Levinson, Sanford. Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It).

• Author: Merriman, Jr., W. Richard
• Position: Book review

Levinson, Sanford. Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It). New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 471 pages. Cloth, $28.

The fictional conceit that organizes Levinson's book is that "... Americans in 2008 will have the opportunity to vote on the following proposal: 'Shall Congress call a constitutional convention empowered to consider the adequacy of the Constitution and, if thought necessary, to draft a new constitution that, upon completion, will be submitted to the electorate for its approval or disapproval by a majority vote?'" (p. 11). Levinson's vote on the ballot question would be "yes" and his text presents evidence and arguments that "... a substantial responsibility for the defects of our polity lies in the Constitution itself" (p. 9). He then examines the structure of what we might call the Madisonian Constitution--the articles that specify the powers, responsibilities, terms of office, and modes of selection and eligibility for service of officers of the three branches of the national government-and the political maladies rooted in these arrangements.

Levinson's review of the pervasively "undemocratic" provisions of the Constitution begins with the legislative process, notably the proliferation of "veto points"--opportunities for deadlock--inherent in a bicameral legislature in which both houses have roughly equal power. He laments, too, the outsized clout that the Senate's scheme of representation confers on states with small populations. This complaint will be familiar to most political scientists and other students of politics and the Constitution.

Levinson introduces something new with his argument that the Constitution should be amended to allow speedy wholesale replacement of deceased members of Congress, a post-9/11 proposal embodied in a hoped-for Twenty-Eight Amendment. Levinson's exposition of the arcana of how new representatives are currently appointed gives an effective illustration of the unwieldy nature of key pieces of constitutional machinery that were designed over two centuries ago. One can almost hear ominous clanking noises coming from that machinery.

Levinson's discussion of the executive branch focuses on widely discussed problems: the Electoral College method of presidential selection, excessive presidential power used in unilateral ways, and the nation's inability, due to fixed terms of office, to rid itself of a president who, though not...