WaPo writer inspired by Stacey Abrams' novel says US is too 'timid' about amending Constitution
'The book highlights an important problem: As a nation, we have lost our constitutional imagination'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote Monday he was inspired by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' new political novel for having moved him to "rediscover our constitutional imagination," suggesting it would do the same for fellow readers.
In his piece, "Stacey Abrams prods our constitutional imagination," Dionne marveled at Abrams' book, "While Justice Sleeps," calling it a "good summer thriller."
The book, published by Penguin Random House, follows a Supreme Court justice whose descent into a coma plunges the country into turmoil. In May, it was picked up by NBCUniversal-backed Working Title Television to be adapted to TV.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK TIMES GUSHES OVER ‘STAR MULTITASKER’ STACEY ABRAMS IN PROFILE HIGHLIGHTING NEW NOVEL
Dionne argued that in her book, Abrams highlighted the need to take a closer look at our founding documents and perhaps make edits. In particular, he noted, Abrams wants to see amendments "that rid us of the outdated and anti-democratic Electoral College, establish unequivocally that every citizen has the right to vote, and clarify the right to privacy."
"But the book highlights an important problem: As a nation, we have lost our constitutional imagination," he writes. "We have become far too timid about amending our Constitution to deal with new problems and changed circumstances, and also to bring that hallowed document into line with our more egalitarian moral commitments."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He credited not only Abrams with encouraging Americans to be more "adventurous," but also the left-of-center political quarterly Democratic Journal. Some of their proposed constitutional changes, Dionne noted, include a more specific Bill of Rights; a popularly elected president; a more representative Senate, and 16-year term limits for Supreme Court justices. It's now or never to make changes, Dionne argued, because the U.S. is facing multiple crises.
"Constitutional innovation typically happens at moments of crisis (after the Civil War) or times of rapid social change (the Progressive Era). We’re facing both, so it’s no accident that Abrams’ novel, the Democracy Journal project and a forthcoming book by John Kowal of the Brennan Center for Justice and Wilfred Codrington III of Brooklyn Law School, ‘The People’s Constitution,’ are all pushing us toward a new inventiveness," he wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other media outlets like the New York Times have been kind in their reviews as well, with writer Sarah Lyall giving Abrams high marks for the book and praising her as "a star multi tasker." Abrams has also penned multiple romance novels, three of which were recently reissued from the early 2000s: "Rules of Engagement," "The Art of Desire" and "Power of Persuasion."
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The mainstream media has championed Abrams since her losing bid for Georgia governor in 2018, which she and many advocates claim she would have won if not for the race being "rigged." The Washington Post previously published a glowing magazine profile of Abrams, even sharing a photograph of the author that appeared to depict her as a superhero.