You Call This Democracy?

January 15, 2020
Detailing how threats to democracy--some long-standing, others recent--deprive Americans of all political stripes of the power to participate in their governance, this users' manual offers new and future voters ways to make their voices heard and their ballots count. The challenges are sobering, and Rusch lays them out clearly. Citizen voters don't elect presidents; the Electoral College does, and twice in 20 years it has elected the candidate who lost the popular vote. Like sparsely populated, early-primary states, "battleground" states essential to securing Electoral College victory play an outsize role in selecting presidential candidates; meanwhile, other states get little attention. Each state has two senators, regardless of population; today, half the Senate represents just 16.2% of the U.S. population. With election spending now a financial arms race, issues wealthy donors care about are prioritized over those of other constituents; time politicians must devote to fundraising leaves significantly less for legislating. Gerrymandering, with a long, bipartisan history and now technologically weaponized, engineers House legislative districts to ensure one-party control. Voter-suppression efforts target youth and minorities. Rusch has some hope to offer: To address these and many other challenges, initiatives for restoring democracy--some from teen activists--are described and resources provided. Effective infographics and references support the streamlined text. Rusch unites a passion for democracy with a belief in the power of young people to help restore it. A riveting must-read. (bibliography, online resources) (Nonfiction. 10-16)

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February 1, 2020

Gr 6 Up-Rusch offers a sprawling, information-rich exploration of the current state of American democracy. Readers will gain a greater understanding of topics including how dark money can influence elections, voter suppression, and what the Senate actually is and how it impacts the democratic functioning of the United States government. Snappy infographics help break up the text, which can sometimes seem daunting. Extensive reliance on academic experts in fields such as gerrymandering and voter turnout prevents the appearance of partisanship. Rusch clearly wants to avoid bias; there is an almost pathological pattern of citing an identified Republican source and then citing an identified Democratic source (and vice versa) in close proximity. The work's broad scope is sometimes its downfall. When discussing the Electoral College, the author minimizes the pivotal role that slavery played in its establishment and the passage of the 12th Amendment. Furthermore, Rusch repeatedly props up the Constitution as a democratic lodestar; it might be asked how democratic our roots are if women, Native Americans, and people of color were not allowed to vote on this foundational document. VERDICT A serviceable resource for middle and high school patrons who want to improve our democracy.-Ted McCoy, Austin Public Library, Austin, TX

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