In Defense of the United States Constitution

Robert Singh's In Defense of the United States Constitution is a timely and welcome antidote to the frequent charges that the Constitution is outmoded and undemocratic. There are serious problems in our politics - citizen apathy and ignorance, partisan polarization, and institutional gridlock among them. But as Singh calmly and reasonably points out, these are problems of our politics and not our Constitution. This book will lower your blood-pressure and lift your spirits - just the prescription for our times. Cal Jillson, Southern Methodist University Given the current troubled state of the American polity, calls to amend the Constitution are once again in vogue. This book is an important and timely response to these proposals. Robert Singh offers an articulate, balanced, and well-informed discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution, one that suggests that the governing problems that afflict the United States are not necessarily a product of constitutional flaws. Although he agrees that there are certain amendments that would be real improvements, he concludes that the document's daunting amending procedure makes change unlikely, and more importantly, that there are greater dangers than advantages to undertaking a wholesale process of constitutional revision. Michael L. Mezey, DePaul University Critics argue that American politics are broken and that the Constitution is to blame. Robert S. Singh deflects this blame in this clearly written, lucid, and timely defense of the Framers' handiwork: Taking seriously points of view from all sides and origins and arguing in good faith at every point, Singh dismantles each critique - and the situational constitutionalism orientation articulated by many parties - by pointing out the flaws in the argument. Singh places blame for what ails American politics where it clearly belongs: on America's polarized politics and rudderless ship of state. This book will make students in American politics and constitutional studies courses think critically, and is also a novel contribution to the literature. Jeffrey S. Peake, Clemson University In Defense of the United States Constitution offers a reasonable diagnosis and an achievable prescription for what ails American politics today. Responding to calls for major structural amendments or even a new constitutional convention, author Robert Singh wisely advises that dispensing with the existing settlement is a gamble unlikely to pay off. The reform we need is partisan, not constitutional: Partisans can reframe issues so as to re-establish the possibility of ideological compromise. Without such a rapprochement, constitutional reform is impossible; with it, existing constitutional provisions are satisfactory. Randall Calvert, Washington University in St. Louis Robert Singh has written a timely, carefully researched, and well-reasoned book. Sure to stimulate discussion, his work is in the must-read category for anyone interested in the future of constitutional government in the United States. Donald Grier Stephenson, Jr., Franklin & Marshall College; Co-author of American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases