms of debate over the next round of...

In this provocative book, two leading law professors challenge the existing campaign reform agenda and present a new initiative that avoids the mistakes of the past.Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres build on the example of the secret ballot and propose a system of secret donation booths” for campaign contributions. They unveil a plan in which the government provides each voter with a special credit card account containing fifty Patriot dollars” for presidential elections. To us...