The Supreme Court has implemented a set of revolutionary changes in constitutional doctrine since the 1990s. It has developed a body of constitutional law that is rooted in a deep-seated mistrust of the People’s elected representatives. That body of law is one of several factors contributing to the problem of democratic decay in the United States. To reverse the process of democratic decay, the Court will need to repudiate much of the constitutional doctrine developed since World War II. In short, we need a Copernican revolution in constitutional law to revitalize popular control of the government. For far too long, the Court has placed itself at the center of our constitutional universe. Other actors in the system revolve around the Court, like planets revolving around the sun. To restore popular sovereignty and reverse the process of democratic decay, the Court must place We the People at the center of our constitutional universe, with other actors (including the Court) revolving around us.

Chapter Eight responds to the likely objection that the proposals presented earlier in the book are unrealistic. The chapter first addresses theories of constitutional change, focusing on Professor Ackerman’s “movement, party, Presidency” model of constitutional transformation. The rest of the chapter lays out a program for revolutionary change, based on the assumption that the Democratic Party will be the main engine of constitutional transformation. If the Democratic Party decides to launch a constitutional revolution to restore the power of We the People to exercise effective control over our government, it will have to change the composition of the Supreme Court. The chapter analyzes proposals for Supreme Court reform, then discusses constitutional transformation related to the electoral process, and finally considers other potential constitutional changes.