Maybe It's Time Senate Dems Threaten a DEMOCRATIC Nuclear Option!

[eniwetok]

In terms of how any one person in the US is represented, the Senate is an antidemocratic abomination... where states with a mere 18% of the US population get 52% of the seats. This means those 585k people who choose to live in WY have the same power to make laws as the 38 MILLION people who live in California. Despite what we learned in 4th grade, this does NOT balance out in the House simply because if we look at how any one PERSON is represented no one in CA votes for ALL their House Representatives... a voter in both CA and WY can vote for just one. So anyone moving from CA to WY would gain nearly 70x more influence in the Senate... and gets a close to 4x bigger presidential vote.

This state suffrage creates a tyranny of the minority and makes a mockery of the very concept of self-government. It's the root of morally illegitimate government as we've seen with both the Bush2 and Trump Juntas... but also the Senate.

The so-called Nuclear Option would solidify this tyranny of the minority of the population whenever the GOP had a majority in the Senate. I think it's time Schumer and the Dems talk about the REAL Nuclear option... but one that makes sense democratically... that each Senator still get but one vote per the Constitution... but a change in the Senate rules would WEIGHT those votes by the state's population... splitting it should a state have Senators from different parties. How would this make the Senate more democratic? Because Dems, even though they are in the minority represent about 33 MILLION more people that do the GOP.

The key parts of the Constitution dealing with the Senate are from Art 1 "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote." This was modified by the 17th Amendment allowing the People for vote for their Senators. Then there's a poison pill in Art 5: "and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." Suffrage at the time as it does now merely means the right to vote. Arguably it says nothing about the WEIGHTt of a vote. Also Art 1 says "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings..."

I think it's time the Senate Dems threaten this DEMOCRATIC Nuclear Option next time they are in power.

[HoneyBadger]

1. Does this make anyone want to move to WY?

70x more influence is compelling.

[eniwetok]

2. No One Deserves A Bigger Vote... We All Deserve EQUAL Votes.

Whenever there is a vote weighting/dilution scheme there's a possibility of a tyranny of the minority... and our entire federal system is full of these schemes... where ever state suffrage is involved.

[eniwetok]

3. The lack of response to this thread is telling...

The first reason is what other leverage do Schumer and the Dems have to get the GOP to behave...

And the second reason is that it supports my view that even liberal and progressive Dems buy into our antidemocratic federal system... and that's more important than protecting their signature programs from an existential threat posed by the GOP who now has power to govern in both the presidency and the Senate... even if Trump was REJECTED by the People... and Dem Senators represent 33 million more Americans than do GOP Senators.