Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 56 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 5/22/14  

Why the U.S. Senate, as Presently Constituted, is a Total Misrepresentation of the American People

By       (Page 3 of 4 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   56 comments

Michael Payne
Message Michael Payne

Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina -- 3

States from New Jersey down to Connecticut -- 2

States from Iowa down to Wyoming -- 1

This reconstruction of the Senate would still involve 100 senators. Perhaps someone can come up with a better, more efficient membership distribution based on population. But one way or another, this kind of rebalancing is critically needed if the American people are going to be fairly and equitably represented.

This change in the Senate would, of course, require a Constitutional Amendment to become law. Now, while that may seem to be a very difficult, if not impossible, task in today's faulted political environment, it can be done. Initially any proposed Amendment must have the support of two-thirds of members in both the House and Senate. The second step requires a three-fourths majority of the states ratifying the amendment. The alternate way is for 2/3 of the state legislatures to call for Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention.

Now those requirements of 2/3 and 3/4 would seem to be an overwhelming mountain to climb but "never say never" for two reasons; first there have been 27 Amendments successfully passed in the history of this nation. Secondly, if one takes a look at the link above and reviews the list of most populous states versus the least we might see a possibility of this happening. For a 2/3 requirement, it would take the support of the top 33 states, starting with California and ending with Kansas, and/or their members in Congress, to get it done. For a 3/4 requirement, it would take 38 states, from California down to Idaho to do it.

Now here is the main point that could bring success; look at the point on this list where certain states would still retain 2 senators and we see that it ends with Connecticut. So what this says is that there would be enough of these states and their members in Washington who would consider supporting this Amendment because they are the most populous ones who would gain additional senators from the change or would still retain two senators in the final configuration. The states who would be against such a move would be the ones who would end up with only one senator but they would be in the distinct minority. This is an illustration of how majority rule should work in this democracy.

And so, while the chances of reconstituting the Senate membership are not very great this highly necessary move must continue to be pursued because this great imbalance, this misrepresentation of the needs and interests of the American people by a faulted Article in the U.S. Constitution, has created a massive hole in America's system of democracy that needs to be repaired.

And this bears repeating: When 582,000 people in Wyoming possess the same power in this Senate as the 38 million or more people of the state of California then something is radically wrong and its one more major reason why this democracy no longer works for the good of all the people in this country.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 1   Supported 1   Interesting 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Michael Payne Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact EditorContact Editor
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Orwell's "1984" becoming a reality in modern-day America

Heed the Warning Signs; America is Edging Ever Closer to a Societal Implosion

Ethics and Morals in America; an Endangered Species

How Do You Spell Sociopath? G-O-P

The Beginning of the End for the U.S. Dollar as the World Reserve Currency

A U.S. President Defies Congress, the Constitution and the Will of the People; Will Impeachment Follow?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend