Welp, if we can't pass filibuster reform, then amending the constitution should be a snap. I personally think we should abolish the electoral college, but that's another thing that ain't happening soon. If we could get Mansinema on board with amending the filibuster just to pass John Lewis Voting Rights act, that might be the easiest ste…
Welp, if we can't pass filibuster reform, then amending the constitution should be a snap. I personally think we should abolish the electoral college, but that's another thing that ain't happening soon. If we could get Mansinema on board with amending the filibuster just to pass John Lewis Voting Rights act, that might be the easiest step forward since it's basically just reinstating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This gives GOP the least ammo in attack ads as I think it would be hard to run against John Lewis.
Amending the Constitution would be more difficult than getting rid of the filibuster--and no state or political party that benefits from the current setup would sign on for it. How long has the ERA been floating around now?
Most of the politicians have little or no interest in making changes in the current system as it is the system that they are used to and have benefitted from. Manchin knows which side of the bread his butter is on... as do some of the others.
Racists, of course, don't think that racism exists or that, if it does, it isn't bad enough that we need actually do anything about it. We are past all that, right? Apparently not... but SCotUS says so in their ivory tower.
Any political faction that controls the SCotUS has the ability to negate laws.. or precedent.
There are a lot of things that need to change in our system if you want it to actually be more Democratic. Those things are unlikely to happen because you will be asking people that benefit from the status quo to change the status quo.
The Constitution is showing its age, unfortunately. It wasn't a terribly democratic document to begin with as a product of the late 18th century, and a lot a what we have today that is democratic apparently is more the product of norms than due to the actual text of our founding document. Direct election of Senators had to be added to the Constitution, but at least that can't go away now. Obviously the franchise originally excluded virtually everyone in the Republic, quite the irony for the revolution sparked by outrage over taxation without representation.
No one has decided to exploit the lack of democracy codified into the Constitution until the present incarnation of the GOP. The Electoral College is by its nature undemocratic, since we've had a recent spate of presidents getting elected while losing the popular vote, but the GOP is bent on eliminating whatever is democratic even in that institution, because nothing says states must hold elections to determine Electors. I agree with you that Federal oversight of state-run elections is probably the best model, but I don't see any enforcement mechanism through legislation that could pass constitutional muster if challenged.
Another concern I have is, if we do pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which will require some sort of filibuster reform at the very least, it would be, as you say, basically re-establishing the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the SCOTUS recently dumped into the wastebasket, I believe when conservatives held a 5-4 majority on the bench. I'm not entirely clear on what the grounds for their decision was, I think basically the rationale was that racism doesn't exist anymore or something, but if they eliminated the 1965 provisions, what would prevent a 6-3 court from doing the same to this John Lewis bill? And then we've eliminated the filibuster to pass a bill that will just end up overturned by SCOTUS. I don't have any bright ideas.
Your ideas sound a heck of a lot brighter than mine tho! Lol! Yeah, the court would be an issue, but maybe they wouldn’t touch this because they’re worried about seeming overly political with all these very partisan rulings… but I have no idea. It’s a solid point. John Roberts was very responsible for gutting the voting rights act, which is why whenever I think of John Roberts it’s like pulling petals off a daisy. “I hate him, I hate him not, but I hate him, hate him not.” 🌸 😂
Welp, if we can't pass filibuster reform, then amending the constitution should be a snap. I personally think we should abolish the electoral college, but that's another thing that ain't happening soon. If we could get Mansinema on board with amending the filibuster just to pass John Lewis Voting Rights act, that might be the easiest step forward since it's basically just reinstating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This gives GOP the least ammo in attack ads as I think it would be hard to run against John Lewis.
Amending the Constitution would be more difficult than getting rid of the filibuster--and no state or political party that benefits from the current setup would sign on for it. How long has the ERA been floating around now?
Most of the politicians have little or no interest in making changes in the current system as it is the system that they are used to and have benefitted from. Manchin knows which side of the bread his butter is on... as do some of the others.
Racists, of course, don't think that racism exists or that, if it does, it isn't bad enough that we need actually do anything about it. We are past all that, right? Apparently not... but SCotUS says so in their ivory tower.
Any political faction that controls the SCotUS has the ability to negate laws.. or precedent.
There are a lot of things that need to change in our system if you want it to actually be more Democratic. Those things are unlikely to happen because you will be asking people that benefit from the status quo to change the status quo.
The Constitution is showing its age, unfortunately. It wasn't a terribly democratic document to begin with as a product of the late 18th century, and a lot a what we have today that is democratic apparently is more the product of norms than due to the actual text of our founding document. Direct election of Senators had to be added to the Constitution, but at least that can't go away now. Obviously the franchise originally excluded virtually everyone in the Republic, quite the irony for the revolution sparked by outrage over taxation without representation.
No one has decided to exploit the lack of democracy codified into the Constitution until the present incarnation of the GOP. The Electoral College is by its nature undemocratic, since we've had a recent spate of presidents getting elected while losing the popular vote, but the GOP is bent on eliminating whatever is democratic even in that institution, because nothing says states must hold elections to determine Electors. I agree with you that Federal oversight of state-run elections is probably the best model, but I don't see any enforcement mechanism through legislation that could pass constitutional muster if challenged.
Another concern I have is, if we do pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which will require some sort of filibuster reform at the very least, it would be, as you say, basically re-establishing the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the SCOTUS recently dumped into the wastebasket, I believe when conservatives held a 5-4 majority on the bench. I'm not entirely clear on what the grounds for their decision was, I think basically the rationale was that racism doesn't exist anymore or something, but if they eliminated the 1965 provisions, what would prevent a 6-3 court from doing the same to this John Lewis bill? And then we've eliminated the filibuster to pass a bill that will just end up overturned by SCOTUS. I don't have any bright ideas.
Your ideas sound a heck of a lot brighter than mine tho! Lol! Yeah, the court would be an issue, but maybe they wouldn’t touch this because they’re worried about seeming overly political with all these very partisan rulings… but I have no idea. It’s a solid point. John Roberts was very responsible for gutting the voting rights act, which is why whenever I think of John Roberts it’s like pulling petals off a daisy. “I hate him, I hate him not, but I hate him, hate him not.” 🌸 😂