Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
The Road to Tyranny Begins Here
This has been percolating for some time now but the elevation of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court is going to accelerate the debate and push the following into the mainstream of our politics: The Senate must be abolished or altered so significantly as to render it powerless in the nation’s business.
Before I begin to lay out the arguments that are being presented, let me preface this with the following disclaimer — the Progressive Left is not interested in your civics lessons or talk about the history of the Constitution. For them, the United States is fundamentally flawed and any argument you may wish to make is evidence that you share the same inherent misogyny and racism of the Founding Fathers. You must defend it on their terms and on their terms only.
The Senate, according to the Progressive Left, is undemocratic and non-responsive to the will of the people. It is fundamentally unfair for the smallest state in the Union to have equal representation to, say, California or New York. In just a few short years, goes the argument, up to 70 percent of the population will have but 30 percent of the voice in the upper chamber. As they see it, these smaller states are just too damned Republican and abolishing the Senate in its current form will finally — finally — remove that cancer from the body politic.
As an added benefit, if the Senate is abolished then the rationale behind the Electoral College goes with it. Direct election of the President will allow the urban centers to completely dominate the process.
Next comes the call for the House to be turned into a true body of representation. The state houses must not be allowed to draw Congressional Districts. Many on the left are proposing eliminating districts altogether. First comes the call to for all districts to be “at large,” and then the seats will be divvied up according to the percentage of the vote the parties receive. After that the seats will be further subdivided by demographics. The House must be made to “look like America.” This will, of course, make party chairs the ultimate kingmakers, but that’s ok since the folks pushing these schemes have every intention of being among those that hand out the crowns.
The rallying cry is, and will be, “proportionality.” As the Democratic Presidential primary season kicks off in the next couple of months after the midterms, make sure that word is on your debate bingo card. You will be hearing it a lot. You were promised “the fundamental transformation” of the United States. And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
ADDENDUM: Also on your debate bingo card should be a square about the “illegitimacy” of the Supreme Court. They are also laying the foundations for either completely neutering the rulings of SCOTUS and/or presenting a scheme to begin expanding the membership to turn a 5-4 court into a 6-5 court (or greater).
Published in Politics
Well, letting the ABA have a big influence on Supreme Court nominees is one way to lessen the relevance of the Senate. That project may have taken a step backwards with the latest ploy on Kavanaugh, which was a step too quick, too far. So it will have to wait a while before the next two steps forward are taken.
As to sudden, outright elimination of the Senate? That’s not going to happen in our current situation. Even Stalin had to lay the groundwork for each step forward in grabbing more power. And even Stalin/Putin don’t usually know the plausible pathway in advance, but they were/are opportunistic.
So I don’t know why you need a plausible pathway, when most tyrannies did not develop over a path carefully planned in detail in advance.
Well, because they already have. Several Senators have said over the years they want the President and others to do the work of the Senate. They encouraged Obama to use his pen and phone so that the Senate didn’t have to do the hard work of legislating. I think some Senators would be fine with having their vote diminished so long as they could continue to bloviate in front of cameras.
If you want me to be upset and worried that something might happen, I need to believe it is plausible. That does not mean a careful plan in advance.
I am not going to get upset when there is no way presented things might happen.
I thought we were talking about protecting our form of constitutional government. Getting upset is optional.