tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post6637894607591225765..comments2024-03-19T11:28:58.168-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: Is the Constitution the problem?David Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-67555461152988793562013-12-19T07:23:05.257-05:002013-12-19T07:23:05.257-05:00In other countries we would just call it "ele...In other countries we would just call it "electoral reform" and leave it at that. The number and distribution of representatives across the landscape of a country and whether they are voted in on an individual basis by a majority vote a in USA or from party national lists with a % minimum for a party to participate or a mixed system with half each(as in Germany) is all a good question. Such very basic reforms are hard to push through however and require a basic sense of a national failure or inadequacy as in the last decade or so happened in Italy. The UK rejected such changes recently. Germany had Weimar with its chaos then adopted a very well thought out "modern" system adapted to rural/urban differences and avoids instability simultaneously. Tinkering has recently been made to avoid unfairness as a whole however since rurtal seats were unfairly overweighted in parlament. <br /><br />A big problem in the USA is that one doesn't allow itself time for such decisions due to national security questions. In other words if the USA were Canada or Australia, they could allow themselves perhaps to change laws and experiment without worrying about global destabilization in case itz does not work. The USA is de facto global policeman and the USD is the global currency. Experimenting here is tabu as foreigners would immediately start circling to see what military or economic advantage a redistribution of power would give them. <br /><br />Think of the nonsense of Al Gore not demanding a recount in Florida wich would have presumably given him power as a long uncertainty would have been destabilizing. Germany just formed a govt. after 3 months negotiations and the world did not end. The luxury of not being the lord of all one surveys should not be underestimated. <br /><br />The constitution is not the Bible and eventually electoral reform could be helpful but I also recall the comments of John Major vis a vis European criticisms. He said he knew very well what a coalition govt. was as he had one. He meant that the right and left wings of his party were the same thing as European small partyitis. Essentially if you have a 5% rule then the Tea party would have a party and the moderate repubs another, etc. so it all brings nothing in the end. <br /><br />If however through tricks the republicans manage to manipulate the ectoral system so that gerrymandering allows minority rule in the states, in the senate(60 votes rule) and then to get passed the laws in the minority ruled states allowing on presidential elections not majority rule to matter but rather majority of gerrymandered districts to matter then the presidency will be unwinnable for democrats, who live massivley in large urban agglomerations.<br /><br />The spirit of the law would then be completely hollowed out longterm by manipulating the letter of the law with support of very longlived conservative judges on the supreme court and elsewhere(dems nominate often sickly minorties based on female or racial quotas for example).<br /><br />In combination with the plutocratic tendency of an aging culture and technology this looks more and more like a historical trend of the few, rich to maintain power at the cost of the others through manipulation of the basic framework of the political system. <br /><br />This has been done in the workplace since Reagan by the strike breaking, destroying unions and shipping jobs abroad and by Walmartization destroying small shops and factories. The stock market has long since lost its democratic tendency and use in society as High frequency trading eliminates real participation and naked shorting can destroy honest start ups illegally. <br /><br />SO socity as a whole in historical and technical perspecitve in the global framework has to be observed. Reform is often just another political game. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03288487311129532045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-10340100770014932522013-12-15T20:11:33.521-05:002013-12-15T20:11:33.521-05:00It's farther along than just one columnist ped...It's farther along than just one columnist peddling a meme. There's been a conference of state legislators to invoke Article V, and the usual suspects with their usual agenda seem to be involved. See <br /><br />It may be more light than heat, but they're worth keeping an eye on.<br /><br />Scott KairAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05896219337731715934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-49235988840456719412013-12-13T17:14:48.007-05:002013-12-13T17:14:48.007-05:00Very sharp case made against these particular crit...Very sharp case made against these particular criticisms of the US Constitution. <br /><br />If the Constitution is ever going to be "gutted" it will be under the pretense of striking the legitimacy against the government, rather then inherently against the content of the Constitution itself. <br /><br />That being said, I've always been a strong proponent of the Kennedy-Young voting system, and its criminal that it hasn't been tried today. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11460215708996644977noreply@blogger.com