For the Next Generation: A Wake-Up Call to Solving Our Nation's Problems - Hardcover

Wasserman Schultz, Debbie; Fenster, Julie M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1250000998 ISBN 13: 9781250000996

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2013

Synopsis

Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz challenges the nation to resolve tough political issues for future generations.

America has witnessed the dangers that come with shortsightedness, writes Debbie Wasserman Schultz in For the Next Generation. If we want to ensure prosperity for ourselves and an improved way of life for young Americans, we have to change, starting now. We must:

· Create jobs

· Turned around our economy

· Formulate a long-term energy solution

· Reform immigration policies

· Enhance and expand health-care coverage

Yet these important issues have been sidelined by gridlock in a Congress that is too concerned about the next election to worry about the future. The group of Americans who have the most to lose from this dysfunction are the ones least represented in government: America's children. For the Next Generation is a call to action, one mother's challenge to her congressional colleagues and to the rest of the nation, to adopt a parent's perspective for doing right by kids.

Marked by clarity and by Debbie's characteristic poise, this polemic is informed by the congresswoman's own personal and professional experiences. It digs deep, exposing very real threats that America faces as a result of its failure to confront tough decisions in politics. Debbie conveys a vision of an America that has learned hard lessons from its recent past, an America galvanized by a renewed sense of purpose for applying that wisdom through forward-thinking policies on education, civil rights, and foreign policy. She describes how she will fight to overcome the legislative obstacles that inhibit progress, and she calls upon fair-minded Americans to lend their own strengths to securing a better tomorrow for the next generation.

About this title

About the Author

DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ was the youngest woman elected to the Florida state legislature and the first Jewish Congresswoman elected from Florida. Wife, mother of three, and breast cancer survivor, she is currently the Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

JULIE M. FENSTER is the author of FDR's Shadow, The Case of Abraham Lincoln, and Ether Day, and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Parish Priest.

Reviews

In this rote, camera-ready recitation of the party platform, Democratic National Committee Chair Wasserman Schultz hews close to official talking points. The youngest woman ever elected to the Florida State Legislature, only the third woman to head up the DNC, and a cancer survivor, Wasserman Schultz&'s personal story is an impressive one, but little of the will and power of the person appears on these pages. Instead, she and co-writer Fenster provide a run-down of last year&'s popular campaign issues, including immigration, women&'s rights, health-care, and, of course the economy, outlining the official Democratic position on each, while explaining how and why the Republican party is the wrong choice for America. The chapter on foreign policy neglects to mention the hugely unpopular drone program, and no reference to the Keystone XL pipeline sullies Wasserman Schultz&'s pristine take on the Democratic environmental platform. Anyone longing for a retread of last year&'s campaign will enjoy this defense of the winning position; however, political junkies and non-partisan observers will find nothing more than the status quo. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Associates Inc. (Oct.)

Elected to the Florida legislature at 26, Schultz was determined to be a children’s advocate even before she’d started her own family. At the end of her eight-year career in state office, Schultz went on to Congress and has continued her child-centric perspective in legislation on improved public education and affordable health care, gun control and reproductive rights, immigration policy and foreign policy. She recalls her experiences with the legislative process of partisanship and gridlock that threatens any efforts at constructive legislation, ultimately at the cost of American children. Noting how few women with young children are members of Congress, Schultz appeals for resolution of political discord and issues a challenge to adopt a parent’s perspective on how lawmaking or the lack of it will affect future generations. Throughout, she offers remembrances of her three children growing up—constant reminders of the significance of her job to the future of her children and other children. An interesting perspective on parenting and lawmaking. --Vanessa Bush

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250000998
• ISBN 13: 9781250000996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320