"majority rule"

I'm tired of all this complaining about the filibuster, but I'm even more tired of this idiotic belief that a majority is some kind of critical mass.

People with an IQ over 150 are a small minority, but I'm far more interested in their ideas.  Business owners are a small minority, but they're still the ones we depend on for jobs, and the ones with the best incentives for keeping their own business afloat.

The United States was (were, really) never intended to be a democracy.  Yes, the founders recognized the significance of a majority -- that's why they created the House of Representatives.  But it's a complete misunderstanding of our government to believe that the Senate should therefore be ruled by a majority.

Going back to original intent, the Senate was never supposed to be selected by popular vote in the first place -- prior to the 17th Amendment, Senators were selected by state legislatures.

Second, Senate seats are not apportioned by population anyway.  Each state has two senators, no matter how large or small.  Just because all states have equal say does not imply that a simple majority is some kind of magic number.

Third, the Constitution says nothing about how the Senate must operate -- only that it sets its own rules.

There are three branches to the federal government.  The president is not elected by majority rule, and supreme court justices certainly aren't, either.  The president can overrule Congressional majorities with a veto, but that can also be overridden by even larger majorities in both houses.  The simple majority is only the beginning.

Passing the Senate should be an even greater challenge.    The Senate is not just another House of Representatives -- its very goal is to give legislation a more rigorous test than it would ever get in the majority-rule House.  They don't call it "the world's greatest deliberative body" for nothing.  Technically, it takes a majority vote to get something into the Senate.  Actually getting it through should be harder.

And all that deliberation isn't for entertainment.  It's an opportunity to amend and improve the bill.  If your bill can't be amended, then search it for a partisan agenda.  Universal healthcare may be liberals' ultimate "reform," but to conservatives it's a poison pill.  If your legislation can't even be amended to pass the Senate, maybe the problem's with your legislation.

Comments

[ConservativeLibertine]

The founding father abhorred the idea of mob rule. The original design was that only property owners could vote. "One Man, One Vote" did not come until after the Civil War.