As we approach the 2024 elections, America is sharply divided by partisanship and exhausted by politics. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, 65% of Americans say that they always or often feel “exhausted” when thinking about politics, and 55% always or often feel “angry.” Both major parties are generally unpopular: only 37% of Americans have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while only 36% have a favorable view of the Republican Party.

Is compromise still possible in such a polarized country? Here at Amplify Publishing and RealClear Publishing, we believe that books can be part of creating a healthier, more constructive conversation around politics. America needs smart, principled bipartisan policy solutions more than ever, and buyer demand for political books is still going strong.

Despite the harsh rhetoric and divisiveness of recent years, America still has the potential for bipartisan compromise and creative, intelligent policymaking. Let’s look at a few ideas for bipartisan policy books that people from both sides of the political aisle would love to read.

1. The Urgent Case for Campaign Finance Reform

 It’s easy to assume that Americans are just dispirited and hopeless about politics, but if you look closer, there are a few areas where Americans have broad agreement. One of those areas is campaign finance reform. The Pew Research Center found:

• 85% of Americans believe that “the cost of political campaigns makes it hard for good people to run for office.”
• 84% say that special interest groups and lobbyists have too much say in what happens in politics.
• 72% believe there should be limits on the amount of money that can be spent on campaigns.
• 58% think it is possible to have laws that would effectively reduce the role of money in politics.

When ideas are this popular, why can’t they become reality? We’d love to see a book that outlines the new state of play on campaign finance reform. What needs to happen next at the federal and state level, in Congress and in the courts, for Americans to take back control of the democratic process from big money donors and special interest groups? Smart solutions for campaign finance reform would likely find an eager audience from both sides of the aisle.

2. How America’s Politicians Got So Old – and What We Can Do About It

America is often thought of as a “young” country, with a youth-oriented culture and an innovative spirit of governance by the people. But somehow, our elected officials have gotten surprisingly old – leading to widespread public concern about the advanced age of leaders like President Biden, former President Trump, and members of Congress like Senator Mitch McConnell or the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. And people aren’t happy about it. The Pew Research Center found that large majorities of Americans support age limits and term limits for federal elected officials:

• 87% favor limiting the number of terms that members of Congress can serve.
• 79% of Americans say there should be a maximum age for elected officials in Washington, D.C.
• 74% favor age limits for Supreme Court justices.

Older political leaders can have some advantages, too: like patience, wisdom, historical perspective, and life experience. But it’s clear that Americans are open to having a larger conversation about how, in a diverse, growing, high-tech, creative, young-at-heart country, so much political power got concentrated among the oldest cohort of people.

3. Why It’s Time to Expand the Electorate and Secure the Ballot

One big partisan battleground in recent years has been the topic of voter ID laws. Some states (often governed by Republicans) have implemented new laws to require voters to show government-provided identification to vote, as part of preventing voter fraud and improving security for the election process. Democratic activists have often criticized these measures as a form of voter suppression that will make it harder for younger voters, poorer voters, and voters from diverse and underrepresented communities to get access to the ballot.

What if there was a way to find compromise on this issue? The Pew Research Center found that voter ID is popular with Americans: 76% said that they’re in favor of requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote. But that doesn’t mean Americans want to make it harder to vote: the survey also found that 62% of Americans are in favor of automatically registering all eligible citizens to vote.

YouGov also found bipartisan majority support for several election-related policies that could potentially make voting easier, more inclusive, and fairer, including:

• Requiring states to make voting more accessible for people with disabilities (favored by 74% of Republicans and 89% of Democrats)
• Making Election Day a national holiday (favored by 57% of Republicans and 73% of Democrats)
• Offering the option of straight-ticket voting (favored by 54% of Republicans and 57% of Democrats)
• Requiring that redistricting be conducted by a nonpartisan redistricting commission (favored by 63% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats)

What if America could expand the electorate, with measures like automatic voter registration, while also improving the security of elections? Would both parties agree on new rules of the game, if they could stop fighting about the size and eligibility of the electorate? What does higher voter turnout really mean for Democrats, Republicans, and for our democracy as a whole? How can we achieve a more democratic electorate while preserving everyone’s right to vote and assuaging concerns about the integrity of the process? These big questions are worth exploring in a book!

