BTRTN: Catch 1776... How Will We Repair our Democracy When It's So Hard to Fix the Constitution?

[reggieandlee]

Born To Run The Numbers on the assault that Trump, Barr, and McConnell are waging on our Constitution, our democracy, and the customs and traditions that enable our government to function... and what we can do about it.

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2019/06/btrtn-catch-1776-how-will-we-repair-our.html

Excerpts: "...That, however, was before the Republicans had finished assembling the troika of imperialists determined to re-introduce monarchy to America in the original George III form, a version devoid of the endearing understatement and benign inefficacy we associate with Prince Charles and Masterpiece Theater. No, in this remake, Trump, McConnell, and Barr are taking a quiet sledgehammer to our system of government, and still have another eighteen months to finish their, uh, crowning achievement...The Presidency is almost dead, long live the King..."
"And that is where we come to our true constitutional crisis....As wise as the Founding Fathers were, they did not anticipate that an utterly corrupt individual would attain the Presidency and then be insulated from impeachment by an equally corrupt political party with a greater interest in maintaining power than in preserving a government of, by, and for the people... "
"We, the people, now have a government led by a man who the majority of citizens did not vote for. We have a Supreme Court that was tipped by an unprincipled hypocrite in favor of a judicial philosophy that does not represent the rightful will of the people. We have a legislative branch that is so hopelessly polarized and gridlocked that it cannot even pass background checks for gun purchases that are favored by over 90% of the citizens. We have a Department of Justice that covers up the illegal acts of a President, even as it accedes to that President’s wish that investigative probes be launched on his political opponents..."
"What was once a noble and shining triumph of government of, by, and for the people is at risk of becoming an imperial state of Barr, by McConnell, and for Trump..."

[brooklynite]

1. Slowly...

[zipplewrath]

2. Unfixable

Our constitution really prevents us from actually repairing much of what is wrong with it. One will note that we are the only country that really runs things the way we do. Most countries use some form of parliamentary system, when they have a democratic system at all. Our system that is so dependent upon state governments, and a Senate that is far from democratically constructed, is a real problem, and one that can't be fixed by any constitutional amendment.

I fear we are headed towards another war in about 20 - 30 years.

[reggieandlee]

3. Does not have to go that way....

Yes, the central thesis of the article is that the Constitution is inherently difficult to amend, and that the polarization of our politics now makes it darn near impossible. But we do not need to abandon the core design of the government it created. We do need to figure out how to prevent would-be despots from trampling over the very clear demarcations, divisions of authority, and separation of powers that were laid out in the Constitution.

[zipplewrath]

4. Senate representation is impossible to fix

In 2040, 70 percent of the nation will live in just 8 states. That means that 30% of the population will control 75% of the senate. It will also influence the EC. It will mean that 30% of the population will heavily influence the courts all the way to the SC. And there is nothing we can do about it. It is the fatal flaw.

[MasterofBiscuits]

5. That't the way white men intended it so many moons ago.

[zipplewrath]

6. sorta

I don't think they intended that 30% of the white men could control 70% of the Senate. They wanted the minority to have an outsized vote, but when there were only 13 states, it would have been nearly impossible for this kind of imbalance. But when you have all of these low population western states, not to mention Alaska, it gives them way more than ever intended.