I've seen this thrown around a few times lately Thoughts? I'm generally a one man one vote kind of guy myself
No, I genuinely find the thought to be provoking (of more genuine thoughts). Is the senate fundamentally incompatible with a truly great democracy? I'd like to hear others' thoughts. This is a place for honest discussion for people like me and my guy @fchowd0311. Your friend might want to meet me in the beef Thunderdome, if he has a problem.
ok, I'll play along. where have you been seeing people calling for the abolition of the Senate? serious question, I have never seen that question being entertained
are you talking about this 1911 proposal for a constitutional amendment? https://history.house.gov/Historica...endment-to-dissolve-the-United-States-Senate/
Getting rid of the Senate doesn't get us anywhere closer to a one man one vote. I think it would distort it even more. A more direct form of democracy would.
I don't mind the Senate. But I genuinely believe most forms of known government systems can't effectively scale over 100 million people. TURR-LEYYY!!!
we don't necessarily want one man one vote. (A) we would want to include women as well. (B) The Senate puts small rural states like Vermont or Wyoming on a level playing field with larger more populated more urban states like California. Like a one man one vote logic, in the Senate you have one state one vote logic.
No to abolishing the Senate. I'd like to see any or all of these: Campaign finance reforms A proper census No gerrymandered districts The size of the House increased The number of voting members should double from 435 to 870 if not more than that More than two viable parties to vote for
To be clear this is a thought provoker thread, you know how I'm all about the theoreticals. I was reading a couple of articles on the US democracy decline report thing, I was looking up more articles about American democracy, saw opinions that the senate being undemocratic, and so on. Here are some links to quench your insatiable thirst you goon. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/abolish-us-senate/ https://theweek.com/politics/1006541/abolish-the-senate https://www.senate.gov/artandhistor...troduces_Resolution_To_Abolish_the_Senate.htm (Hey, you beat me, not fair). Right This is just one topic amongst many reforms that could make for a more ideal democracy. Ranked-choice voting is another interesting one, I think Andrew Yang is running on that with his forward party. How do you think getting rid of the senate could distort equal representation?
The distortion of representation from states like CA to WY, TX to VT is pretty tough for democracy's best friend
I'm all for ranked voting (had a thread on it awhile back). Gerrymandering greatly distorts the one man one vote. State majority gov can manipulate district map to take a much bigger pie of the House. The Senate balance that since the whole state vote for a senator.
I'm all for reform for better representation. But we got a bigger threat to deal with today, in 2022, and 2024. I add one item to the list below: 147 Republicans voted to overturn the 2020 election result. If more of these Republicans take power in 2022 (and good chances they will), you might as well flip a coin on US democracy in 2024. U.S. Named A ‘Backsliding Democracy’ For The First Time On European Think Tank’s Annual List (forbes.com) TOPLINE The United States has been described as a democracy in decline for the first time in an annual list by a Stockholm-based think tank after a year marked by disputed election results and the passage of restrictive voting laws. KEY FACTS The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said the U.S., despite being “the bastion of global democracy,” is undergoing a democratic backslide for the first time since the group began collecting data regarding global democracy more than 20 years ago, according to International IDEA’s annual Global State of Democracy report. The U.S. found a place on the list after it “fell victim to authoritarian tendencies,” according to International IDEA, which listed election integrity—and specifically, former President Donald Trump’s insistence that the election was “stolen”—as a key factor in the determination, along with challenges to voter access. Trump’s unfounded yet tireless allegations of voter fraud marked “a historic turning point” for democracy in the U.S. according to the think tank, which described a breakdown of trust in the electoral process as the culminating factor in violent rioting in the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Trump’s baseless accusations have also had “spillover effects” internationally, according to the report, and politicians have raised similar allegations of voter fraud without evidence in countries like Brazil, Mexico, Myanmar and Peru. The report’s authors also expressed concern for the wave of voting restriction bills passed in states across the U.S., which researchers say disproportionately affect minorities and will prevent them from casting ballots.
im totally against it, but i would definitely be interested in giving proper representation to states based off of population like we do for the house. the voting power of someone in wyoming vs. someone in california is like 80-to-1. it is kind of b.s. that a state like north dakota or wyoming has the same amount of power in the senate as california or texas. we created these artificial boundaries (state lines) and then grant power based on those boundaries. but what it does is give the voters living in rural, less populated states way more influence than voters in more populated, heavily urban states. people decry the tyranny of the majority, but what we have in america is a tyranny of the minority and it aint right! its how we end up on the cusp of overturning rowe vs wade even though 62% of the country does not want it repealed.
