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Marc Robbins's avatar

Two comments regarding the Senate.

1. While it is "unfair" that small states get the same number of Senators as large states, I don't see it having any effect on our government. Most people point to the partisan bias of the two-senator small state bias but that in fact is incorrect. Actually, the smaller states are balanced by party. Currently, the ten smallest states have 10 Republican and 10 Democratic (or Democratic-caucusing) Senators. That balance has been maintained pretty much for the past twenty years or so. In addition, it's not clear to me that small states hold unfair leverage which they use for small state concerns. Are we passing legislation that is unfairly biased toward Vermont versus California, or Wyoming versus Texas? Not that I'm aware of. The divisions are partisan and national, not local and based on state size.

2. Nonetheless, the Senate is a problem and creates unnecessary obstacles for effective government. But I believe we can -- effectively -- get rid of the Senate, despite what you cite in part 1. And we can do that by giving each state equal suffrage in the Senate -- i.e., *none.* Each Senator would have a zero, or non-binding, vote in areas we choose. We could make the Senate more like the House of Lords, with something of an advisory role but with limited or no ability to block (or pass) legislation. We could consider retaining certain areas where Senators have an effective vote, such as for treaties and some (if not all) appointments. But for legislation? Nope, nothing.

That would seem to pass constitutional muster to me, even if it would demand a constitutional amendment for it to happen.

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Diana B.'s avatar

from Joseph Britt: " The task before us today is primarily a moral one, only very secondarily one of institutional reform. I would rather it were one we did not face, but as we Americans have gotten ourselves into this fix it will be up to us to move out of it, and forward." (posting at twitter about the above article)

It is all only moral, and ethical. That is the only important thing. The Politicians with a capital P who are our leadership in the communities, where the voters live, have to look at themselves in the mirror if they are not truthtelling. We have a complicated Senator, Senator Susan Collins, who is a lot deeper than non-Mainers know. This is not the person portrayed on SNL. There is a long tradition of independent thinking in Maine, maybe because we are stuck out there at the end of the country, all alone. People leave us alone, or used to. Senator Collins grew up in the far north, she is not easily scared by a bear in the back yard or a crowd of R in the Senate Chamber. Senator Olympia Snowe, and other current and past politicians in Maine do have common ground in many ways. Look to R and D crossing the aisle out of sight of the media, a la how to Get to Yes, an important Harvard U Mediation Project initiative. The 24/7 news cycle destroys morality by rushing to get more content which is then diluted into something called "cuisinart journalism." Great article, thank u!

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