4. Red + Blue = Green: Bipartisan Solutions on Climate Change

There are some big partisan divides about climate change; people’s views of how big a problem climate change is, or what should be done about it, are often affected by their political party affiliation. However, even with the divisions of politics, there is strong majority support for certain big actions on climate change.

The Pew Research Center has found that a strong majority of Americans are in favor of taking big steps on climate change and green energy:

• 69% of Americans are in favor of the U.S. becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
• 67% of Americans are in favor of prioritizing the development of alternative energy sources, like wind and solar power.
• 67% of Republicans under the age of 30 are in favor of prioritizing the development of alternative energy sources like wind and solar.
• 66% of U.S. adults think the federal government should encourage the production of wind and solar power.

Along with the strong majority support for these climate change policies, YouGov found that 77% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans are in favor of the idea of “planting a trillion trees to absorb carbon emissions.”

What is the new landscape of climate policy? How can policymakers build consensus? Will the Inflation Reduction Act potentially lead to stronger support for climate policy, especially if it leads to new green energy and electric vehicle manufacturing jobs in “Red” states? Is there a better way to frame these issues to build consensus? When it comes to climate change, do Americans have more in common than they realize? We’d love to see some smart books that lay out these ideas in a compelling, comprehensive way!

5. Smart Policies to Support Families with Children

During the pandemic, America’s children got richer. Congress passed a temporary increase in the Child Tax Credit in 2021, which led to many families getting extra cash in the bank each month. But the extra pandemic-era support for children has been allowed to expire, and as a result, child poverty has increased. According to Census data, in the past year, the child poverty rate rose from a historic low of 5.2% to 12.4% in 2023. This happened largely because of the end of the expanded Child Tax Credit and other pandemic relief for families.

How can America get better at fighting – and ending – child poverty – in ways that are politically feasible, with strong bipartisan support? A 2022 YouGov survey found that strong majorities of Republicans and Democrats agree on several big policy ideas that could make life easier for families with children:

• Providing free health care to children whose parents can’t afford it (favored by 73% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats)
• Incentivizing developers to build more low-income housing as a solution to homelessness (favored by 61% of Republicans and 79% of Democrats)
• Funding more emergency rental assistance programs as a solution to homelessness (favored by 57% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats)
• Exempting diapers from state sales taxes (favored by 54% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats)
• Requiring companies to provide paid parental leave to mothers and fathers (favored by 70% of Republicans and 82% of Democrats)
• Providing free lunch to low-income students in public schools (favored by 83% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats)

Americans tend to be suspicious of a strong welfare state, compared to people in other wealthy democratic countries like Canada or Western Europe. However, there is a strong consensus that America needs to do more to help children grow up safe and healthy. How can Americans bridge the partisan divide to better support our children’s future? What are some underrated areas of opportunity for policymakers and political leaders to help the next generation? In a country that has been fighting about politics for so long, is it possible to make peace for the sake of the children? We’d love to see some book proposals about this!

RealClear Publishing is dedicated to cutting through the clutter and noise of predictable hyper-partisanship. We have a history of publishing books that reach across the aisle, including: Steve Shafarman's Our Future, focused on universal basic income (UBI), which has rising support from conservatives as well as liberals; C. Owen Paepke's The Purple Presidency 2024, a call for pragmatism and an end to partisan gridlock and polarization; and independent U.S. Senate candidate Neal Simon's Contract to Unite America, with ten ideas for targeted reforms to achieve practical solutions for better government. 

We want to elevate the discussion of real-world ideas and common-sense policy insights from independent-minded thinkers. Are you an aspiring political author, policy expert, or political thought leader who wants to share your policy ideas with the world? Let’s talk!