Books by Chapman Rackaway

The greatest threat to American democracy is the voting public. Candidates for political office, organized interests, and political parties are often blamed for the ills of American democracy, but this book places the focus on the core issue in American politics: a disengaged, demanding, and often contradictory voting public. Structural reforms such as the direct primary, term limits, and campaign finance regime reforms make the problems worse rather than better because these structural reforms fail to address core issues that disengage the voting public from republican politics.

The world of political communication is morphing almost constantly into new areas and realities. Online-only news, Web 2.0 user-created content, hyperlocal news, and the rise of the Twittersphere have all contributed to an ever-changing media environment. Communicating Politics Online captures the constant change of new online media.