Restoring the Consent of the Governed / Lake Clare Press (ePub)

Even before the Pandemic, the one thing we all agreed on was that Washington is broken. But now the stakes are much higher and the need for bold robust ideas has become even more urgent. And so this brief e-book, which presents a breakthrough concept for fixing Congress, could not be more timely.

Restoring the Consent of the Governed describes a new constitutional mechanism, the Public Check on Congress (PCC), by which the general public would hold the members of Congress, of both parties and both houses, jointly accountable for their collective performance. The result would be a Congress with more team spirit and a lot less incentive to blame the other guy.

Further, under PCC, political influence shifts away from moneyed special interests, fringe political factions, and tribal party leaders. Instead, members of Congress would feel a powerful new incentive to respond to the American public with bipartisan consensus on our most important national priorities. These include Pandemic response, immigration, fiscal responsibility, health care, election security, gun issues, choice/life issues, climate change, etc.

Many additional benefits arise from this new relationship between Congress and the American people.

PCC would require an amendment to the Constitution. While that's a heavy lift, polls show that Americans are ready for serious structural reform if it helps restore our government to good health. That is the enormous potential of collective congressional accountability.

Restoring the Consent of the Governed includes a first draft of a constitutional amendment. Since it is a still-emerging concept, readers can offer their own refinements through the book's website and take part in rejuvenating our government.