Lord Meghnad Desai, Professor London School of Economics (UK); "This book is in the
great tradition of American populism. It combines a deep and
genuine concern for people with the best scientific practice and
technology."
Doug Miller, President of Globescan International,
London, UK
"This book not only offers important insights into American
public policy, but also explains the scientific method of the
serious social researcher."
Rick Smyre, President, Center for Communities of the
Future, Gastonia, NC
"Kay understands that the wisdom of
citizens can be integrated into decision making with the
appropriate use of polling and technology, and offers practical
ideas to allow this to occur. He is a significant pioneer whose
work is right on target."
Charles Lewis, founder, The Center for Public
Integrity, formerly producer for CBS "60 Minutes"
"Kay is a genuine
pioneer in public-interest polling, and he has performed a great
service to us all."
Prof. Roger Fisher, Director, Harvard Negotiation Project
"Congratulations on
Locating Consensus for Democracy!"
John Doble, President, Doble Associates;
former Research Director Public Agenda Foundation Englewood
Cliffs, NJ, "Anyone with a serious interest in understanding public opinion
about complex issues in a democracy should analyze -- no, study
-- this work. I look forward to using his book as a resource for
the rest of my career."
Jonathan Dean,
former Ambassador, Union of Concerned
Scientists, Boston, MA
"A great book, and
ultimately an encouraging one, with its demonstration of how the
common sense of American Citizens somehow survives the
manipulation it receives."
Duane Elgin, Author, Voluntary Simplicity and Awakening Earth,
San Anselmo, CA
"Demonstrates that we can sort out our priorities and build a
working consensus for our pathway into the future. This is good
news!"
Barbara Marx Hubbard, President of the Foundation for
Conscious Evolution, author, futurist, Santa
Barbara, CA, "Reveals how to make our democracy work by overcoming the "disconnect"
between the citizen and the government, by the obvious and clear
process of actually finding out what the citizens of this
country want."
David Loye, Author, The Healing of a Nation, The
Knowable Future, Carmel, CA
"...It is not often
these days that one encounters something that goes so to the
heart of what ails us and offers an empirically grounded
solution. This is a magnificent achievement!"
Hazel Henderson, Author, Building a Win-Win World
and Politics of the Solar Age
"Highly recommended!"
Richard C. Harwood, President of the Harwood Group,
Bethesda, MA
"Our nation is at a time of great transition in which we are
seeking to sort our public values, restrike social compacts, and
rethink who we are and what we want to become. Locating Consensus for Democracy
shines a bright light on these challenges and how we might
address them."
Sidney Hollander, Jr., past president AAPOR
"An important book - provides a vision of service to political democracy."
Elise Boulding, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Dartmouth
College
"Alan Kay has made
five discoveries that make Locating Consensus for Democracy one
of the most important books of a troubled decade."
William O. Chittick, Political Scientist, The University of Georgia
"Locating Consensus for Democracy challenges
both the nation's political representatives and it's media
representatives to put the question "Who represents the American
people?" to a test. That test takes the form of public-interest
polling that goes the extra mile in
making sense out of public opinion."
Senator Alan Cranston (Democrat, California, 1968-1992)
"A wry look at the way
politics and the democratic process work (and don't work) by a
thoughtful and experienced citizen who suggests important ways
to improve it all."
Gordon Davidson
and Corinne McLaughlin, Co-Directors of the Center for Visionary Leadership; Authors,
Spiritual Politics and Builders of the New Dawn
"A book of major importance."
Stephen L. Elkin, Professor of Government, University of
Maryland
"A very important book on the intelligence of the citizenry with regard to major issues of public policy."
Ted Becker, Professor of Political Science, Auburn
University
"The
method in this book is innovative and rigorous. The data is
persuasive. For those truly committed to helping forge a new,
more participatory American democracy in the 21st century."
Chad Alger, Professor of Political Science,
Ohio State University
"This book is
required reading for all who believe that accuracy in
representing, and in reporting, the opinions of the people is an
essential foundation for democracy."
Winston Franklin, late President, Institute of Noetic
Sciences, Sausalito, CA
"With a combination of public-interest polling and expert policy
analysis this book offers a realistic plan to reintroduce the
collective wisdom of the people into our governing process.
I knew and worked closely with George Gallup Sr. back in the
sixties. He was a true believer in public-interest polling and
would be appalled if he could see how opinion polling is used
today."
David Gershon, Author and Director, Global Action Plan,
W. Hurley, NY
"A dedicated and remarkable job helping create a new tool for
American citizenship. This book represents the power that an
informed citizenry can have in creating a truly democratic
society."
Mark Gerson, Author, Director of the Campaign for Common
Ground
"I found
Locating Consensus for Democracy, to be incredibly
valuable. Can't think of a better starting point for
renewing democracy than his extraordinary data."
Fred Steeper,
Pollster for President George W. Bush and the first President Bush,
says of author Kay,
"I worked with Alan Kay for over a decade. The experience taught me a
side of public opinion I might not have otherwise appreciated.
I have worked with no one more dedicated to finding out the true
issue positions of the public. He is to be greatly commended for
showing the way to the democratic consensus that does, indeed, exist
out there."
Jonathan Ortmans, President, Founder, Public Forum
Institute, Wash. D.C.
"Kay proves to have taken landmark steps on the road towards
improving democracy in the future. His willingness to fight such
an exhausting uphill battle on behalf of the entire country
should supply inspiration to all would-be reformers and garner
applause from an indebted public. A must read for any of us
involved in citizen engagement."
Jack Mendelsohn, Minister Unitarian-Universalist
Association, Boston, MA
"A decade ago, Alan Kay decided to stop simply gnashing his
teeth and do something. That something is dramatically,
engagingly, and fulsomely documented in the ten-year U.S.
experiment Locating Consensus for Democracy. It richly
deserves the lofty designation "seminal"."
David Mathews, past President, Kettering Foundation,
Dayton, OH
"Alan Kay has correctly identified a disconnect between the
public and institutions and the need for citizens to make
choices on major issues of the day."
Michaela Walsh, founder and trustee of Woman's World
Banking, New York
"Gives us a new and valuable set of tools for assuring that the
voice of the American voter truly represents his and her PUBLIC INTEREST."
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