I have some wonderful news to share. In a previous post, amid several I did on the early history of our federal Constitution, I reproduced a draft op-ed piece my former colleague and old friend, Maurice Barboza, wrote on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of its approval in Philadelphia in 1787.
Is the U.S. Senate Obsolete–II?
Picking up from last Friday: Fixing the filibuster: the “Nuclear Option?” Fun Fact: One historian believes that the filibuster originated, not as a deliberate and cherished bulwark against runaway majoritarianism, but as a mistake.
Is the U.S. Senate Obsolete–I?
Today begins a two-part analysis of our broken United States Senate.
Six Years–Once–is Enough
A heartfelt “thank you” to the distinguished Senator from Fox News Talking Points for making at once the shortest and indisputably best argument for amending the Constitution’s Article I, Section 2, —and amending or repealing its 22nd Amendment, and tweaking the 20th and 25th, if desired—to award each elected President a single, six-year term.
Electoral College–Time to Drop Out?
Amid all the Presidential debate “performance” hoo-hah this morning—talk about exalting form over substance—was another sober reminder of what we’ve come to: Sixty-plus percent of 13 million voters—that’s roughly eight million souls, 2.6% of the population and 5.3% of registered voters—could decide who your next President is.
Did Our Founders Fail Us?
Hell, no. If anything, we have failed them. They were, first, citizens, and fully engaged. Are we?
Black Patriots–A Promise Unkept
After my first post in the last series, 8 Shameful Things Our Founders Believed, I heard from an old friend, Maurice Barboza. We worked together on the staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in the ‘70s, after which I moved to the Senate side and left D.C. to return to my Northwestern roots.
8 Shameful Things Our Founders Believed–VI
Picking up from last Friday: The Rest of Shameful Thing 8–Redistricting. Perhaps the most currently contentious legacy of the Philadelphia founders’ decision to leave the States in charge of how its voters select their federal—and, by default, state and local—representatives is periodic redistricting.
8 Shameful Things Our Founders Believed–V
Picking up from Monday: Shameful Thing Eight—Voting Rights. 7. Each State could decide who gets to vote and under what circumstances.
8 Shameful Things Our Founders Believed–IV
Picking up from Friday: Shameful Things Six and Seven. 6. The people couldn’t be trusted to elect their state’s Senators.