The Democracy Agenda

[skews13]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

 

[progressive hunter]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

when will these morons realize we are a republic not a democracy???

 

[JGalt]

After reading that screed by the DC Mayor, I'm convinced that even though Marion Barry is dead and gone, DC still has a crackhead running their city.

 

[Norman]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

The only people who it doesn't make sense to are losers.

You see, this nation was NOT founded with the intent that each vote counts equally. That is actually a very stupid idea that very stupid people would like to implement so that they can leverage their stupidity in numbers.

 

[Dick Foster]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

You are a dumbass!

 

[MisterBeale]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

. . . so. . .

You want North Dakota to secede?

 

[MisterBeale]

wow, So I click on this Dumb ass link, and under the suggestion of giving statehood to Washington D.C. it refers to it as. get this . . . well, just read how detached from reality;



"2. Statehood for disenfranchised Americans

We can’t fix the Senate’s inequities without a Constitutional amendment, and too many small states are vested in the current system to want real reform. Why would Wyoming want to cede its ridiculous level of power to Florida or North Carolina or any other state with more than 1 million residents? So next best thing? Enfranchise American citizens in Washington, D.C. (Douglass Commonwealth) and Puerto Rico (if they vote for it) who are currently denied representation in Congress and a presidential vote by granting them statehood. All that requires is a simple law.

Wyoming and Vermont have fewer residents than Washington, D.C., which is just slightly more populous than Alaska. And Puerto Rico? At 3.2 million residents, it has more people 19 other states. Make it happen.

There is even a case to be made for statehood for Navajo Nation, but that is complex and, at best, a long-term project."

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

U.S. Senate is certainly an anachronism and an undemocratic entity – but that’s not the problem.

The problem is the same as with the EC and presidency: it doesn’t function as intended by the Framers.

 

[MisterBeale]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

U.S. Senate is certainly an anachronism and an undemocratic entity – but that’s not the problem.

The problem is the same as with the EC and presidency: it doesn’t function as intended by the Framers.

Yaah. . . the framers intended for folks that had no property, women and colored folks to be disenfranchised. The system was intended for only the elites to control things, that way they wouldn't have had to mess around with these silly lobbyists, campaign financing or propaganda. They all knew what their interests were.

Stahp already.

 

[Oddball]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

How many times can you constitutionally illiterate asswipes keep recycling this stale, debunked, and truly idiotic argument?

What you knuckle draggers want is mob rule, which makes it imperative that the Senate and electoral college be done away with.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

As with most other problems with American governance, the fault and blame rests solely with the people – the consequence of their ignorance, laziness, stupidity, and fear.

The people are alone responsible.

 

[Oddball]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

U.S. Senate is certainly an anachronism and an undemocratic entity – but that’s not the problem.

The problem is the same as with the EC and presidency: it doesn’t function as intended by the Framers.

They still function (reasonably) as designed...To the endless consternation of snobbish, overbearing, elitist punks like you.

Suck it.

 

[Oddball]

As with most other problems with American governance, the fault and blame rests solely with the people – the consequence of their ignorance, laziness, stupidity, and fear.

The people are alone responsible.

You are a "people" you ignorant, intellectually lazy, and truly stupid asshole.

 

[MisterBeale]

As with most other problems with American governance, the fault and blame rests solely with the people – the consequence of their ignorance, laziness, stupidity, and fear.

The people are alone responsible.

 

[Dana7360]

The U.S. Senate is a deeply flawed legislative chamber, one in which North Dakota, population 762,062, has as many senators as California, population 39.51 million. In fact, metro Houston, population 7.1 million, is larger than 35 states. Thirty-five! Or put another way, Texas and California have 21% of the nation’s population, and only 4% of its senators. This is inherently disenfranchising to … pretty much everyone.

American democracy is in tatters: Here's a 2020 'democracy agenda' to start putting it back together

The United States is the world’s oldest democracy, and yet it’s in dire straits.

www.dailykos.com

This will be the agenda going forward. It will be led by suburban women, who will be the driving force in policy in the forseeable future.

You will have to change the constitution to do that.

It's not easy to get an amendment passed.

Representation isn't the problem. The republicans have destroyed democracy in the senate with the abuse of the filibuster.

They started filibustering every piece of legislation that came out of the House when they lost the majority in 2007.

I'm not in favor of removing the filibuster. I'm in favor of removing the abuse of the filibuster.

 

[Tom Paine 1949]

There is a mistaken sense that the built-in undemocratic aspects of our inherited Constitution ought to be — for some reason or another — preserved for all time.

Some now tell us that one hundred years after fighting the first of two World Wars to “Make the World Safe for Democracy” ... that not only are we NOT a democracy, but we should not even aspire to be one.

Why should a system of government created in the 18th century that quite obviously does not function well in the very different conditions of today ... not be improved? I am a social democrat and I believe that the best foundation for all healthy sovereign states should be government ... “Of the People, By the People, For the People.” This ought to be the aim and guiding principle of our own Republic.

Of course our Constitution allows for peaceful Amendment. That would be by far the best way to change our institutions. But that would require a lot of national unity. Also carefully thought out proposals made by a leadership that simply does not exist at present.

And that is not all. The real problems in our society lie not only in our failing and rather obsolete governing institutions, but in the very nature, class and uneven national development of the modern capitalist world. In short, we need to consider the real world, the worldwide drift toward state capitalism, and the all pervasive power of money, in re-designing our institutions.

I really don’t see anybody talking about all this. Maybe folks think these problems will disappear by themselves? Anyway, I welcome the OP article for raising a few of these issues. I would hope some Republicans and Libertarians here would also start thinking in broad programmatic terms, and stop dreaming unrealistically of returning to the past.